 So great to see everybody thanks for coming out on this incredible wonderful day We're a bit worth of course sandwiched in between yesterday's crazy 50 degrees And then tomorrow's where I there's gonna be a couple of us on powder tomorrow. I don't know who that's gonna be But so thank you very much for all coming out to the lehi center for Lake Champlain It's great to see you all here today My name is Phelan frets, and I have the great honor of being the executive director of this institution And as some of you might know I'm I'm gonna be retiring in the next couple of months after 20 years of Service to this organization. So it's to me. It's been a great run and so many of you in this room I've had the opportunity to work with you To interact with you for you to be support and part of the network that has made the lehi center So very very successful. So without all that we could not do the work here. I I'm not going to apologize because I love days like this at the lehi center We've got a thousand people in the building today. We are doing like education as you know education can be noisy It can be kind of fun. That's the more noise sometimes the better and so Behind us we could hear some growls from certain maybe small children or dinosaurs And then there's apparently there's a major presentation And in some partnership with actually global Foundries today Across the hall so that all that's happening in the middle of all this But we're also just pleased that all of you could come here and and join us in the enthusiasm for this great lake work And water quality work today. So I'm I'm I'm just gonna kick it off here but Wanted first of all say a warm welcome to the senator and Marcel to the lehi center Thank you so much for coming here, and we're so pleased that your team reached out to us And we get a chance to host this this this great day today, but I also want to welcome The UP at EPA Deputy administrator Janet McCabe. Thank you for coming all the way up from that place called Washington And join us today EPA administrator. I'm for region one David cash Thank you for coming the us the Vermont deputy commissioner and environmental protection Kim Kim Greenwood Thank you for being here, and then mayor Burlington Mero Weinberger. Thank you Mero for being here With that I'm going to step out I Think it's a senator you're up first Okay, senator Patrick lehi Thank you Thank you fellow nicer when we mentioned I was mentioning to the Deputy administrator and I Do appreciate you being here and David being here and everybody else And of course Kim who has to pick up after us here in Vermont wouldn't believe in the mayor but I was Saying to the deputy administrator as we walked around I think of how the centers Which we jokingly? Well fondly called the Marcel lehi center at home. How it's evolved but failing threats deserves It's I can't even begin to talk about how much credit he deserves. I I Every time I come in here and he says hey You know Patrick we got this or that we're planning this I said how the heck do you do that? I said what we're good and he tells me I'm like That's impossible, and he does it and so go out there just count the Young people and that's what we aim for these are the kids who are going to Carry on they're the ones who are going to protect the lake they're going to protect our environment and they're going to learn here and Of course Marcel and I Do get a kick out walking by the wreck in there because one the We're both scuba divers, but mostly in salt water one of our first Clearwater diving was out here and diving on on that wreck but no No, I it was the middle of the summer and I've never been that cold in the summertime and I was born in Vermont So we both were But you know they all I I don't want to embarrass you but We all owe you a great deal of credit and if you knew the number of times people going through my office in Washington We'll talk about going through here and what they learned and it's always something different and and that's great. And so We're doing this Throughout Vermont we've gone through a Pandemic that was a lot longer than anybody could have anticipated It has created enormous Problems and in business and education Obviously medical care and families and hopefully we're now coming out the other side and We could all take an example from what you've done here as a way to do it And now I think one of the most important Legislative vehicles helping us move the country forward is the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act It had an unnecessary delay for a while came past, but once it got passed it is well worthwhile It's we'd had decades of inaction many of us that fought for this before But we got a bipartisan By part of which is not the easiest thing to do these days in Washington One point trillion dollar infrastructure bill. We passed it. We enacted in November The president signed it and it's going to help bring our country's aging infrastructure into the 21st century Think of some of the things it's going to do to long neglect the communities not only in Vermont, but throughout the country We build our roads our bridges our railways expand broadband and You know Marcel and I live on a dirt road in Middlesex. We're glad that's a more broadband But then we'll build out a renewable energy grid which is so important and Some of the most substantial and important investments will be to restore environmental quality Clean water safe drinking water to