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Streamlining Act 250. Vermont Environmental Law Reform.

Clear Air Clear Water

Watching over Vermont’s land & water. Act 250 is a public, quasi-judicial process reviewing & managing the environmental, social & fiscal impacts of Vermont development. Nine district commissions review permit applications based on criteria articulated by state statutes.

In 2005 Vermont’s legislature created the Natural Resources Board (NRB) with Act 115  to replace the Environmental Water Resources Boards. The NRB includes a full-time chair (state employee), and two citizen panels, a land use panel and a water resources panel, consisting of four persons each, with the chair serving as chair of each of the two panels. Act 115  consolidated environmental appeals and land use development law revisions. View the full text of Act 115 in which substantial previous language is stricken making deletions clear and new language underlined.

Middlebury Gravel Pit Panorama

The NRB administers the Act 250 process and has rule making and enforcement authority over land-use permit violations (significant time is spent prosecuting violations) as well as the right to participate in certain Environmental Court appeals.

Peter Young

Northfield Attorney Peter Young chaired the NRB from 2006 when appointed by former Governor Jim Douglas following an appointment to the District 5 Environmental Commission in 2003. Young’s challenges included dealing with applicants who had already developed: building a project and belatedly coming to the NRB for permits. Innocent oversight or planning to beg forgiveness later?

Protecting Our Groundwater

In 2007 the Board appointed John Wakefield of Redstone, a Burlington Real Estate Development company permit specialist, as it’s first Permit Compliance Officer.

Ron Shems

Burlington Attorney Ron Shems, formerly and co-founder of Shems, Dunkiel, Raubvogel & Saunders replaced Young April 1st of this year when Shems was appointed the new Natural Resources Board Chair by newly elected Governor Shumlin.

Act 250 Proponents, since its 1970 enactment in 1970, see it as setting a reasonable set of guidelines for developers and business owners, protecting Vermont from odious American sprawl. Citizen participation and protecting the
environment are the heart and soul of Act 250. They view Act 250 reform suspiciously as attempts to circumvent environmental protection and eviscerate regulations leaving Vermont vulnerable to unbridled exploitation.

Business Proponents consider Act 250 unpredictable, unfriendly and decidedly antagonistic economically, causing in some cases many year permitting periods and exorbitant additional legal expenses. With interested party status, “the Interveners” can become unjust obstructionists.

“To a developer, it doesn’t matter if you’re spending time before the local boards or the state or Act
250. It’s all permits, and if you can simplify the process, the whole
state benefits.” James Pizzigalli, Co-Chairman of Pizzigalli Construction

Presby Environmental Advanced Septic System

Former Governor Jim Douglas claimed the average permit took companies 278 days to receive but the NRB cited different numbers, with two-thirds of all applicants gaining permits within 60 days.

Streamlining objectives & options:

• Eliminating duplicate permitting requirements at the state & local level and within the state level.
• Minimizing special consultants including attorneys, engineers and planners so applicants may run the process on their own except in the most complicated circumstances.
• Adding a state facilitator. Bill H-475 called for a pilot program to add a facilitator to help council businesses on the Act 250 process.
• Clear and consistent intervener standards. Predictability for who and how interveners can participate. Limiting interveners to those having legitimate interests.

Wetlands Anatomy

The Wetlands Regulations took over three years to hammer out.

Act 250 revision includes the launch of the Permitting & Compliance Portal including a wealth of easily accessible information including an environmental permit summary and the Vermont Permit Handbook.

Get a better idea of Vermont’s Land Use & Development Act’s history, hear Jane Lindholm of Vermont Public Radio here in an Act 250 special program including notes on the “culture of no” and the importance of working as well as looking at the view.

Connect to maplesweet.com, e-mail info@maplesweet.com or call toll-free 1-800-525-7965 to list your property, arrange for showings, or look further into Vermont’s real estate market or Act 250 reform.

