The General Assembly hereby finds and declares that:
(1) The State should adhere to the policy for management of groundwater of the State as set forth in section 1410 of this title.(2) In recognition that the groundwater of Vermont is a precious, finite, and invaluable resource upon which there is an ever-increasing demand for present, new, and competing uses; and in further recognition that an adequate supply of groundwater for domestic, farming, dairy processing, and industrial uses is essential to the health, safety, and welfare of the people of Vermont, the withdrawal of groundwater of the State should be regulated in a manner that benefits the people of the State; is compatible with long-range water resource planning, proper management, and use of the water resources of Vermont; and is consistent with Vermont's policy of managing groundwater as a public resource for the benefit of all Vermonters.(3) It is the policy of the State that the State shall protect its groundwater resources to maintain high-quality drinking water.(4) It is the policy of the State that the groundwater resources of the State shall be managed to minimize the risks of groundwater quality deterioration by regulating human activities that present risks to the use of groundwater in the vicinities of such activities while balancing the State's groundwater policy with the need to maintain and promote a healthy and prosperous agricultural community.(5) It is the policy of the State that the groundwater resources of the State are held in trust for the public. The State shall manage its groundwater resources in accordance with the policy of this section, the requirements of subchapter 6 of this chapter, and section 1392 of this title for the benefit of citizens who hold and share rights in such waters. The designation of the groundwater resources of the State as a public trust resource shall not be construed to allow a new right of legal action by a person other than the State of Vermont, except to remedy injury to a particularized interest related to water quantity protected under this subchapter.Added 1985, No. 53, § 1; amended 2007, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.) , § 1, eff. 6/9/2008; 2019 , No. 14, § 33, eff. 4/30/2019.