reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 155 - Acquisition of Interests in Land by Public Agencies › § 6305. Exchanges of land

§ 6305. Exchanges of land
In exercising its authority to acquire property by exchange, a department may accept real property and rights and interests in the real property, and may convey to the grantor of such real property or rights and interests in the real property any State-owned property under the jurisdiction of the department, but only with the favorable advice and recommendation of the Interagency Committee on Natural Resources. In effecting such exchanges, the department may also utilize for exchange purposes any privately owned land and rights and interests in the land donated or made available to it for such purpose of an exchange. The land and rights and interests thus exchanged shall be approximately equal in fair market value, provided that the department may accept cash from or pay cash to the grantor in such an exchange, in order to equalize the value of the property and rights and interests in the property being exchanged. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law and with the approval of the Interagency Committee on Natural Resources, State real property and rights and interests in the property may, with the authorization of the department or other agency having custody thereof, be transferred without consideration to the jurisdiction of a department designated under section 6302 of this title for use in carrying out the provisions of this chapter. (Added 1969, No. 229 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; amended 2019, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 21.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 155 - Acquisition of Interests in Land by Public Agencies › § 6306. Exemption from taxation

§ 6306. Exemption from taxation
(a) The rights and interests in real property acquired by a municipality or State agency under the authority of this chapter shall be considered as municipal or State-owned land, as the case may be, with respect to taxation and State reimbursement in lieu of taxes.
(b)(1) The Commissioner of Taxes may certify that real property acquired by a qualified organization under this chapter is being held and maintained for the purposes expressed in section 6301 of this title. As a condition of that certification, the Commissioner may require that the qualified organization provide adequate assurances that the property is being so held and maintained, including written agreements with the Department of Taxes, deeds, covenants, or other conveyances. Property that is so certified:
(A) if in the nature of an interest in fee simple, shall be assessed on the basis of its actual use or may be enrolled by the qualifying organization in a current use program under 32 V.S.A. chapter 124; or
(B) shall be exempt from assessment and taxation, if in the nature of an interest other than fee simple.
(2) For purposes of this section, where a qualified organization holds a lease in the property for a term greater than ten years, including renewal terms, or holds such other interests as the Commissioner shall determine to be substantially equivalent to an interest in fee simple, the organization shall be deemed to hold an interest in fee simple.
(3) A certification granted to a qualified agency shall first affect the April 1 grand list following the date that all information deemed necessary by the Commissioner has been provided by the qualified organization.
(c) After acquisition by a municipality, State agency, or qualified organization of a right or interest in real property under the authority of this chapter, the owner of any remaining right or interest in the real property not so acquired shall be taxed, under the applicable provisions of 32 V.S.A. chapter 123, only upon the value of those remaining rights or interests to which he or she retains title. The State agency or qualified organization, and the Department of Taxes, shall cooperate with that owner and with the town assessing such tax in the determination of the fair market value of any such remaining right or interest.
(d) Property held by a qualified organization and taxed or exempted under subsection (b) of this section shall be subject to a conversion tax if the Commissioner determines that it is no longer being held and maintained for the purposes expressed in section 6301 of this title. The amount of the conversion tax shall be five times the amount of the taxes avoided by reason of the exemption in the most recent year. The conversion tax shall be paid to the municipality in which the property is located. (Added 1969, No. 229 (Adj. Sess.), § 7; amended 1987, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 45; 1997, No. 60, § 68c; 2013, No. 73, § 26, eff. June 5, 2013; 2019, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 22.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 155 - Acquisition of Interests in Land by Public Agencies › § 6307. Enforcement

§ 6307. Enforcement
(a) Injunction. In any case where rights and interests in real property are held by a municipality, State agency, or qualified organization under the authority of this chapter, the legislative body of the municipality, the State agency, or the qualified organization may institute injunction proceedings to enforce the rights of the municipality, State agency, or qualified organization, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, and may take all other proceedings as are available to an owner of real property under the laws of this State to protect and conserve its right or interest.
(b) Liquidated damages. Any contract or deed establishing or relating to the sale or transfer of rights or interests in real property under the authority of this chapter may provide for specified liquidated damages, actual damages, costs, and reasonable attorney’s fees in the event of a violation of the rights of the municipality, State agency, or qualified organization under the municipality or State agency.
(c) Conservation rights. The holder of conservation rights and interests may seek injunctive relief and damages against any person who damages the holder’s rights and interests, irrespective of whether the owner of the land is a party to the proceeding. This subsection shall not affect any right of the owner of the land to join or intervene in any proceeding. (Added 1969, No. 229 (Adj. Sess.), § 8; amended 1987, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 46; 2011, No. 118 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2019, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 23.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 155 - Acquisition of Interests in Land by Public Agencies › § 6308. Rights in perpetuity unless limited