every American They shouldn't be safe drinking water only depending upon where you live It should be to everybody and the EPA has worked so hard on that And then I must admit there is something very close to my heart The infrastructure bill includes 40 million dollars for our Great Lake Champlain Means the Lake Champlain program will have stable funding of at least eight million dollars each year for the next five years In addition And I'll be in addition to other money. I'll get in the annual preparations bills when the bills are finally enacted and I'll be meeting with the appropriations staff later this evening in Washington. I Hope we're going to see an all-time high annual appropriation of 20 million dollars for this program and I'll make Lake Champlain program my highest priority in the fiscal year 2023 next year's budget to be my last one is chairman of the Senate Corporations committee by then getting a five-year level funding it at the very least is great for us at this time Because the Lake Champlain program Led by the EPA and the states of both Vermont and New York Can now undertake more and bigger restoration projects than ever before And actually the 40 million is only a Small part of the investment when you think of the other things Municipal drinking water, mr. Bear wastewater Stormwater improvements things that you have to worry about every single day But it'll be an increase of more than four times Four times the current funding levels And not since the 1970s has so much been done To help our towns and cities and We are honored the usp a Deputy administrator Janet McCabe has come up here. It's always beautiful like this Don't try to fly out tomorrow and But she's come to Vermont the shores of Lake Champlain Explained what these investments mean for our country in our region. So Administrator Janet, would you please join us? I am a Confess to you guys right now, although I spent many years of my life in Boston. I'm a flat lander I live in the Midwest So it is an a special treat for me to look out there and and see something that's above sea level That's really wonderful senator Leahy What a what an honor and pleasure it is for me to be here today with you and meet you with just a Personal honor honestly You have done so much for this lake For this state and for the nation and as somebody who's not of a Monter I've known senator about senator Leahy my whole life. So I'm very grateful What a thrill to be here at this incredible facility And I'm gonna repeat some of the things that you heard senator Leahy talk about because that's why we're here today is to talk About what what is happening in this country with the bipartisan infrastructure law and the work that EPA working With mayor with the state are going to be able to do for the the people the families the kids who live in Vermont and Live around this incredible iconic resource The science center is a what a treasure it is for this community I know how important the comparable facilities are in in Indianapolis where I live for Thousands and thousands of children who are going to grow up to have our jobs some day your job someday And we need them to learn about the sturgeon and climate change and Dissolved oxygen and all of those things and they can learn about that and have fun here and with with their friends So thank you Phelan. It's a lovely to meet you and congratulations on 20 amazing years And I do not envy whoever takes this job after you I I Understand that Lake Champlain is home to more than 80 species of fish It's a beautiful and cherished place for the six hundred thousand people who live around it and Many many many of those people depend on it for their drinking water It is a National resource I Come from near those other great lakes senator and I know how deeply felt how deeply people feel about these resources that are in their communities Big bodies of water Or rivers or or bogs. They they get inside people They identify with them They remember going fishing there or swimming there with their grandpa and their grandma and their cousins and it means the world to them and We're so lucky because that means that they care and they will support programs like this and advocate for programs like like Senator Leahy has been responsible for bringing to the country to protect and preserve So I would say that that resources like Lake Champlain are the reason that many of us got involved in the jobs that we're in today We are this year celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act so that is the the the major piece of legislation that we have in this country along with the Clean Air Act and and Circla and and so many of those acts that were passed in the 1970s and the 1980s that Have led the country to to be able to be as focused on environmental protection as we are 50 years of the Clean Water Act is is remarkable And we will continue to support and use the Clean Water Act to preserve Lake Champlain and and and the drinking water that that lies under This entire country and provides drinking water for so many people It's great to be here with the mayor and deputy deputy commissioner Greenwood local leaders are where environmental protection happens Congress can can can Appropriate the money EPA can write regulations and provide that support But we will never ever know communities as well as the local leaders know them and it is EPA's major job to partner with local communities with with city governments with counties and with state