State of Vermont 

Superior Court—Environmental Division 

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E N T R Y R E G A R D I N G M O T I O N 

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In re J.R. Vinagro Corp. Waste Transportation Permit Docket No. 76-6-13 Vtec 

 

Title: Motion to Clarify Statement of Questions (Filing No. 1) 

Filed: August 8, 2013 

Filed By: Appellee Vermont Agency of Natural Resources 

Response in opposition filed on 8/13/13 by Appellant J.R. Vinagro Corporation 

 ___ Granted X Denied ___ Other 

 On June 13, 2013, J.R. Vinagro Corporation (Vinagro) appealed the decision of the 

Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) denying Vinagro’s Vermont Waste Transporter 

Permit Application. Vinagro subsequently filed a single question on appeal to this Court: 

Whether the Waste Management & Prevention Division of the Vermont 

Department of Environmental Conservation wrongfully denied Appellant’s 

October 22, 2012 application for a waste transportation permit. 

ANR now moves to require Vinagro to clarify this Statement of Questions on the grounds that it 

is vague and overbroad and does not adequately define the scope of the appeal. Vinagro 

responds that ANR’s letter of denial does not identify any specific basis for denial and therefore 

a broad Statement of Questions is warranted. 

 In this appeal, we review the permit application de novo. 10 V.S.A. § 8504(h). The 

Statement of Questions, however, limits the scope of review to the specific issues raised for 

appeal. V.R.E.C.P. 5(f). The Statement of Questions performs a similar function to a civil 

complaint and requires only a “short, concise and plain statement that will establish the scope 

of the appeal, and ultimately, the scope of the issues for trial.” In re Rivers Development, LLC, 

Nos. 7-1-05 Vtec, 68-3-07 Vtec, slip op. at 14 (Vt. Envtl. Ct. Jan. 8, 2008) (Durkin, J.). 

 We generally require that a Statement of Questions not be overly vague. Where a 

permit is being appealed, the Statement of Questions should put the other parties on notice of 

the specific reasons for the challenge. See id.; In re Unified Buddhist Church, Inc., Indirect 

Discharge Permit, No. 253-10-06 Vtec, slip op. at 5 (Vt. Envtl. Ct., May 11, 2007) (Wright, J.). 

This enables the parties and the court to focus on the issues in controversy rather than the entire 

proposal. 

 In the matter before us we do not have a challenge to a permit that was granted but 

instead an appeal from a permit denial. ANR denied Vinagro’s application in a one-page letter 

asserting that Vinagro’s past violations create the potential for significant harm to the public 

health, public safety, or the environment. ANR did not more specifically describe the past 
In re J.R. Vinagro Corp. Waste Transport. Permit, No. 76-6-13 Vtec (EO on Mot. to Clarify SOQ) (09-13-2013) 

Pg. 2 of 2. 

violations or the possible harm. In light of ANR’s general denial of Vinagro’s permit 

application, a general Statement of Questions is warranted. 

In this de novo proceeding, this Court does not consider any previous decisions or 

proceedings below; “rather, we review the application anew as to the specific issues raised in 

the statement of questions.” In re Whiteyville Props. LLC, No. 179-12-11 Vtec, slip op. at 1 (Vt. 

Super. Ct. Envtl. Div. Dec. 13, 2012) (Durkin, J.); see also Chioffi v. Winooski Zoning Bd., 151 Vt. 

9, 11 (1989) (quoting In re Poole, 136 Vt. 242, 245 (1978) (“A de novo trial ‘is one where the case 

is heard as though no action whatever has been held prior thereto.’”)). We therefore interpret 

Vinagro’s question before the Court to ask whether Vinagro’s October 22, 2012 application for a 

waste transportation permit should be granted. 

Accordingly, we DENY ANR’s motion to clarify the Statement of Questions. 

_________________________________________ 

 Thomas G. Walsh, Judge Date

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