§ 6308. Rights in perpetuity unless limited
(a) If the legislative body of a municipality in the case of municipal rights or interests, or a State agency in the case of State-owned rights or interests, finds that the retention of the rights or interests is no longer needed to carry out the purposes of this chapter, the rights or interests may be released and conveyed to the co-owner, to another public agency, to another party holding other rights or interests in the land, or to a third party. Where the conveyance is to a party other than another public agency or qualified organization, the municipality or State agency shall receive adequate compensation from that party for the conveyance of the rights or interests.
(b) The conveyance of rights or interests in real property less than fee simple made under the authority of this chapter shall be perpetual, except if the conveyance is limited by its terms to a specific period. (Added 1969, No. 229 (Adj. Sess.), § 9; amended 1975, No. 186 (Adj. Sess.); 1987, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 47; 2011, No. 118 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 155 - Acquisition of Interests in Land by Public Agencies › § 6309. Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets; leases

§ 6309. Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets; leases
In the event that real property acquired by the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets is leased to a lessee other than a governmental entity of the State of Vermont, the lessee shall be taxed on the fair market value or the use value under the provisions of 32 V.S.A. chapter 124 of the property by the municipality in which it is located. (Added 1983, No. 71, § 2; amended 1989, No. 256 (Adj. Sess.), § 10(a), eff. Jan. 1, 1991; 2003, No. 42, § 2, eff. May 27, 2003.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 155 - Acquisition of Interests in Land by Public Agencies › § 6310. Conservation easement holder; nonmerger

§ 6310. Conservation easement holder; nonmerger
If a holder of a conservation easement is or becomes the owner in fee simple of property subject to the easement, the easement shall continue in effect and shall not be extinguished. (Added 2015, No. 51, § F.8.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 155 - Acquisition of Interests in Land by Public Agencies › § 6311. Conservation rights and interests; tax liens

§ 6311. Conservation rights and interests; tax liens
A tax lien shall not affect conservation rights and interests if the tax lien attaches to the subject property under 32 V.S.A. § 5061 subsequent to the recording of the conservation rights and interests in the municipal land records. (Added 2015, No. 84 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 157 - Storage of Radioactive Material › § 6501. Storage of radioactive material

§ 6501. Storage of radioactive material
(a) No facility for deposit, storage, reprocessing, or disposal of spent nuclear fuel elements or radioactive waste material shall be constructed or established in the State of Vermont unless the General Assembly first finds that it promotes the general good of the State and approves, through either bill or joint resolution, a petition for approval of the facility. No facility for the incineration of low-level radioactive waste, as defined in subdivision 7001(7) of this title, shall be constructed or established without a similar finding and approval.
(b) The construction or establishment after July 1, 1980 of a low-level, temporary storage facility is exempted from subsection (a) of this section. For the purposes of this subsection, the term “low-level, temporary storage” means storage of material:
(1) that is produced by research, educational, industrial, or medical uses not involving a fission reactor; and
(2) that has an overall radioactivity level, before any dilution, of less than one curie per cubic foot; and
(3) that either:
(A) is awaiting transfer to a commercial disposal site; or
(B) is of a material that spontaneously decreases its radioactivity level by one-half in 90 days or less. (Added 1977, No. 77, § 1, eff. April 26, 1977; amended 1979, No. 191 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1989, No. 296 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. June 29, 1990.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 157 - Storage of Radioactive Material › § 6502. Petition procedure