See all Maple Sweet Real Estate listings,   the newest central & northern Vermont mls listings,  or connect to a hand picked selection of central & northern Vermont properties.

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Vermont Required Consumer Information Disclosure: please note Vermont  real estate agencies represent Sellers directly or indirectly by default. Buyer representation can be gained for properties not already listed by Maple Sweet Real Estate. To better understand the merits of or arrange for buyer representation, please email or call for further details.

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If your property is already listed for sale with another real estate agency, this is not intended as a solicitation of that agency’s listing.

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Harvard School of Public Health Professor of Economics Dr. William Hsiao on Vermont’s Candidacy as 1st US Single Payer Health Care State

I caught up with State Representative Adam Greshin this week on the dramatic changes being considered to Vermont’s health care system and the pivotal Wednesday address by Beijing, China born Dr. William Hsiao at our State House.

As Adam put it, these proposed changes are likely to affect all of us and in fact Vermont’s entire economy. Given the magnitude of the issue, Maple Sweet Real Estate brings you a synopsis of Dr. Hsiao’s statement including links below to both his full statement this week and the 138 page report issued by him, Steven Kappel & Jonathan Gruber.

Single-payer health care is the financing of the costs of delivering universal health care for an entire population through a single insurance pool out of which costs are met.

This from Dr. McCanne’s Quote of the Day, a daily health policy update on the single-payer health care reform movement. The QotD is archived on the Physicians for a National Healthcare Program  PNHP’s website.

Excerpt from Harvard School of Public Health Professor of Economics Dr. William C. Hsiao’s January 19th, 2011 Statement Before Vermont’s Legislature on Single Payer Healthcare Evaluation

“Act 128 calls upon our team to develop three options. The Legislature requires that we evaluate a state government-administered and publicly-financed single-payer health benefits system. This system, which we refer to as Option 1, would provide all Vermonters with a uniform benefits package. Within those parameters, we looked at costs of both a “comprehensive” benefits package and a leaner, “essential” benefits package, which I will define and discuss later. The second option is a state government-administered, public option that would allow Vermonters to choose between public and private insurance coverage. Option 2 is designed to allow for and promote competition between the public and private plans, while keeping in place the current multiple payer system. Act 128 allows our team to develop a third option that we design after analyzing all aspects of Vermont’s health care and assessing the positions of key stakeholders across the State of Vermont. We call Option 3 a public/private single-payer system. It provides an “essential” benefits package, is administered by an independent board with diverse representation, and it employs a competitively-selected third party to manage provider relations and claims adjudication and processing.

In analyzing the three options, we determined that all will yield significant savings. However, our research and analysis indicate that the single-payer options will have a more dramatic impact on reducing cost than the public option because they incorporate a uniform benefits package and reduce much of the administrative structure needed to compensate multiple payers. Therefore, we estimate that Option 1 will produce savings of 24.3% of total health expenditure between 2015 and 2024. Option 2 will produce savings of 16.1% of total health expenditure between 2015 and 2024. Finally, Option 3 will produce savings of 25.3% of total health expenditure between 2015 and 2024. Option 3 produces additional savings as compared to Option 1 because it incorporates a public/private partnership in governance and administration.

In 2015, the first full year of implementation, PPACA would reduce the number of uninsured by 18,000 people; however 32,000 Vermont residents will remain uninsured. Ultimately in 2019, PPACA will reduce the number of uninsured by 22,000 in 2019. PPACA will likely add an additional $240 million of federal funds in 2015 to the State of Vermont, which will eventually rise to $420 million in 2019. All of these dollar values are expressed in 2010 dollars.

In comparison with option 1 and 3, Option 2 would still leave approximately 30,000 Vermonters uninsured. Option 2 would not expand the current benefits to cover some dental and vision care nor bring up the benefits for those who are currently under-insured.