partners in order to implement those important environmental laws and get that money out into the community where it's actually going to make a difference and I'm sure More than more than any of us down in Washington You are seeing the impacts of climate change around Lake Champlain and in Vermont every day And we were talking about how how much snow there would usually be This time of year or how much more frozen the lake would usually be We the climate change is happening in this country in the world and it's affecting us now President Biden knows that that's why he has made climate change one of the most important Underlying principles of the way he wants to govern and how he wants this country to be at the end of his administration And at the cornerstone of that is transforming our water infrastructure There is no better way to build a better better America than to deal with the crumbling infrastructure that That is in every community across the country in terms of drinking water and wastewater and the bipartisan Infrastructure law that the senator mentioned and was instrumental in getting passed is the largest single investment in water That the federal government has ever made EPA has 50 billion dollars that will go out to states across the country To make a difference in everybody's community as the senator said it should not matter How much money is in your pocket or your zip code or the color of your skin? You should have clean drinking water You should not have sewage backing up in your yard and many many Americans do on a regular basis as Part of the infrastructure law also as the senator mentioned 40 million dollars of investment will come to the Lake Champlain program We have a number of just just exquisite treasured Ecosystems around the country that are getting some attention through this bipartisan law and Lake Champlain is one So that is just just so so important So much work to do and I know that there are challenges that you face here toxic algal blooms From excess nutrients running off into the lake This 40 million dollars and additional investments will help the Lake Champlain program deal with those kinds of ongoing Issues it will also help with infrastructure projects around the state of Vermont To help with with water discharges and with drinking water Though the last thing I just want to mention before I turn this over to my colleague is to Is to emphasize that again through President Biden's? Emphasis EPA is looking at all of our programs through the lens of equity and environmental justice We know we know that people around this country do not share the burdens of pollution and environmental Degradation equally it does matter actually what your zip code is or the color of your skin To whether you have clean water to drink clean air to breathe and clean land to play on and president Biden is committed to making sure that the benefits of Of these programs are go to those underserved communities so that we can address those Decades old injustices around the country and I think that's that's that's what we all want to see that is a Win for our country a win for the future a win for all those little kids out there And we're just so grateful to be part of it So now I'm really thrilled to turn the podium over to my colleague David cash who is the EPA regional administrator in Region 1 He's our newest regional administrator. We're thrilled to have him on the job and look forward to his remarks Thank you so much Deputy Administrator McCabe. It is fantastic that this is my I think it's my 14th day of work And I get to come up here to this beautiful spot with incredible people at this in amazing institution So thank you so much Senator Leahy for welcoming us here to Burlington today. Thank you mayor for having us it's an it's an honor to stand here with all of you to celebrate this historic investment in Lake Champlain and EPA also thanks you for your steadfast support of the Lake Champlain Basin program and Which you've helped establish in 1990 so it's investments and our attention to this incredible resource have been going on decades and decades Thank you as has been noted to Dr. Phelan frets for hosting us here at the Echo Center and for your distinguished career here. I was a Science teacher in Western Massachusetts in the early 1990s and man What I would have given to have a resource like this To bring my students to really remarkable what you've done here and When we were walking around before the senator noticed the eyes as big as saucers that the kids have who come here and Gasp at the sturgeon or Gasp at someone who's dressed like a circus person juggling With circuits and electrons. I don't know what he was doing, but it looked really exciting And of course, thank you Deputy Administrator McCabe and Administrator Regan for for their leadership at EPA to realize the tremendous investment in water and wastewater Infrastructure that she described all around the country and that's an investment that will not only have returns in dollars And of course it will it will in dollars But also in quality of life in ecosystem health Sustainability in equity and economic growth and of course thanks to our partners in Vermont and New York and thank you to Eric Howe and the Lake Champlain Basin staff program Staff we couldn't make progress without these partnerships That Janet spoke about partnerships are the way we make these kinds of changes in our lives And I'm so thrilled now to be part of such