On Friday, June 13, nine Vermont lake associations (representing 10 lakes) learned that their petitions to prohibit wakesports and/or wake boats on their lakes were denied by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). In its decision, the DEC explained that rather than address issues on a lake-by-lake basis, it makes more sense to reopen the Agency of Natural Resources’ (ANR) Use of Public Waters (UPW) rulemaking process to refine and expand on the rules it adopted in April 2024. Doing so also allows the DEC to address issues it has not previously considered, such as safety.
A discussion of the DEC’s proposed changes occurred during their July 1, 2025, webinar: “Summary of Proposed Changes to Vermont’s Use of Public Waters Rules”, which you can access by clicking HERE:
You can view the entire DEC 90-minute video of the July 1 webinar by clicking HERE.
RWVL’s simplified summary of the proposed DEC changes are as follows:
The proposed changes remove 12 of the 30 lakes eligible for wakesports under the current rule. RWVL strongly supports this reduction as it protects 12 more lakes. However, we strongly oppose the removal of the Home Lake Rule. The addition of the Home Lake Rule was the reason our group agreed to the ANR’s proposed rule changes last year. This rule establishes effective, state-approved wake boat decontamination stations in which boats are required to be decontaminated when traveling from one lake to another, and we view it as essential in preventing the spread of lake-to-lake aquatic invasive species (AIS).
The DEC’s proposed timeline for the entire rulemaking petition process, detailed below, will run 6 to 8 months. Solicitation of public input kicks off with pre-rulemaking meetings on July 30 and 31.
RWVL WILL CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR THE FOLLOWING DURING PRE-RULEMAKING:
- One lake -per-season limit on wake boats until effective ballast inspection (as required by law) and decontamination exists.
- Application of the “Precautionary Principle” in present and all future VT UPW rulemaking.
- Inclusion of a specific statement that wakesports are not a “normal use” as defined in the UPW and a clear statement of the implications of this designation for present and future DEC rulemaking in Vermont. Make it clear in the UPWR wakesports definition that wakesports are not a normal use.
- A 30-foot minimum depth for wakesports operation, established by recent research as the minimum depth to prevent lake bottom disturbance, rather than the 20-foot depth proposed by the DEC.
- A 1,000-foot minimum distance from shore for wakesports operation, requested in our RWVL March 2022 petition to the ANR based on the scientific literature included on pages 13 to 17, rather than the 500-foot distance proposed by the DEC.
HOW YOU CAN HELP (we cannot overstate the importance of your continued support)
- Demonstrate your support (even if you do not plan to speak), by attending, either in person or by remote Teams link, one or both of these two DEC’s pre-rulemaking public meetings:
- July 30, 2025, at 6pm in the VTrans Dill Building, 2178 Airport Road, Barre, VT 05641.
- July 31, 2025, at 6pm in the Gateway Center, 84 Fyfe Drive, Newport, VT 05855.
Note: These are NOT public hearings at which public testimony will be heard. The DEC intends these to be informal meetings at which the public will be given an opportunity to comment on various provisions of the proposed new rules. RWVL will have our subject matter experts weighing in on the proposed changes. (If you are a subject matter expert on a wakesport-relevant topic, contact us at once: responsiblewakesvt@gmail.com.)
- Send your pre-rulemaking written comments for a stronger UPW wakesports Rule to the DEC (ANR.WSMDLakes@vermont.gov), making sure to include the word “wakesports” in the subject line. While the current deadline for submission is August 12 at 4:30 PM, RWVL has requested this be extened to the end of August.
- If you submit pre-rulemaking written comments, send a copy to us (responsiblewakesvt@gmail.com) and to your local paper as a letter to the editor or commentary.
- Share this and future RWVL Newsletters with your family, friends, and neighbors and encourage them to actively participate in the DEC’s pre-rulemaking petition process.
- Encourage your family, friends, and neighbors to sign up on our Responsible Wakes website to receive the Responsible Wakes for Vermont Lakes Newsletter.
Watch for subsequent newsletters with the most up-to-date information. Once the actual rulemaking process begins this fall, there will be additional opportunities for you to help by speaking at public hearings and submitting written comments.
THANK YOU!