§ 6502. Petition procedure
(a) A petition for approval by the General Assembly of a facility under section 6501 of this title shall be submitted to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate. The petition shall be referred forthwith to the Joint Energy Committee.
(b) The Committee shall hold a public hearing on each petition for approval. Notice of the public hearing shall be published two weeks successively in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the proposed facility is to be located, the last publication to be at least 12 days before the day appointed for the hearing. Any agency or person may submit recommendations relating to the proposed facility to the Committee. The Committee shall be authorized to examine all records and information relevant to the petition in the possession of the petitioner or any State agency.
(c) Upon receipt of the petition, notice shall be given by the Committee to the Chair of the Public Utility Commission, the Commissioner of Health, the Secretary of Natural Resources, and the Attorney General. Each public official so notified shall, prior to the public hearing under subsection (b) of this section, submit to the Committee his or her agency’s evaluation of the impact of the facility on the State and any other information deemed relevant to the petition.
(d) Notice, by certified mail, shall be given to the chair or director of the municipal and regional planning commissions and the selectboard for each town in which the proposed facility is to be located and each contiguous town not less than 30 days prior to the public hearing under subsection (b) of this section. (Added 1977, No. 77, § 1, eff. April 26, 1977; amended 1979, No. 191 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1987, No. 76, § 18; 2013, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 72.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 157 - Storage of Radioactive Material › § 6503. Legislative approval

§ 6503. Legislative approval
(a) The Committee shall report to the General Assembly its recommendation to approve or not to approve the petition for the facility together with such additional information and comment it deems appropriate.
(b) Any bill or joint resolution approving a facility under section 6501 of this title shall include findings that the proposed facility:
(1) will promote the general welfare and will not have an undue adverse effect on health, safety, aesthetics, historic sites, air and water purity, the natural environment, and the economy; and
(2) will not unduly interfere with the orderly development of the region with due consideration having been given to the recommendations of the municipal and regional planning commissions and the municipal legislative bodies.
(c) Unless the proposed facility is approved by the General Assembly, no State officer, agency, or department shall undertake to approve or license the proposed facility or undertake to cause or obtain the approval or licensing from any other state or federal governmental agency or board. The appropriate State officers and agencies shall use every proper and available legal means to prevent siting and licensing of such facility until the approval of the General Assembly is obtained.
(d) No temporary storage facility that is a part of a nuclear fission plant approved by the General Assembly pursuant to 30 V.S.A. § 248(e) shall be required to obtain the additional approval required by this section. (Added 1977, No. 77, § 1, eff. April 26, 1977; amended 2013, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 23; 2015, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 22.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 157 - Storage of Radioactive Material › § 6505. Exemption

§ 6505. Exemption
This subchapter does not apply to any temporary storage by Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation of spent nuclear fuel elements or other radioactive waste at its present site. (Added 1979, No. 191 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; amended 1985, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. May 14, 1986.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 157 - Storage of Radioactive Material › § 6506. Definitions

§ 6506. Definitions
As used in this chapter, “radioactive waste” means waste material:
(1) technologically enhanced for the purpose of increasing the concentration of radioactive elements; or
(2) contaminated with such technologically enhanced material to a radioactive level above background. (Added 1979, No. 191 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 157 - Storage of Radioactive Material › § 6507. Scope of State regulation of radioactive materials and waste

§ 6507. Scope of State regulation of radioactive materials and waste
(a) This section applies to:
(1) waste or material, generated within the United States, with respect to which all of the following apply:
(A) it is radioactive waste or radioactive materials classified as radioactive waste by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as of January 1, 1989;
(B)(i) it is radioactive waste or radioactive materials that were not eligible and approved for special disposal provisions under the NRC regulations in effect as of January 1, 1989; or
(ii) it is radioactive waste or radioactive materials that have not been determined to be approvable for special disposal under NRC regulations in effect as of January 1, 1989, even though the determination is made after that date; and
(C) it was generated or utilized by any government agency or pursuant to a government contract or license;
(2) waste or material generated outside the United States with respect to which all of the following apply:
(A) it is radioactive waste or radioactive materials that would have been classified as radioactive waste or radioactive materials by the NRC as of January 1, 1989, if it had been generated within the United States;
(B)(i) it is radioactive waste or radioactive materials that would not have been eligible and approved for special disposal provisions under NRC regulations in effect as of January 1, 1989, if it had been generated within the United States; or
(ii) it is radioactive waste or radioactive materials that have not been determined to be approvable for special disposal under those regulations in effect as of January 1, 1989, had it been generated within the United States, even though the determination is made after that date.
(b) Waste or materials covered by subsection (a) of this section shall not be treated, recycled, stored, or disposed of except at a facility with a specific license, whether or not that radioactive waste or those materials, since January 1, 1989, have been deregulated or declared exempt from regulatory control by the NRC or other federal agencies. (Added 1989, No. 242 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 157 - Storage of Radioactive Material › § 6521. Findings