a robust team every day I hear about different teams that I'm on that I didn't know I was on it's awesome This historic investment reflects all the work We still must do to restore and protect the lake so often in environmental protection We lack the resources to do what's necessary and now with your support In Congress and the Biden-Harris administration the bipartisan Infrastructure legislation provides our team and all of us with significant federal resources to accelerate progress And to build back better on a basin level and on a local level Our number one priority will be to support on the ground efforts That's a term that I know the deputy administrator said as well. She's in Washington I'm in Boston. We're often not on the ground on the ground is here on the ground is is what you folks Address and we're here to support that We are one number one effort is to reduce phosphorus runoff from farms Impervious surfaces like roads and parking lots and from wastewater treatment plants and stormwater pipes And as you know excess phosphorus runoff feeds both invasive plant species toxic algal algal blooms and Adversely affect both human health and the enjoyment of the lake as well as aquatic life The total maximum daily load plan when I talked with my colleagues at the office were always very hesitant to put in like Regulatory ease but if you think about it of like that's the maximum that the lake can stand of phosphorus and You know that's a bureaucrat ease and by the way, I love bureaucrats we work really hard to to work with our with our partners and We have really aggressive goals for phosphorus reductions in the States And of course I'd like to commend the state of Vermont for their work establishing strong regulatory Foundation as part of this partnership on which to build and execute the investments that we're gonna be making and of course There's been a lot of progress made but there's still a long way to go to restore Lake Champlain We all know that we can celebrate the advances we've made But we we need to roll up our sleeves and keep on working and that's what this bill is gonna do we need to reduce Phosphorus by about 34 percent and that's exactly what this 40 million dollars that deputy administrator McCabe talked about building infrastructure investing with cities and towns farming families wastewater treatment managers to make those Investments that are necessary to reduce pollution and maintain a robust and sustainable and equitable economy And 40 million dollars is a lot of money And the team will also be able to contribute to other important environmental projects that accelerate efforts to restore wetlands and other critical Habitats we can improve fish passage up the lakes many Tributory rivers and streams as well as control the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species We're thrilled to get to work with all of the partners discussed here today to make local community projects that get results for Lake Champlain a Reality a reality that improves the everyday lives of people who depend on who cherish who plan for the future of this remarkable resource You know lakes like this as the deputy administrator noted all over the world and throughout human history Have held special places in our psyches in our myths in our stories and histories And in our spirituality and it's an honor to be part of the sacred work of preserving such a treasure For the children who are out there today and who are you have all supported? So thank you very much Now I have the honor of introducing Deputy Commissioner Tim Greenwood of the Department of Environmental Conservation here in Vermont And since 2019 She has been on the forefront of the state's effort to streamline permitting cutting red tape while providing the kind of Environmental protection that Vermont is well known for and she brings experience from both the public and private sectors Exactly what is needed when addressing the kind of complicated challenges that we face here in Lake Champlain Deputy Commissioner Greenwood Thank you It's a pleasure to be here I'd like to start with Echoing my sincere thanks to the senator and our colleagues at EPA Those that are here today and those that we work with every day Collaboratively and really we couldn't do what we do without that relationship with them So we are absolutely thrilled to be here this is a moment of celebration for all of us and if you've been working in the environmental field for Very long, you know there sometimes are not that many Occasions to celebrate so this is one. I'm very grateful to be a part of today This influx of federal funding for Vermont is For us a once in a lifetime once in a generation possibly once in an ever once in two generation Opportunity for us and we do not intend to miss that opportunity. We are excited about this work We are daunted and we are excited. I'm going to today talk about the Kind of the places where we are going to focus on putting those funds where where they're going what they're going to do And I'm very much looking forward to hearing the mayor's remarks about his plans for Kind of fully executing those funds We are anticipating at the agency of natural resources Over 400 million dollars coming into our water infrastructure. That is an incredible opportunity Our department the Department of Environmental Conservation is a subset of the agency of natural resources to give you a sense of perspective Our annual base operating budget is 120 million