AW Wins Court Battle Protecting Green River (VT) Boating
Posted: 09/21/2018
By: Robert Nasdor
The Vermont Superior Court sided with American Whitewater in
a long-running dispute with the state over whitewater boating on the Green River in Morrisville.
The Court overturned state restrictions that would have eliminated any meaningful opportunity for
boaters to enjoy this extraordinary river and required scheduled releases in a ground breaking
decision.
AW and the Vermont Paddlers Club have be working to secure
scheduled releases through the hydropower relicensing of the Green River Dam. Despite support
from FERC and the power company for whitewater boating releases, Vermont ANR prohibited releases,
refusing to recognize that whitewater boating is an existing use on the river that should be
preserved.
The court case was the result of an appeal filed by AW/VPC,
arguing that whitewater boating is an existing use on the Green River protected under the Clean
Water Act. After a 2-week trial in Burlington last spring, the Court ruled that the state
restrictions failed to protect whitewater boating and ordered that "scheduled releases must
occur at a time during which boaters can take advantage of the flows, such as weekend daylight
hours."
The Court's decision validated the quality of AW's
scientific approach and legal analysis that were core to our advocacy. We want to recognize the
skillful legal representation provided by Ryan Kane and Dan Richardson at the Montpelier law firm
Tarrant, Gillies, and Richardson, whose generous support for our case
was indispensable.