§ 6521. Findings
The General Assembly finds:
(1) The Vermont Yankee nuclear power station (Vermont Yankee) in Vernon provides a very large fraction of the State’s power supply and is by far the largest power plant operating in the State.
(2) Whether the plant runs to the end of its current license, is relicensed by the federal government, or is required to shut down on short notice, that large fraction of the State’s supply will need to be replaced.
(3) The State’s future power supply should be diverse, reliable, economically sound, and environmentally sustainable.
(4) In order to make a smooth transition to the future, the State needs to accelerate Vermont’s investment in electricity resources that are economically and environmentally sound and that can be acquired in modest increments.
(5) In making this transition, there is a great value in investing in renewable energy sources; efficient, combined heat and power facilities; and energy efficiency.
(6) In support of these objectives, the General Assembly and Public Service Board have:
(A) Created the Statewide Energy Efficiency Fund and authorized significant ratepayer charges to support cost-effective investments in end-use energy efficiency resources.
(B) Provided significant support for renewable resources through the creation of a statewide purchasing pool with long-term contracts for qualifying facilities, and a renewable portfolio standard, and are creating a related program to accelerate investments in new renewable and combined-heat and power projects.
(C) Assured that these resources are supported financially by Vermont’s utilities and ratepayers, including the former owners of Vermont Yankee.
(7) In addition to these existing mechanisms, there is a need for a Clean Energy Development Fund to support investment in clean energy resources in order to permit adequate power supply diversity. (Added 2005, No. 74, § 2.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 158 - Fragile Areas Registry › § 6551. Definitions

§ 6551. Definitions
As used in this chapter:
(1) “Fragile area” means an area of land or water that has unusual or significant flora, fauna, geological, or similar features of scientific, ecological, or educational interest.
(2) “Register” means the fragile areas register that lists those fragile areas designated by the Secretary.
(3) “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources.
(4) “Adjacent” means those lands and waters directly abutting a site on the register, including lands and waters separated from the site by highways or bodies of water where such separated lands and waters are an integral part of the site’s ecosystem.
(5) “Registry” means the act of voluntary agreement between the owner of a fragile area and the Secretary for designation of the fragile area and its placement on the register of fragile areas.
(6) “Register of fragile areas” means the listing of fragile areas that are being managed by the owner of the fragile area according to guidelines adopted by the Secretary. (Added 1977, No. 129 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1987, No. 76, § 18; 1989, No. 207 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 158 - Fragile Areas Registry › § 6552. Fragile areas

§ 6552. Fragile areas
(a) The Secretary shall consider for designation on a register of fragile areas only a site that:
(1) is a significant statewide scientific, ecological, or educational value; or
(2) is exemplary for the purposes of education or research in the natural sciences; or
(3) has rare, remnant, or other unusual plants or animals or contains endangered species as determined by the Secretary under chapter 123 of this title; or
(4) contains a necessary habitat as that term is defined in section 5401 of this title.
(b) To assist in the designation, the Secretary shall seek the advice of a fragile areas committee comprising five members, one from each of the following disciplines: zoology, botany, plant community ecology, geology, and wildlife.
(c) Prior to designating a fragile area on the register, the Secretary shall:
(1) document the technical and scientific basis for the designation;
(2) contact each owner of the fragile area to inform the owner of the significance of the fragile area and to achieve voluntary agreement from the owner to protect and manage the fragile area according to stewardship guidelines adopted by the Secretary;
(3) provide information and assistance to each owner of the fragile area concerning the identification, protection, and management of the fragile area. (Added 1977, No. 129 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1989, No. 207 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 158 - Fragile Areas Registry › § 6553. Powers of the Secretary