and we are looking at 400 to 500 million dollars Coming in to help us help for monitors. That is incredible and we are very excited about that We are going to focus in three primary broad programmatic areas for that funding Water infrastructure brownfields and dam safety For our drinking water alone has been mentioned this is a massive investment for us this funding increase represents a six-fold increase in our annual Funding for clean drinking water and that impacts every vermoner in the state Again as has been previously mentioned it represents our largest investment ever in Vermont's drinking water and water infrastructure It's an incredible opportunity for us And when we talk about water infrastructure what that means across the country can be different things here in Vermont That means the water that is coming to and from our homes bringing our water in taking our wastewater out It means the pipes that keep our parking lots from flooding Even though that might not be obvious right now we have a lot of ice jams and areas flooding keeping those parking lots clean and Keeping that water treated and obviously keeping ultimate the ultimate source our lakes and our rivers clean It's a tremendous investment and it is It is largely pipes, but it is more than pipes and it is a credible investment for us It is not an exaggeration to say that water infrastructure in Vermont touches almost every facet of every Vermonner's life every day Even if they might not think about it The second area of broad programmatic support that we're going to be exercising with the with these influx of funds is Around our brownfield sites brownfield sites are those sites where there are known or suspected hazardous waste Contaminations which obviously makes those sites difficult to develop and to occupy the funding that will receive for this work is around 15 million dollars and that is going to go directly to private developers and Municipalities who are trying to redevelop these sites so that they can be reoccupied which not only is a benefit to our environment But also presents a tremendous Environmental and economic development opportunity Vermont has 5,000 approximate known or Suspected of brownfield sites which means that there is probably one in your town and chances are pretty good So this funding will will go a long way into helping us address those One of the most wonderful things about that is that once these sites are cleaned up They're generally cleaned up forever and that problem is taken off the table and we can move on to solving other problems Our third area of broad programmatic support is our dam safety program Vermont has Approximately 1,200 dams in Vermont many serve a useful purpose, but some are representative of Water-powered bygone era and pose hazards to the folks living downstream of those dams For instance, if those dams if we get a large storm those dams fail People living downstream can have their their home property or even life impacted the funding presented Here in this opportunity is over a million dollars for us to take advantage and make sure that those resources are Safe for people living downstream and could not come at a more opportune moment for us to invest in our program Is ready to invest in this and they are very eager to get going on this work so in addition to those three broad programmatic areas and I neglected to mention that those three areas the funding will go directly into existing processes Which means that we don't need to get set up to set figure out how are we going to distribute this money? Who's how who's going to apply for it? We have those processes all set up and that means quicker processes for all Vermonters And we're very proud to be moving on that in addition to those three sets of funding that are going into existing processes We have three new additional sources of funding that are coming that we're also very excited about The first is additional brownfields money that was mentioned that will be awarded by EPA competitively across the region The second is a a massive amount of funding to remove lead in our drinking water to the tune of a hundred and fifty million dollars That is another example of a problem that once we remove those lead service lines that problem disappears forever And so it's an incredible opportunity and a rare opportunity in the environmental field to solve a problem once and for all The third area is the removal of PFAS and other emerging contaminants from our drinking water We are being awarded 40 million dollars over five years to take these contaminants out of our drinking water and Ensure that Vermonters are safe and that their drinking water is clean And underlying all of this of course is our commitment and recognition that we have not fairly Distributed our environmental burdens. We have we have inequitably distributed them We are very much looking forward to our partners at EPA and in the communities to make sure that we are we are having a more focused and honest conversation about our environmental burdens and bringing in our vulnerable overburdened and Historically marginalized populations into that conversation So this is obviously as I mentioned several times a lot of money for the agency a lot of money for Vermont And we are we are so excited about this part of the reason that we're excited is because we've had a little a little taste I say a little taste 40 million dollars is not a little taste. It is a large taste Money coming in with