By Sam Douglass

On Wednesday, the Senate and House gave final approval to legislation that makes reforms to the state’s laws governing PCB testing in schools. While previous versions of the bill from the House proposed to end testing entirely, the Senate took a different approach. The bill pushes back the deadline to complete testing, creates a fund to assist with testing and remediation, and adds a new PCB testing requirement tied to future school construction aid. 

Current law requires PCB testing in Vermont schools to be completed by 2027, but funding set aside to defray the cost has almost run out. According to Sen. Kesha Ram-Hinsdale (D-Chittenden Southeast), who spoke for the Committee on Education, the Senate version of the bill aims to create balance between the lack of funding and the need to reduce PCB levels.

“[The bill] recognizes the inconvenient truth between not knowing what PCB air levels exist in our schools and having the full resources to remediate any alarming levels of PCB contamination that we might find in our schools,” said Ram-Hinsdale.

An analysis conducted by Campaign for Vermont shows that the state has already appropriated $44 million towards the testing and remediation of PCBs. Fewer than half of Vermont’s schools built before 1980 have been tested, and with the 2027 deadline approaching, funding isn’t available to test the remaining schools. 

The bill pushes the testing deadline to 2035 and creates a fund to capture new revenue sources. Attorney General Charity Clark is engaged in a lawsuit against PCB manufacturer Monsanto, a lawsuit which could help fund further testing and remediation. Through the new fund, these costs will be fully covered to the extent that funding is available.

Several schools across the state that tested positive for unacceptable levels of PCBs have spent a considerable amount of money and effort managing remediation efforts and relocating students, to varying levels of success. In 2024, North Country Union High School in Newport moved students and classrooms into six tents outdoors while the school looked for a solution to improve air quality after testing deemed indoor PCB levels unacceptable.

Information for In Committee news reports are sourced from GoldenDomeVt.com and the General Assembly website. Generative AI has not been used in the writing of this story.