§ 6553. Powers of the Secretary
(a) The Secretary shall:
(1) establish and maintain a register of fragile areas, including status, current ownership, and size of each area; and
(2) adopt stewardship guidelines for maintenance and protection of registered fragile areas on private and State-owned lands.
(b) Actions by the Secretary shall be made pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25. (Added 1977, No. 129 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1989, No. 207 (Adj. Sess.), § 3.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 158 - Fragile Areas Registry › § 6554. Impact statement

§ 6554. Impact statement
A State agency, municipality, or organization, before making a capital improvement, which is funded in whole or in part by federal or State money, within or adjacent to a fragile area on public land shall, in compliance with rules adopted pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 3334, attach to the notice of intent for the State clearinghouse a statement of the impact of the proposed action on the fragile area. (Added 1977, No. 129 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1989, No. 207 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 2015, No. 97 (Adj. Sess.), § 31.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 158 - Fragile Areas Registry › § 6555. Cooperation of agencies

§ 6555. Cooperation of agencies
State agencies shall:
(1) notify the Secretary before altering or transferring any publicly owned property that is listed in the register; and
(2) provide for the maintenance or protection of State-owned properties listed in the register. (Added 1977, No. 129 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1989, No. 207 (Adj. Sess.), § 6.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 158 - Fragile Areas Registry › § 6556. Terms of fragile areas registry

§ 6556. Terms of fragile areas registry
(a) If the owner agrees to register a tract of land, and the Secretary so designates the tract a fragile area, the owner shall receive a certificate and stewardship guidelines to protect and manage the area.
(b) The agreement may be terminated by either party by written notice to the other. The owner, upon termination, shall surrender the certificate.
(c) The agreement shall be terminated when the owner of a registered fragile area sells, conveys, or otherwise transfers ownership or interest in the land containing the fragile area to another party, unless the new owner requests to remain on the register.
(d) The name, location, and other information relating to the fragile area will be kept confidential if the owner so desires. (Added 1989, No. 207 (Adj. Sess.), § 5.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 159 - Waste Management › § 6601. Declaration of policy and purpose

§ 6601. Declaration of policy and purpose
(a) The developed world continues to pollute the environment and add to the depletion of the world’s resources by burning and burying resources as waste. Furthermore, inefficient and improper methods of managing solid and hazardous waste result in scenic blights, hazards to the public health, cause pollution of air and water resources, increase the numbers of rodents and vectors of disease, have an adverse effect on land values, create public nuisances, and otherwise interfere with proper community life and development.
(b) The overall problems of solid waste management have become a matter statewide in scope and in concern and necessitate State action through planning, financial, and technical assistance and regulation to reduce the amount of waste generated and to promote environmentally acceptable and economical means of waste management.
(c) The generators of waste should pay disposal costs that reflect the real costs to society of waste management and disposal.
(d) [Repealed.]
(e) It is the purpose of this chapter that the State provide technical and financial leadership to municipalities for the siting of solid waste management facilities and the implementation of a program for the management and reduction of wastes that over the long term is sustainable, environmentally sound, and economically beneficial and that encourages innovation and individual responsibility. The Program should give priority to reducing the waste stream through recycling and through the reduction of nonbiodegradable and hazardous ingredients. (Added 1977, No. 106, § 1; amended 1987, No. 78, § 1.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 159 - Waste Management › § 6603. Secretary; powers