the American Rescue Plan Act We have been able to move to allocate two-thirds of that money already in eight months So we have set up systems that will help us to facilitate the movement of this funds these funds from the federal government through EPA and out of Vermonters in a way That have that we haven't done before these systems are set up and ready to go and we are eager and standing by and Ready to to move that money out So to wrap up This funding is obviously very transformational for Vermont It gives us the opportunity to solve our environmental problems once and for all it also gives us an opportunity to make investments into our maintenance and Infrastructure in a way that will ensure That we won't be back here having the same conversations again about the same infrastructure For decades and possibly generations. It is setting us up for transformational change We are very very proud to be working with our local communities our contractors Planters engineers Municipalities to be moving these funds and putting them on the ground and putting them to work So on behalf of all Vermonters, I would like to thank the senator Thank you senator Leahy and thank EPA and our colleagues about for their support to getting us to this point and I think it's time for us to get to work and we are ready to go I Like to pass the podium along to the to mayor Weinberger and I'm very excited to hear his remarks All right. Well, good afternoon everyone It's exciting to be part of this event. Thank you for the opportunity to be here with you and To our federal partners here You're gonna if you haven't already kind of grasped this about Vermont one thing about Vermont is it's a very small place everybody knows everybody else and It's a little emotional being here today with two individuals have had a really significant impact on my life senator Patrick Leahy is someone I've known for since personally known since 1991 when I served as an intern in his Washington DC office and Not quite as long. I've known failing a good chunk of that time since moving back here to Burlington I was born in Vermont as well, but left for a while move back to the Burlington area and you know Felon must have met. I think the building wasn't yet open when we met for the first time and Had the privilege and I will just Just take the I don't know how many more times I'm gonna get to speak publicly about The work that I've gotten to enjoy with failing. So I am just gonna tell two quick stories About the work with failing since he's here It's an opportunity to recognize him in his remarkable career first story is about this this awning here, which is You know since I've been sitting right here looking at it for the last 20 minutes I can't help but remember as a new board member for for the Echo Center Failing I kind of got involved in the building of this awning and the initial read from the city money This is before the zoning administrator worked for me the initial and in fact He was regulating many of my projects He initially the initial read from the city was this awning was not legal in the zoning But you know developers get a bad name, but this they kept having a developer on the board can have some advantages I I've looked at the zone and I thought I'd go back to him and ask a couple more questions and and now the awning is here and I don't think either of us quite envision we knew was gonna be great for echo for events out here and for Cultural events we didn't know was gonna serve as such a great federal security detail carport as it is right now though This is Good to see a guy and I used more seriously one thing I'm proud of and I think shows what a great leader failing has been is that he has never accepted that echo would just be a Kids museum or just even be a science museum or even just be a place that Kind of held the importance of Lake Champlain in the base And he's always understood the echo In a small city like Burlington had the potential to be more and needed to be more and many years ago now Many years before this long-overdue reckoning on race racial justice racial echo in America began echo under Fallen's leadership Really began to focus on diversity equity inclusion issues and at one point came to the city and asked for the city's help and ensuring that every day on Martin Luther King day that Echo would be free and open to everyone in this community and that there'd be a full day of programming focused on Racial equity and inclusion issues and it's become I believe it is now the busiest day of the year every year it's even busier than today and The city's been proud to be a partner in that with your leadership failing and let's let's let's make sure that That kind of partnership continues beyond your time here. I think it's a sign of One of your great accomplishments and a sign of the vision you've had for this this agency. So thank you for your service film It's also a kind of emotional be here with Senator Leahy I think this is the first time since the senator announced his retirement to you guys leaving us here on Our own it feels lonelier with knowing you guys aren't going to be here that much longer I It is always an honor to be with the senator here in an event on the waterfront where the senator has done so much for So long to make Burlington's waterfront one of the great places in this country really one of great places in this world and That and in such a Significant important economically culturally environmentally part of