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In the late 1990s, Anders Holm came up with what he thought was a pretty good idea: converting the energy generated by Middlebury’s Otter Creek Falls into hydroelectric power.

Holm recalls that, as he began to craft his hydro-powered vision, the developers of Winooski One Hydroelectric Project, which was approved by regulators in 1988, warned him about complications associated with the Agency of Natural Resources’ permitting process.... Read more

Renovations at the University of Vermont’s Williams Hall this summer may have exposed students, faculty and staff to unsafe levels of lead dust, prompting a state investigation into whether the university or its contractors violated workplace safety laws.... Read more

It’s been a tough summer for Vermont composters. Two major operations, Intervale Compost Products in Burlington and the Vermont Composting Co. in Montpelier, have been threatened with closure for alleged violations of state law.

Meanwhile, the state’s largest composter, Vermont Natural Ag Products in Middlebury, has managed to remain above the regulatory fray. The fact that the company’s owner, Robert Foster, is Gov. Jim Douglas’ brother-in-law has led to speculation in agricultural and political circles that Vermont Natural Ag enjoys special treatment from the state.... Read more

This fall, colleges and universities that try to pass themselves off as “green” will face an inconvenient truth: It takes more than bathroom stalls stocked with recycled toilet paper, or separate waste bins for glass, paper and plastic, to earn even a passing grade on environmental sustainability. And with each new year, schools will be graded on an ever-steeper curve.... Read more

A division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to send inspectors to a Milton junkyard to investigate whether a federally funded cleanup is warranted there.

Gary Lipson, a coordinator with EPA’s Region 1 Emergency Response and Planning branch in Boston — sometimes referred to as the “Removal Program” — said the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources contacted his office a “few weeks ago” for help with ABC Metals/Rhoades Salvage, which has been operating without a license for more than eight years.... Read more

Panty raids . . . Pep rallies . . . Putting down the food in the college cafeteria.... Read more

When an email showed up in Sen. Virginia “Ginny” Lyons’ inbox in April, written in both English and Chinese, the Democrat from Chittenden County assumed it was spam. That is, until she noticed the message included her home address, phone number and a reference to a bill she’d introduced in January to regulate the disposal of electronics, known as “e-waste.”... Read more

On YouTube, tens of thousands of hits in a day gets you lots of comments from snarky teenagers. In the Climate Matters Video Contest sponsored by Middlebury environmental startup Brighter Planet, that level of attention could give some lucky filmmakers the chance to influence U.S. environmental policy in years to come.... Read more

Gilbert “Gil” Rhoades leans against an old shopping cart full of rusty catalytic converters, his arms crossed defiantly. It’s a recent weekday afternoon, and Rhoades, the 66-year-old owner of ABC Metals/Rhoades Salvage in Milton, has just ducked inside a cluttered garage with two employees to wait out a passing thunderstorm.... Read more

Guess how many new environmental laws have come about as a result of Al Gore’s earth-shattering movie, An Inconvenient Truth? Zero. In fact, Congress hasn’t passed a major environmental law since 1973’s Endangered Species Act.... Read more