The comprehensive benefit package under option 1 covers all health services with minimum cost sharing. As a result, it costs more and requires more funds to finance it. Under a payroll contribution scheme of financing, employers and workers will have to pay more than what they would pay if no reform takes place. This comprehensive benefit option would also increase the total health spending in Vermont which would make this option less feasible.

The essential benefit package under option 1 and 3 have leaner benefits and they can be financed through payroll contributions without increasing the amount that most employers and workers would have to pay as compared to if no reform takes place. It would reduce the total health spending in Vermont slightly in 2015 when the proposed reforms are implemented.”

Piggy's Crutches

Dr. Hsiao’s full statement in front of Vermont’s Legislature

Full report – William Hsiao, Steven Kappel and Jonathan Gruber (138 pages)

From Wikipedia:

William C. Hsiao (Traditional Chinese: 蕭慶倫; Simplified Chinese: 萧庆伦) an American economist, is the K.T. Li Professor of Economics^[1] at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts. He is internationally recognized for his work on health care financing and social insurance.

Professor Hsiao is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and received his Ph.D from Harvard University in Economics. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, the Society of Actuaries, the National Academy of Social Insurance, and holds several honorary degrees.

He has been awarded teaching awards by Harvard graduate students on several occasions. He resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts with his wife, Ruth, a former lecturer at Tufts University. He has two sons and two grandchildren.

Biography

Professor Hsiao was born in Beijing, China and as a teenager emigrated to the United States, where his father was an economic advisor to the Kuomintang(KMT) delegation to the United Nations. He grew up in Forest Hills, Queens of New York City, and attended New York public schools. Following graduation from college, Professor Hsiao began his career as an actuary for Connecticut General Life Insurance Co. in Hartford CT, which was a predecessor company toCIGNA. Following this corporate stint, Professor Hsiao moved to Washington DC and was employed as an actuary to the Social Security Administration in 1968. When the Chief Actuary of the SSA resigned, Professor Hsiao was appointed the acting Chief Actuary in 1970.

During this time, the Social Security Administration was roiled by efforts by the United States Congress to reform the social security system and maintain its solvency. Professor Hsiao headed up two blue-ribbon panels and testified several times before Congress regarding the actuarial viability of the system under the funding mechanisms in place. Eventually, in 1977, the Congress passed and President Jimmy Carter signed into law one of the most comprehensive legislative efforts to bolster the Social security system.

Following this government service, Professor Hsiao commenced studies at the Harvard University Institute of Government, which later became the John F. Kennedy School of Government. He then entered the Ph.D program in the Department of Economics at Harvard University. His doctoral thesis was advised by Martin Feldstein, who later was Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors under President Ronald Reagan. Professor Hsiao was appointed to the faculty of the Harvard School of Public Health as an Assistant Professor in 1979. He became a full professor in 1986. He was appointed to the K.T. Li chaired professorship in 1992, named for the Taiwanese policy-maker Kwoh-Ting Li.

Connect to maplesweet.com, e-mail info@maplesweet.com or call toll-free 1-800-525-7965 to list your property, arrange for showings, or look further into Vermont’s real estate market.

See all Maple Sweet Real Estate listings,   the newest central & northern Vermont mls listings,  or connect to a hand picked selection of central & northern Vermont properties.

…..

Thank you for connecting to Maple Sweet Real Estate’s blog, Light Amber.

…..

Vermont Required Consumer Information Disclosure: please note Vermont  real estate agencies represent Sellers directly or indirectly by default. Buyer representation can be gained for properties not already listed by Maple Sweet Real Estate. To better understand the merits of or arrange for buyer representation, please email or call for further details.

…..

If your property is already listed for sale with another real estate agency, this is not intended as a solicitation of that agency’s listing.

 

 

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Tracking Harrison Snapp

Snapp Geometry

It all started with a condominium on a renovation quest. Vertical fissure over fireplace, kitchen cabinets having seen better days. In search of the piece de resistance, the missing link, how to spin some magic for spice, add sparkle 2 great bones. Celebrate. Coming down to a barn beam to crown the hearth, missing link. Distressed beauty. The search on.