this state and It is exciting to be here as And you know, I got to learn something in these presentations too about just how great of an impact When fully implemented these infrastructure bills are going are going to have I won't let me just tell one, you know, we've heard a lot from everybody else I won't I'll try to just I think I just really want us to tell one story Which I think I hope captures why this is so important that the federal government is stepping up in this way in 2018 we had a very bad summer here in in Burlington We had a number of things go wrong break in our sewage treatment facilities disinfection systems went wrong We had a valve that got stuck and that poured Many gallons and millions of gallons of untreated were not fully treated sewage into the lake and we Had bad weather as well and that resulted in it and we still although we've made great progress on this people don't realize it We've made enormous progress with respect to Unplanned releases these you know these these overflow events when storms hit We had that summer. We had a particularly bad summer as well so all this thing sort of culminated it really was a crisis of sorts for the community and We as a result of that Accelerated plans that we had in place to reinvest in our wastewater and stormwater system and we went to the voters that summer with one of the largest infrastructure packages in the city's history and Voters responded in a really remarkable way. I don't you know outside of You know, it's I know it's not a day to make speak light of anything happening You know in in Russia, you know outside of elections In in got with governments like that. You don't hear about 92% of voters supporting anything Vermont Burlington voters came forward 92% supported that that those investments in our stormwater wastewater Systems and we're in the process of implementing that now and there we haven't had a summer like that since 2018 We don't intend to have another one Here's the thing though that 30 million dollars of investment, which is a huge number for a community of 40 proud to say erupt of 45,000 in the latest census people it's it's a lot of money and We are reaching the limits that we have throughout my decade in office We've had a real focus on infrastructure and we've gone to voters many times for Overdue investments and different aspects of our aging infrastructure and they've always responded Until this past fall. We actually lost that we have 57% of the voters supported Infrastructure package this past fall, but you need under our charter a two-thirds vote. So it failed We have a smaller version out in front of voters right now. We have an election next Tuesday, believe it or not and We've cut it back substantially recognizing that I think we are really at the limits of what we can do In as such a time of such financial uncertainty With just local resources. We've always had some of course assistance from from the federal government, but to hear that this Assistance at a wholly, you know kind of order of magnitudes greater level is is incredibly welcome and needed news because That 30 million dollars investment I was talking about all that did is help us fix Old aging infrastructure that was broken and sort of modernized those systems. It did nothing Or very little towards the next round of investments We know we need to make to properly particularly protect Lake Champlain from stormwater runoff and so to know that there is going to be significant assistance as we You know, and we we talk about TMDL's all the time here, too I think it's gotten me beyond the bureaucrats here in Burlington because Burlington's care a great deal about the lake I to hear that we are gonna have real Financial assistance in meeting those goals is very welcome news the city of Burlington will certainly be Continue to be a great partner to the state and the federal governments in implementing those systems. I think our we It could be an exciting time for intergovernmental collaboration if we can get both the investment right as well as the policy Details right to ensure that not only we're investing those dollars But they're going into the areas where they have the greatest marginal impact and and you know because it's I think Vermonters are like Burlingtonians are very much there on the importance of this They want to see progress and it's been what what too too long without enough progress on this issue Let's hope this confluence of Events this once in a couple generations opportunity means that we can deliver that progress to the people of Burlington and the people of Vermont and of this country. Thanks for the chance to be with you Thank you all very much for your comments At this point, I think Staffer here Question for senator lady Russia launched an extensive invasion of Ukraine today Would you support the deployment of additional US troops to Eastern Europe in the face of that? Well, we are putting additional troops and material into Eastern Europe to most of our Allies there not in not in Ukraine but elsewhere. I Think American people have to understand this is one of the greatest crises we've faced in decades I'm glad to see that Most Republicans and Democrats are coming together trying to support The very careful and major steps President Biden has taken. I think it has sent a terrible terrible signal to our allies around the world The former president mr. Trump has called the dictator Right over Putin a genius and saying he's doing the