Case Title: Agency of Natural Resources v. Towns

Citation: 173 Vt. 552, 790 A.2d 450

Docket Number: 

State: vermont

Court: Vermont Supreme Court

Date: 2001-09-26T00:00:00Z

Document:
Agency of Natural Resources v. Towns (2000-009); 173 Vt. 552; 790 A.2d 450

[Filed 26-Sep-2001]

[Motion for Reargument Denied 16-Jan-2002]

                                 ENTRY ORDER

                      SUPREME COURT DOCKET NO. 2000-009

                             JANUARY TERM, 2001

Agency of Natural Resources	       }	APPEALED FROM:
                                       }
                                       }
     v.	                               }	Environmental Court
                                       }	
Richard F. Towns	               }
                                       }	DOCKET NO. 162-10-96 Vtec

                                                Trial Judge: Merideth Wright

             In the above-entitled cause, the Clerk will enter:

       Defendant Richard F. Towns appeals from a decision of the
  Environmental Court affirming a  determination by the Secretary of the
  Agency of Natural Resources (Agency) that Towns had  operated a solid waste
  management facility without proper certification in violation of 10 V.S.A.
  §  6605(a).  Towns argues that he was engaged in recovery and reuse of
  materials, not solid waste  disposal, and that the Agency had no authority
  to issue an administrative order directing Towns to  clean up the site.  He
  also contends that the Agency's action was barred by the statute of
  limitations.   We affirm.

       This case has a lengthy history.  In 1972 Towns purchased a parcel of
  land in the Town of  Johnson and built a home there.  The rear foundation
  of the home was laid next to a steep  embankment. To create a useable
  backyard, he filled the space with construction and demolition  waste along
  with solid waste.  He also filled a hole in his front yard with similar
  materials.   Incidental to his normal course of business as a trash hauler,
  Towns continued to dump materials on  the property until he sold it to
  James and Christine Wilkens in June of 1987.

       Before he sold the property, Towns informed the Wilkenses of the
  existence of the fill.  He  assured them that it was "safe and legal," but
  they remained concerned.  Within a few weeks of  purchasing the property in
  1987, Mrs. Wilkens contacted the Attorney General's office, hoping to 
  receive some assistance.  She testified that she spoke with someone in the
  office, though she could  not identify that person.  In that conversation,
  she identified herself and her property and explained  her concern over the
  fill that Towns had dumped in her back and front yards.  Based on her
  responses  to several questions about the condition of the site, she was
  told that such dumping was a common  occurrence in Vermont, and that the
  State had no authority to remedy the problem because the fill  was covered,
  was not visible from the road, and was not leaching into water.  

 

  There is also some  evidence that Mrs. Wilkens attempted to contact the
  Attorney General's office second time in 1989,  but again the office took
  no action.

       In 1992, the Wilkenses attempted to sell the property purchased from
  Towns.  A prospective  purchaser, concerned over the contents of the fill,
  arranged to have test pits dug to determine the fill's  content.  A friend
  of the prospective purchaser contacted an environmental enforcement officer
  for  the Agency, who then observed the dig.  Each of the test pits revealed
  solid waste.

       In 1996, the Agency issued an administrative order pursuant to 10
  V.S.A. § 8008, alleging that  Towns had constructed and operated a solid
  waste disposal facility without the proper certification in  violation of
  10 V.S.A. § 6605(a).  The order required Towns to hire a consultant to
  develop a site  remediation plan, remove the solid waste, and restore the
  site with clean fill.  Towns appealed the  Agency's order to the
  Environmental Court, which affirmed the Agency's determination that Towns 
  violated 10 V.S.A. § 6605(a) but vacated and remanded the administrative
  order to clarify the  remediation section.

       In Agency of Natural Resources v. Towns, 168 Vt. 449,