Valley to mountain peak, wretched wood frame to historic agricultural storehouse. Kerney Brown on site. Dan Eckstein at Yestermorrow and an upcoming deconstruction class slated to bring down the long-standing barn across from the Fayston Elementary School. Matt Groom on the challenges of finding a beam 11 inches deep, plank alternatives. And the returned email and disconnected phone for the Weather Hill Company.

Weather Hill Warmth & Tradition, Nantucket

Weather Hill work stands tall, testament to tradition and integrity. The email bounced back, line no longer in service… Had they gone under? Morphed to snow birds? Curious given the caliber and performance.

Today the break. Pulling onto the highway dividing the Mad River Valley, seasoned green pick up cruising the Mad River Scenic ByWay emblazoned with Weather Hill’s logo, two cars out. A chase worthwhile. Mile and a half later the driver must think me out of my mind or be exceedingly worried something is horribly wrong with his rig.

Out steps Harrison Snapp.

A kind smile, beard of the ages, talking story. “An 11 inch deep beam you say…”

Detail Exquisite

Creating award-winning museum quality combinations of old and new, unforgettable residential & commercial spaces from top to bottom. Condemned, exhausted 200-year-old buildings on the verge of collapse find salvation at the hands of Weather Hill, aka Weather Hill Design Associates; Weather Hill Building Co.; Heritage Joinery Ltd. Homes saved from fire departments on the verge of a practice burn or a bulldozer clearing the way for commercial expansion.

Design & architectural consultants, balance, proportion and scale. Quiet, radiant spaces of unmatched warmth, serenity & power. Owner Gregory & Carolyn Schipa, with Snapp, harking from Fayston, have been at it well over 30 years erecting and renovating landmarks across the eastern seaboard from here in the Green Mountains to Nantucket, Boston, the Carolinas, Virginia, DC, and beyond. Snapp’s been with Weather Hill since 1974 and Greg started out on Nantucket. Val. Snapp’s wife, works in color, painting & staining.

Table of Architecture Mouldings

Endeavoring to bring buildings to their former glory when most if not all  original detailing has been buried or eliminated during one facelift after the next. Using archival tools and techniques from hundreds of years ago, painstakingly bring history to the fore. Jack plane hand planing after removing modern mill roller marks in search of the 18th century.  Wooden Mallets & the Stanley No. 55, out of production since the early ‘50s, incorporating dozens of planes  for all Greek profiles: beads, curves, beak moldings, ogees, reverse ogees.

Tower Oaks Lodge, Rockville, Maryland

Clients can select dismantled and stored structure elements from the Weather Hill collection or find their own. Existing footprints expanded with ells or carriage houses to encompass added bedrooms, a library or great room while upholding the Greek tenets of  fascia, soffit & frieze board proportions.

Back to the disconnected phone line. Right, “we’ve moved” says Snapp, from Charlotte to Warren. New digs and direction, part of the Mad River Valley’s nascent renaissance. Bloody good fortune for our Scenic Byway. And that barn beam… Snapp’s checking for the appropriate element.

If you’d like to receive an estimate from the Weather Hill Company for renovation or new construction, or learn more about this wonderful Vermont asset, email or call Maple Sweet Real Estate toll-free at 800.525.7965, or visit maplesweet.com for other options.

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Trusts, Trustmakers, Trustees, Beneficiaries

Revocable, precisely as it sounds. A revocable trust (RT) then, is one which the grantor (aka settlor or  trustor) has the power to revoke even though the assets have been entrusted to and are owned by the beneficiary.

As the grantor may revoke or alter (via trust amendment) the provisions of the trust and therefore maintains control during his or her lifetime, there aren’t normally tax advantages involved. Furthermore, a revocable trust may allow the grantor to earn income from the trust during his or her lifetime.

So why, you ask, involve yourself with a revocable trust? The answer is fourfold.