§ 6603. Secretary; powers
In addition to any other powers conferred on him or her by law, the Secretary shall have the power to:
(1) Adopt, amend, and repeal rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 implementing the provisions of this chapter.
(2) Issue compliance orders as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this chapter and enforce the same by all appropriate administrative and judicial proceedings.
(3) Encourage local units of government to manage solid waste problems within their respective jurisdictions or by contract on a cooperative regional or interstate basis.
(4) Provide technical assistance to municipalities.
(5) Contract in the name of the State for the service of independent contractors under bond, or with an agency or department of the State, or a municipality, to perform services or to provide facilities necessary for the implementation of the State plan, including the transportation and disposition of solid waste.
(6) Accept, receive, and administer grants or other funds or gifts from public and private agencies, including the federal government, for the purpose of carrying out any of the functions of this chapter. This would include the ability to convey such grants or other funds to municipalities or other instruments of State or local government.
(7) Prepare a report that proposes methods and programs for the collection and disposal of household quantities of hazardous waste. The report shall compare the advantages and disadvantages of alternate programs and their costs. The Secretary shall undertake a voluntary pilot project to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of such a program when in the Secretary’s opinion such can be undertaken without undue risk to the public health and welfare. Such pilot program may address one or more forms of hazardous waste.
(8) Provide financial assistance to municipalities.
(9) Manage the hazardous wastes generated, transported, treated, stored, or disposed in the State by administering a regulatory and management program that, at a minimum, meets the requirements of subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 and amendments thereto, codified as 42 U.S.C. Chapter 82, subchapter 3, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended.
(10) Require a facility permitted under section 6605 of this title or a transporter permitted under section 6607 of this title to explain its rate structure for different categories of waste to ensure that the rate structure is transparent to residential consumers. (Added 1977, No. 106, § 1; amended 1983, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1989, No. 30, § 2, eff. April 27, 1989; 2011, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 3.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 159 - Waste Management › § 6603d. User fee implementation assistance

§ 6603d. User fee implementation assistance
(a) The Secretary shall issue a grant to a municipality or a group of municipalities organized as a solid waste management district to develop and implement a system of user fees for municipally operated solid waste management facilities. Priority consideration shall be given to a municipality or a group of municipalities organized as a solid waste district that use privately owned or operated facilities for disposal of their solid waste. Within the amounts appropriated for this purpose, grants may be made for up to 100 percent of the costs of implementing a system of user fees.
(b) After July 1, 1988, each municipality or solid waste district that pays a tax pursuant to 32 V.S.A. § 5952 shall be entitled to retain five percent of the amount due in order to defray costs of tax administration. (Added 1987, No. 78, § 7; amended 1989, No. 30, § 6, eff. April 27, 1989; 2019, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 26.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 159 - Waste Management › § 6603g. Hazardous Waste Facility Grant Program

§ 6603g. Hazardous Waste Facility Grant Program
The Secretary shall administer a grant program under this section for any municipality that has received a notice of intent to construct a hazardous waste management facility under section 6606a of this title. The grant, not to exceed $75,000.00 and not to exceed 75 percent of the accepted estimated costs, may be used by the proposed host municipality to provide technical assistance and to otherwise assist the community to effectively assess the impacts of an existing application for a local permit for a hazardous waste treatment or disposal facility. (Added 1989, No. 282 (Adj. Sess.), § 10, eff. June 22, 1990.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 159 - Waste Management › § 6603h. Host community fee

§ 6603h. Host community fee
A municipality in which a facility certified under this chapter is located may negotiate a compensatory host payment from a solid waste district, a regional planning commission, the owner of the facility, or any combination of these. (Added 1991, No. 60, § 1.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 159 - Waste Management › § 6603i. Landfill closure grants

§ 6603i. Landfill closure grants
(a) The Secretary is authorized to award grants to municipalities and solid waste management districts for the portion of the cost of closure of unlined landfills receiving municipal solid waste located within the municipality or district. These grants shall be available to assist in the closure of any existing unlined landfills accepting solid waste as of June 9, 1992.
(b) The amount of any grants made under this section shall not exceed the actual costs of closure of the facility, minus an amount equal to the total tonnage of waste disposed at the facility between July 1, 1989 and the last date of acceptance of solid waste for disposal at the facility, multiplied by $24.00 per ton. Eligible closure costs shall include all necessary construction costs, a reasonable cost for engineering oversight, and an amount, not to exceed five percent or $50,000.00, whichever is less, of the construction costs, to cover the legal, administrative, and fiscal costs. (Added 1991, No. 256 (Adj. Sess.), § 29, eff. June 9, 1992; amended 2005, No. 215 (Adj. Sess.), § 214; 2019, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 27.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 159 - Waste Management › § 6603j. Curbside collection of waste oil

