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The Vermont Statutes Online
Title
06
:
Agriculture
Chapter
215
:
AGRICULTURAL WATER QUALITY
Subchapter
005
:
REGULATION OF MEDIUM AND SMALL FARM OPERATIONS
§
4858. Medium farm operation permits
(a)
Authorization to operation. No person shall operate a medium farm without
authorization from the Secretary pursuant to this section. Under exceptional
conditions, specified in subsection (d) of this section, authorization from the
Secretary may be required to operate a small farm.
(b) Rules;
general and individual permits. The Secretary shall establish by rule, pursuant
to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25, requirements for a "general permit" and
"individual permit" to assure that medium and small farms generating
animal waste comply with the water quality standards of the State.
(1)
"General" and "individual" permits issued under this
section shall be consistent with rules adopted under this section, shall
include terms and conditions appropriate to each farm size category and each
farm animal type as defined by section 4857 of this title and shall meet
standards at least as stringent as those established by federal regulations for
concentrated animal feeding operations. Such standards shall address waste
management, waste storage, development of nutrient management plans, carcass
disposal, and surface water and groundwater contamination, plus recordkeeping,
reporting, and monitoring provisions regarding such matters to ensure that the
terms and conditions of the permit are being met. The groundwater contamination
rules adopted by the Secretary under this section shall include a process under
which the Agency shall receive, investigate, and respond to a complaint that a
farm has contaminated the drinking water or groundwater of a property owner.
(2) The rules
adopted under this section shall also address permit administration, public
notice and hearing, permit enforcement, permit transition, revocation, and
appeals consistent with provisions of sections 4859 and 4861 of this title and
subchapter 10 of this chapter.
(3) Each general
permit issued pursuant to this section shall have a term of no more than five
years. Prior to the expiration of each general permit, the Secretary shall
review the terms and conditions of the general permit and may issue subsequent
general permits with the same or different conditions as necessary to carry out
the purposes of this subchapter. Each general permit shall include provisions
that require public notice of the fact that a medium farm has sought coverage
under a general permit adopted pursuant to this section. Each general permit
shall provide a process by which interested persons can obtain detailed
information about the nature and extent of the activity proposed to receive
coverage under the general permit. The Secretary may inspect each farm seeking
coverage under the general permit at any time, but no less frequently than once
every three years.
(c)(1) Medium
farm general permit. The owner or operator of a medium farm seeking coverage
under a general permit adopted pursuant to this section shall certify to the
Secretary within a period specified in the permit, and in a manner specified by
the Secretary, that the medium farm does comply with permit requirements
regarding an adequately sized and designed manure management system to
accommodate the wastes generated and a nutrient management plan to dispose of
wastes in accordance with required agricultural practices adopted under this
chapter and current U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrient management
standards. Any certification or notice of intent to comply submitted under this
subdivision shall be kept on file at the Agency of Agriculture, Food and
Markets. The Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets, in consultation with
the Secretary of Natural Resources, shall review any certification or notice of
intent to comply submitted under this subdivision with regard to the water
quality impacts of the medium farm for which the owner or operator is seeking
coverage, and, within 18 months of receiving the certification or notice of
intent to comply, shall verify whether the owner or operator of the medium farm
has established that there will be no unpermitted discharge to waters of the
State pursuant to the federal regulations for concentrated animal feeding
operations. If upon review of a medium farm granted coverage under the general
permit adopted pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary of Agriculture, Food
and Markets determines that the permit applicant may be discharging to waters
of the State, the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets and the Secretary
of Natural Resources shall respond to the discharge in accordance with the
memorandum of understanding regarding concentrated animal feeding operations
under section 4810 of this title.
(2) The owner or
operator of a small farm may seek coverage under the medium farm general permit
adopted pursuant to this section by certifying to the Secretary, in a manner
specified by the Secretary, that the small farm complies with the requirements
and conditions of the medium farm general permit.
(d) Medium and
small farms; individual permit. The Secretary may require the owner or operator
of a small or medium farm to obtain an individual permit to operate after
review of the farm's history of compliance, application of required
agricultural practices, the use of an experimental or alternative technology or
method to meet a State performance standard, or other factors set forth by
rule. The owner or operator of a small farm may apply to the Secretary for an
individual permit to operate under this section. To receive an individual
permit, an applicant shall in a manner prescribed by rule demonstrate that the
farm has an adequately sized and designed manure management system to
accommodate the wastes generated and a nutrient management plan to dispose of
wastes in accordance with required agricultural practices adopted under this
chapter and current U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrient management standards,
including setback requirements for waste application. An individual permit
shall be valid for no more than five years. Any application for an individual
permit filed under this subsection shall be kept on file at the Agency of
Agriculture, Food and Markets. The Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets,
in consultation with the Agency of Natural Resources, shall review any
application for a permit under this subsection and, prior to issuance of an
individual permit under this subsection, shall issue a written determination
regarding whether the permit applicant has established that there will be no
unpermitted discharge to waters of the State pursuant to federal regulations
for concentrated animal feeding operations. If, upon review of an application for
a permit under this subsection, the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets
that the permit applicant may be discharging to waters of the State, the
Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets and the Secretary of Natural
Resources shall respond to the discharge in accordance with the memorandum of
understanding regarding concentrated animal feeding operations under subsection
4810(b) of this title. The Secretary of Natural Resources may require a medium
or small farm to obtain a permit under 10 V.S.A. § 1263 pursuant to federal
regulations for concentrated animal feeding operations. Coverage of a medium
farm under a general permit adopted pursuant to this section or an individual
permit issued to a medium or small farm under this section is rendered void by
the issuance of a permit to a farm under 10 V.S.A. § 1263.
(e) A person
required to obtain a permit or coverage under this section shall submit an
annual operating fee of $1,500.00 to the Secretary. The fees collected under
this section shall be deposited in the Agricultural Water Quality Special Fund
under section 4803 of this title. (Added 2003, No. 149 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff.
June 3, 2004; amended 2005, No. 78, § 11, eff. June 24, 2005; 2015, No. 39, §
14; 2015, No. 64, §§ 7, 13.)