Lake Champlain

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gaye Symington: Symington for GovernorHouse Speaker Gaye Symington (D-Jericho) criticized Gov. Jim Douglas (R-Middlebury) and his Lake Champlain environmental policy, Clean and Clear, this afternoon after the Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) issued a report scoring the wellbeing of the lake and the progress taken to reverse the effects of pollutants.

The Democratic gubernatorial candidate assailed the legislation because of its lack of benchmarks to track progress, despite its $85 million price tag. Symington noted that this year, she tried to pass a bill that would introduce benchmarks into the Clean and Clear program.

The House Speaker said, "As Governor, I am not going to spend $85 million on a program without knowing what we're getting for the money."