right thing He's not doing the right thing. He's just stabilizing Europe He's going to cause untold deaths of innocent people We should be praying for the people in Ukraine. I've walked the streets of that capital. I've seen families with their children Playing playgrounds Families walking to children walking to school. I think that a Dictator who has become a multi multi multi billionaire By stealing and by corruption and by empowering the people around him Somebody who has had those who have dared to Stand up to him either poisoned or jailed You don't call him a genius You call him what he is This is a man who is so taken with himself and his failed ambitions He's ready to disrupt the whole Western world. It is wrong and we will Going back to Washington tonight. I'll be getting more Briefings I I don't mean to get so Wand up on this but I'm the president pro tem of the Senate. I I Pay very closely to the fact that I'm third in line to the presidency and I watch the reports I get the reviews I get the Intelligence I get it's a very serious thing. I would urge people to look at what senator mark Warner when the finest senators down there is the chair of the Intelligence committee sit in the news this morning. We may well-paced major cyber attacks It's not just the troops the tanks The artillery on the border of Ukraine It's those things that are in our border and right over here and right over there in cyber. So You ask a valid question Marcell knows I Don't know a lot the last couple days, but This is a very very serious thing And I contrast that with what we're seeing here today Let me come back to this Look at the wonderful people here who work who dedicate themselves Not as Republicans or as Democrats, but as Americans Making life better for Americans for our children listen to the children playing out there And think of the future they have think of those what their parents hope for them Think of what they can do for us in our whole state That is what should be people's goals Not to make oneself instead of a hundred billionaire or 200 billionaire and a dictator This is wrong the lives that are being shattered because of this man's eagle is Is It's hard to find times in history Unfortunately, we have seen some very dark times. So I apologize for going on so long But I'm the longest serving member of the US Senate. I've seen crises over those years I've been bolstered by my fellow Vermonters in both parties Help us get through those crises This one both in reality and as an existential crisis is one of the worst things I've seen So with that with that good news I think what do you see with some of the sanctions are going to be coming tonight and tomorrow The thing with the sanctions only work if our allies join us with them and It's easy to say we're going to have sanctions, but the only work if you have the allies with them the extraordinary extraordinary amount of time that has been spent by the president the vice president the Secretary Defense Secretary state our dedicated Women and men in our State Department in bringing together other countries two months ago three months ago. I Don't think you could have said we'd have the unity for sanctions. We have now But I know the the weekends the evenings the phone calls the president's made I know the personal appeal he's made to a lot of people that he knew before even when he was in the Senate and I know the calls I've gotten from parliamentarians around the world across the political spectrum and The unity that we're seeing that is the only way the sanctions work. You can put on more and more and more sanctions and But the only work if we have unity and we have to understand We are going to face threats too. That's what senator Warner was warning about on cyber threats And it is certainly something that we're seeing already. I won't go into the numbers, but you would be Well, it is frightening to see the increase in the number of Attempts to get into our key Cyber systems Yes You know in Hungary I remember when I was a young student at St. Michael's an undergraduate student and the number of refugees they were there as students Because of the things that so the then Soviet Union was doing And over the years I've seen so many of them are now the the surgeon the educator the artist the writer and We were all stronger because of that you know my the ladies came to Vermont in the 1850s because of the famines in Ireland But the Italian side of my family came around 1900 Because of what was happening in Italy at the time They all added to this country They all added to it. I became the first lady to get a college degree my sister the second one But then I've seen so many others. I'll tell you just one quick story That Judge Sessions Tells the federal judge here. He would do every year he would do Immigration swearing in he started doing them on 9-11 after what happened 9-11 there's most recent one he was swearing him in and he wanted to Tell them a story of the immigrants. He said he remembered swearing in an immigrant from another country and Proud he was to do that proud to become an American Judge Sessions didn't had a serious blood clot in his brain. He would have died came close to die he said when he woke up from surgery and Looked at the surgeon. He just saved his life It was that same immigrant days for him so if America ever stops closing our borders To immigrants, especially those fleeing oppression Then we're not the great country we should be. Thank you