One, you can prepare for mental incapacitation in which the RT can be administered by your Disability Trustee instead of by a court-supervised judge in probate (usually up to two years) or by a guardian or conservator which can last much longer, five, ten or even twenty years.

Two, so the assets may pass directly to the trust beneficiaries.

Three: privacy protection. By avoiding probate, which is public by requirement, the assets can convey without public scrutiny.

Four, it pre-empts organization and requires you to get your house in order and be sure all title docs, account statements, corporate minutes, stock certificates etc are in order for the trust and helps avoid the calamity of your family or other beneficiaries having to bring order to your estate along with the associated confusion and potential discord.

Bringing Order to The Estate

A revocable living trust (RLT) allows you to exert some control from the great beyond (after you’ve made your exit) over the inheritance you bequeath. Better even, an RLT can take the place of a will and allows for the disposition of assets more quickly sans court supervision or probate. Revocable trusts become irrevocable, in most cases at least, only after the trustmaker dies and can be designed to break into separate irrevocable trusts for the lifetime of the spouse or husband, children or other beneficiaries.

Au contraire, irrevocable trusts are often utilized by high net worth individuals to bequeath assets the control over which is released for charitable purposes along with the associated tax advantages for the trustor and protection from creditors. Once assets are distributed to the Beneficiaries, creditors can attach them as they can any other property owned by the Beneficiaries. The legal & tax consequences are significant as the assets funded into a revocable trust are still considered yours for creditor and estate tax purposes, without protection if you are sued while alive or from state & federal estate taxes once you pass away

Per Wikipedia, ‘A living trust, or inter vivos trust (inter vivos is Latin for “between the living”), is a trust created during a person’s lifetime to either save money on taxes or set up long term property management.^[1] All living trusts are designed to avoid probate proceedings and may in addition be used to reduce taxes, safeguard financial privacy, and to regulate the use of assets if the owner becomes incapacitated, and for other purposes.^[1]”

While the advantages of forming a trust, either revocable or irrevocable, are clear, there are certain disadvantages. First, there is more expense up front than simply writing a final will and testament. Nevertheless, a trust will allow your loved ones to avoid a costly court supervised guardianship over the long run.

Second, it takes time. You’ll need to contact your banks, investment and insurance companies, and transfer agents to change account and stock ownership and update beneficiaries; issue new stock certificates or assign partnership or LLC interests for closely held businesses; re-title cars and boats; and sign and record new deeds for real estate. For many, especially those in their later years, time is precious and this is the most inconvenient factor.

Third, you still need to create a Pour Over Will & Final Testament to catch your unfunded assets and pour them into your trust.

Fourth, the period to contest a trust is much longer than for a will, the latter generally 30-90 days, the former one to five years but sometimes longer.

To further explore trust related issues, contact Maple Sweet Real Estate at maplesweet.com, via email at info@maplesweet.com, call toll free at 800.525.7965 or consult an attorney including those listed by Maple Sweet Real Estate.

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William Maclay on Net Zero Energy Buildings: Providing Stable Returns In An Unstable World

Maple Sweet Real Estate is proud to present the following blog submission on Net Zero Energy Buildings from esteemed and highly accomplished Vermont architect, William Maclay. William Maclay Architects and Planners mission is to enhance the world we inhabit through making places for people and nature to live and to flourish with dignity, spirit, and beauty.

Green design has taken on increasing importance and relevance for Vermont real estate purchasers, investors and home builders.  Bill Maclay’s team is particularly well equipped to design homes and projects on the cutting edge of the carbon footprint revolution.

Net Zero Energy Buildings: Providing Stable Returns In An Unstable World, by William Maclay

Faced with multiple challenges from environmental pressures due to climate change, energy price volatility and the economic downturn, there has never been a better time to build.

But we’re not talking about any ordinary buildings—we are talking about the design and construction of buildings that minimize the use of natural resources and energy. Such buildings protect the environment, pay for themselves through improved efficiency, lower operating costs through stable energy costs and avoid the need for outside (fossil-fuel based) energy sources.

