- Target:
- Whey to Go
- Region:
- United States of America
- Website:
- wheytogovermont.weebly.com
Whey to Go is a group comprised of farmers and community members in north central Vermont who are trying to put an end to the polluting practices of Vermont’s largest cheese-makers, Cabot Creamery of Cabot, Vermont. Cabot is owned by Agri-Mark, a large agri-business based in Massachusetts.
Cabot/Agri-Mark [C/A] has two plants in Vermont, one in Cabot, and a newer one in Middlebury. Both have been cited by the state for serious violations for its discharge of chemically-laced, phosphorous based wastewater but it continues to pollute nonetheless. Members of Whey to Go met recently to assess new strategies for alerting the public, legislators, and environmentalist about how C/A’s pollution is harming the environment and public health. The goal is to apply sufficient public pressure on Cabot/Agri-Mark that it will seriously search for alternative ways to dispose of its waste.
Cabot/Agri-Mark's indirect discharge permit is up for renewal. We call on all concerned citizens to ask the Agency of Natural Resources to Hold a Hearing so we May Express Our Concerns in Public.
We, the undersigned citizens of Vermont call on the Agency of Natural Resources to Call A Public Hearing on a proposed indirect discharge permit of Agri-Mark Inc. DBA Cabot Creamery, Cabot Vermont.
In the past, many in North Central Vermont have complained that there has been inadequate monitoring of the chemically-ladened wastewater and land applications of Cabot's wastewater – wastewater that contains toxic chemicals from cleaning fluids, many of which have a high concentration of phosphorous. The following towns are targetted for land application of wastewater if this permit request is approved: Albany, Barnet, Barton, Brookfield, Brownington, Cabot, Calais, Craftsbury, Danville, E. Montpelier, Elmore, Glover, Greensboro, Hardwick, Irasburg, Lyndon, Marshfield, Morristown, Peacham, Plainfield, Randolph, St. Johnsbury, Sheffield, Stannard, Walden, Wheelock and Wolcott.
We are deeply concerned that heavy rainfall in recent summers has caused excessive wastewater runoff into the Winooski and Lamoille Rivers and from there into Lake Champlain from rain-saturated fields in the 27 towns where wastewater is due to be land-applied. (In June, 2015, Montpelier experienced the heaviest rainfall in Vermont history; in 2011, a year of heavy rainfall and Tropical Storm Irene,Vermont Water Management Division reported that its overall phosphorus readings for Vermont in 2011 [due to runoff] were at an astronomical high.
We want to know what Cabot/Agri-Mark has done to limit the concentration of phosphorous in its waste-stream, given that the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)has required the state of Vermont to curb phosphorous output in an effort to curb blue-green algae in Lake Champlain and elsewhere.
Lastly, we remain deeply concerned about the high incidence of cancers and ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) in the very areas where the creamery's waste-water is being land applied. We reiterate our demand that the wastewater be treated in a wastewater treatment plant, as was originally ordered by Region 5 of the Vermont Act 250 Commission.
We wish to have a hearing to present our concerns.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Ask Cabot Creamery AKA Agri-Mark to Stop Polluting Vermont petition to Whey to Go was written by Whey to Go and is in the category Environment at GoPetition.