The EPA says it wants to consider new information on how rainfall and phosphorous levels affect the lake and what would be the most effective way to reduce pollution that flows into it.
The move could lead to stricter rules in Vermont on wastewater treatment and phosphorous discharges into waters that lead into the lake.
The EPA decision came in response to a 2008 federal lawsuit filed by the Conservation Law Foundation, which claimed the earlier plan wasn't working.
The administration of Gov. Jim Douglas has resisted calls for tougher anti-pollution steps for Lake Champlain. On Tuesday the governor condemned the EPA decision.