We call these buildings Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB). There are very few standing in the United States today—many more are on the drawing boards. But simply put, Net Zero energy buildings should become the new standard in “green” building as they can provide the best long-term solution to the environmental, energy and economic problems we face.

Net zero energy buildings (NZEBs) generate as much energy as they consume on an annual basis. The energy used is usually produced on-site and comes from renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal or biomass. Typically, the net zero building is connected to the electricity grid, using the grid as a balancing mechanism to accommodate the fluctuation of renewable energy sources.  Often, people will ask whether it’s possible to achieve NZEB in the cold climates of New England. While it’s certainly easier to achieve in warmer, southern climates, the net zero goal is very reachable, albeit more challenging, here in New England and other similar climates.

How to Get from Here to There: Efficiency First, Renewables Second

Because renewable energy sources are usually more expensive than non-renewable energy sources, the goal in any Net Zero energy building is to first reduce the energy needs of that building. Typically energy usage must be reduced by 50% or more (over current building efficiency codes). We call buildings that meet this greatly improved energy standard micro-load buildings.  After that renewables can be added cost effectively to make net-zero buildings.

Net Zero in New Construction versus Existing Buildings

Certainly, achieving micro load energy efficiency standards is easier and typically more cost-effective to do with a brand new building—essentially building it into the design plans from the outset. But it’s also possible to do when renovating existing buildings. With 300 billion square feet of existing buildings out there, bringing energy use down and improving building performance in the already built environment offers tremendous opportunities for savings.

Conclusion

Clearly, net zero energy buildings offer a tremendous opportunity for countering the environmental, energy and economic pressures we face today. But they will not become the standard for how we develop our buildings and communities overnight. It will take a concerted effort to educate business owners (and the public) about the potential these buildings offer and change the way we think. By taking a longer term view and seeing our buildings as the investments they truly are—investments into our energy future, the well-being of our planet and the health of our businesses—we will be moving toward a more stable, productive and sustainable way of life.

Some examples of Net Zero projects by Maclay Architects:

River House, Moretown, VT

The River House is a Net-Zero residence set on a stone dam abutment above the Mad River. It directly connects to the location through the use of site-harvested stone in both the building and the landscape. The house uses a super-insulated envelope, a 15 kW on-site photovoltaic array, and a ground source heat pump to achieve its Net-Zero energy goals. The linear structure is accented with three daylight monitors rising through a sedum-covered extensive green roof.

Dartt House, Waitsfield, VT

Renovations to this 1800’s era farmhouse, located in the historic village of Waitsfield, balanced concerns for preserving historic character and reducing energy demands. Insulating within the existing walls and roof preserved the historic quality of the building exterior, while improving efficiency. Similarly, high-performance, triple glazed windows were installed within existing frames. Energy reducing appliances, an air source heat pump, and heat recovery ventilation further reduced building loads.  These measures improve thermal comfort and indoor air quality to a micro-load building that is ready for an 8.5kW photovoltaic system to be installed in 2010 or 2011. This house is next to Maclay Architects offices which will be net-zero in 2010 with the addition of a 17.5 kW photovoltaic installation.

Putney School Field House, Putney, VT

The Putney School desired a new field house to meet their growing needs for high quality sports, wellness and social spaces, while seeking to create a model for the future that could be used as a tool for learning about the school’s core values of environmental based learning, sustainability and social consciousness.

The school also asked the design team to provide a building well-integrated into the existing campus and character of the local Putney community. With its 36.8 kW array, it is projected to be a net-zero building in 2010.

Learn more about these projects at  www.maclayarchitects.com

Special thanks to William Maclay for writing this, and to Lisa Sawin, Kevin Dennis & Eileen Hee of William Maclay Architects & Planners for their support in bringing this piece to press.