§ 6603j. Curbside collection of waste oil
(a) Municipalities that have more than 4,000 residents or that have mandatory curbside collection of recyclables shall be eligible for State grants under this section if they implement a program for the curbside collection of used oil by July 1, 1996. A private hauler that, by July 1, 1996, implements or participates in a program for the curbside collection of used oil shall be eligible if the private hauler serves a community or group of communities with a population of more than 4,000 or serves a community with mandatory curbside collection of recyclables. Eligibility in all cases shall depend upon the municipality’s or the hauler’s compliance with all State program requirements and upon the taking of all necessary precautions to minimize contamination while collecting used oil.
(b) Municipalities that provide curbside collection services as specified in subsection (a) of this section and private haulers that provide such services may apply to the Secretary for grants under this subsection. Financial assistance may be provided in the form of grants to compensate up to 60 percent of the costs incurred:
(1) to retrofit collection vehicles to collect used oil at the curb (in an amount not to exceed $360.00 per truck); and
(2) to purchase pumps necessary to transfer oil from collection vehicles to the larger aggregation container (in an amount not to exceed $300.00 per pump) as part of the operations of a used oil collection program that is part of the State program.
(c) Funding for this program shall come from the Petroleum Cleanup Fund, from which funds may be disbursed for this purpose in addition to those purposes authorized under 10 V.S.A. § 1941. The Secretary shall allocate grants under this section in amounts totaling not more than $20,000.00 per year after consulting with the technical advisory committee on solid waste and after establishing equitable limits on the number of grants that may be awarded, under this section, to particular areas of the State.
(d) Recipients of grants under this section, for a period of three years from the date of receipt of the grant, shall be required to provide to their customers, on a quarterly basis, information that encourages those customers to participate in the curbside used oil collection program.
(e) The Secretary may adopt rules establishing criteria for eligible collection programs and rules to manage grant allocation under this section. (Added 1993, No. 220 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 159 - Waste Management › § 6604b. Testing of solid wastes prior to beneficial use on land or distribution and marketing

§ 6604b. Testing of solid wastes prior to beneficial use on land or distribution and marketing
(a) The Secretary of Natural Resources, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets and with the Commissioner of Health, shall adopt rules to establish a testing program for all sewage sludge, or similar liquid wastes, prior to their beneficial use on land or prior to distribution and marketing of those wastes in liquid or solid form. The testing program shall establish a process for the determination of minimum testing frequencies and specific parameters for which analysis must be completed and shall detail procedures by which samples are collected, stored, and tested.
(b) In establishing the process for the determination of test parameters and frequency, the rules shall take into account the size and complexity of the facility, the nature of the service area or collection system, including industrial contributions, the frequency of sewage sludge use on the land, and any existing data that is pertinent to the facility.
(c) Rules regarding the application of waste to fields shall take into consideration the characteristics of the specific waste involved and shall calculate the heavy metal or micronutrient soil holding capacity based on a pH of 5.5 for the soil type at the application site, as appropriate.
(d) A person subject to this section shall make all analytical results derived from the testing program provided for in this section available to the public upon request. (Added 1991, No. 157, § 1, eff. May 5, 1992; amended 2003, No. 42, § 2, eff. May 27, 2003.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 159 - Waste Management › § 6604c. Management of development soils

§ 6604c. Management of development soils
(a)-(c) [Repealed.]
(d) On or before July 1, 2017, the Secretary shall adopt rules that allow for the management of excavated soils requiring disposal that contain PAHs, arsenic, or lead in a manner that ensures protection of human health and the environment and promotes Vermont’s traditional settlement patterns in compact village or city centers. At a minimum, the rules shall:
(1) include statewide or regional background concentration levels for PAHs, arsenic, and lead that are representative of typical soil concentrations and found throughout existing development areas;
(2) specify that development soils with concentration levels equal to or lower than the background concentration levels established by the Secretary shall not be defined as or required to be treated as solid waste;
(3) include criteria for determining site-specific maximum development soil concentration levels for PAHs, arsenic, and lead;
(4) in addition to disposal at a certified waste facility, adopt a process for the management or disposal of development soils that have concentration levels that exceed residential soil screening levels, but are below the site-specific maximum development soils concentration levels;
(5) adopt a process to preapprove sites to receive development soils from multiple developments; and
(6) be designed to provide that the criteria established under subdivision (3) of this subsection and the process developed under subdivision (4) of this subsection shall be no less protective of human health and the environment than the standard for development soils and the process established under subsection (b) of this section.
(e) At any time, the Secretary may adopt by rule background and maximum concentration levels for other potentially hazardous material in soils such that the development soils containing these other materials would be categorized and treated according to the rules adopted by the Secretary under subsection (d) of this section. (Added 2015, No. 52, § 3, eff. June 5, 2015; amended 2015, No. 150 (Adj. Sess.), § 37a, eff. May 31, 2016; 2019, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 28.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 159 - Waste Management › § 6605b. Interim certification

