PRS Students Testify on Potential Trust Fund Strategies

On Thursday, March 12, 2015, three students from the Policy Research Shop (PRS) traveled to Montpelier, VT to testify before the Vermont House Committee on Fish, Wildlife, and Water Resources, chaired by Rep. David Deen. The students—Ana Marija Pongrac '15, Tyler Stoff '15, and Katelyn Schultz '16—presented their policy brief, "Vermont Environmental Trust Fund Establishment: An Analysis of Potential Strategies" and fielded questions from committee members.

PRS students Tyler Stoff '15, Ana Marija Pongrac '15, and Katelyn Schultz '16 testify before the Vermont House Committee on Fish, Wildlife, and Water Resources on Thursday, March 12, 2015.

The students provided the committee with case studies of other states that had implemented environmental trust funds, including North Carolina, Maryland, and Nebraska. For each state, the students assessed the origins of the trust fund, its administration, and its funding sources, in order to derive lessons for Vermont in its approach to creating an environmental trust provide the necessary resources to remediate the phosphorous contamination of Lake Champlain. The State of Vermont is currently in violation of EPA regulations regarding phosphorous loading in the Lake. An additional PRS student, Apoorva Dixit '16, also co-authored the policy brief, but she was unable to attend the hearing in Montpelier.

Members of the Committee chaired by Rep. David Deen ask the PRS students questions regarding their research.

PRS students Katelyn Schultz '16, Tyler Stoff '15, and Ana Marija Pongrac '15 pose in the Vermont House Chamber after giving testimony to the Committee on Fish, Wildlife, and Water Resources.