To list or look for central or northern Vermont real estate, email info@maplesweet.com,  call toll free 1-800-525-7965 or visit www.maplesweet.com

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Radon, Taken Seriously

January is National Radon Month, a great time to better understand this highly radioactive, odorless, colorless & tasteless gas that, given prolonged exposure, is the second leading cause of lung cancer.

The United Nation’s World Health Organization (WHO) states radon is a worldwide health risk in homes. Dr. Maria Neira of WHO said that “Most radon-induced lung cancers occur from low and medium dose exposures in people’s homes. ”  Click here for the World Health Organization’s Handbook On Indoor Radon

A Radon Electron Shell Diagram

Here’s a January Vermont Department of Health (802-863-7281)  Press Release on Radon:

BURLINGTON – The winter heating season is the best time to test homes for radon, a colorless, odorless gas present at elevated levels in about one out of every seven homes in Vermont. Prolonged exposure to radon is the second leading cause (after smoking) of lung cancer in the United States, and is responsible for more than 20,000 deaths annually.

The Health Department is encouraging Vermonters to test their homes for radon in January as part of National Radon Action Month.

“Exposure to radon is preventable and fixable through proper venting techniques,” said Austin Sumner, MD, State Epidemiologist for Environmental Health.

The cost of having a certified professional properly ventilate a home can range from $800 to $2,500, depending on the home’s characteristics.

Radon gas can get into your home from the soil and the water supply. A house can act like a large chimney, with warm air rising and escaping out upper floor windows and through cracks in the attic. This creates a vacuum at the lowest level of the house, which can pull the radon from the soil into the house. Because radon levels can change daily, weekly and seasonally, a test of three to 12 months (ideally including a heating season) gives the most accurate measurement of exposure. Radon testing should be done in the lowest level of living space in the house.

A Radon Test Kit

For a free long term test kit, email your request to radon@vdh.state.vt.us. Put the words “radon test kit” in the subject line of your email and be sure to include your name, phone number, and both your mailing and physical address, or call 1-800-439-8550.

To obtain a short-term test kit for $25, contact the Vermont Health Department Laboratory at 863-7335 or 800-660-9997, or visit www.healthvermont.gov.

Kits also are available through http://fairbanksmuseum.org (click on Explore, then Radon Education), or by e-mailing radon@fairbanksmuseum.org.

From the Wikipedia article on Radon: “Although radon exposure has only been conclusively linked to lung cancer, further studies may be needed to assess the relationship between radon and leukemia. The effects of radon if ingested are similarly unknown, although studies have found that its biological half-life ranges from 30-70 minutes, with 90 percent removal at 100 minutes. It has also been shown that radon progeny can attach itself to the smoke of cigarettes, which then become lodged within the lungs. It is considered likely that the combination of smoking and radon exposure increase risk synergistically.^“

The Environmental Protection Agency is a great source of information on Radon including their publication, A Citizen’s Guide to Radon in which radon test levels are addressed. “The average indoor radon level is estimated to be about 1.3 pCi/L, and about 0.4 pCi/L of radon is normally found in the outside air. The U.S. Congress has set a long-term goal that indoor radon levels be no more than outdoor levels. While this goal is not yet technologically achievable in all cases, most homes today can be reduced to 2 pCi/L or below.”

Professional Radon Mitigation has been shown to effectively reduce the concentration of Radon and Vermont Radon Mitigation Specialists guarantee the house will re-test below the recommended EPA levels following the installation of the vacuum based ventilation systems.

The map below is from the EPA and shows all but two Vermont counties have a Zone 2 predicted average indoor radon screening level of between 2 and 4 pico curies per liter.  Chittenden & Grand Isle Counties are Zone 3 with less than 2 pCi/L and are classified as low potential zones. None of the Vermont counties are in red Zone 1, which averages over 4 pCi/L.

For more information on Radon, connect to www.maple sweet.com, email info@maplesweet.com or call toll-free 800-525-7965 with questions.

EPA Vermont Radon Incidence Map

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