§ 6605b. Interim certification
(a) A person who does not qualify for a solid waste management facility certification under section 6605 of this title may be issued an interim certification. The Secretary may require the applicant to submit any additional information that the Secretary considers necessary, and may refuse to grant the interim certification until the information is furnished and evaluated.
(b) The Secretary shall not issue an interim certification without affirmatively finding:
(1) that the operation of the solid waste management facility is necessary and will result in some public benefit;
(2) that there is no present, reasonable, alternative means for waste disposal;
(3) that the applicant needs to operate the facility for a period of time necessary to complete research, planning, construction, installation, or operation of an approved facility or to close the existing facility;
(4) that the operation of the facility will not create an unreasonable risk to the public health nor be unreasonably destructive to the environment;
(5) that the operation of the facility is consistent with an approved plan, for the area in which the facility is located, or the State Solid Waste Management Plan; and
(6) that the applicant, if other than a municipality, meets the requirements established in subdivisions 6605f(a)(1) and (2) of this title.
(c) Any interim certificate issued shall:
(1) specify the location of the facility, including limits on its development;
(2) require proper operation of the facility;
(3) specify the amounts and types of waste material to be disposed of at the facility, which, in case of landfills and incinerators, shall include the following;
(A) if the waste is being delivered from a municipality that has an approved implementation plan, hazardous materials and recyclables shall be removed from the waste according to the terms of that implementation plan,
(B) if the waste is being delivered from a municipality that does not have an approved implementation plan, yard waste shall be removed from the waste stream, as shall a minimum of approximately 75 percent of each of the following: marketable recyclables, hazardous waste from households, and hazardous waste from small quantity generators;
(4) specify the type and numbers of suitable pieces of equipment that will operate the facility properly;
(5) contain provisions for air, groundwater, and surface water monitoring;
(6) specify a schedule by which an applicant shall meet all requirements for full certification or proper closure;
(7) be valid only for the period of time, not to exceed two years, necessary for an applicant to meet the requirements of full certification or closure, and shall not be renewed more than once; and
(8) contain such additional conditions, requirements, and restrictions as the Secretary may deem necessary to preserve and protect the public health and the environment. (Added 1987, No. 78, § 10; amended 1991, No. 202 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 27, 1992; 1993, No. 81, § 3; 1993, No. 157 (Adj. Sess.), § 3.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 159 - Waste Management › § 6605c. Solid waste categorical certifications

§ 6605c. Solid waste categorical certifications
(a) Notwithstanding sections 6605, 6605f, and 6611 of this title, no person may construct, substantially alter, or operate any categorical solid waste facility without first obtaining a certificate from the Secretary. Certificates shall be valid for a period not to exceed 10 years.
(b) The Secretary may, by rule, list certain solid waste categories as eligible for certification pursuant to this section:
(1) Solid waste categories to be deposited in a disposal facility shall not be a source of leachate harmful to human health or the environment.
(2) Solid waste categories to be managed in a composting facility shall not present an undue threat to human health or the environment.
(3) Recyclable materials either recycled or prepared for recycling at a recycling facility.
(c) Certifications for a solid waste management facility pursuant to this section where appropriate shall:
(1) Specify the location of the facility, including limitations on its development.
(2) Require proper operation and development of the facility in accordance with facility management plans approved under the certificate.
(3) Specify the projected amount and types of waste to be managed or disposed at the facility.
(4) Contain additional conditions, requirements, and restrictions, as the Secretary may deem necessary to preserve and protect the public health and the air, groundwater, and surface water quality. This may include requirements concerning recording, reporting, and inspection of the operation of the facility.
(d) When an application for a certification is filed under this section, the Secretary shall proceed in accordance with chapter 170 of this title.
(e) This section shall not apply to the storage, treatment, or disposal of:
(1) Municipal solid waste.
(2) Sludge.
(3) Septage.
(4) Mineral processing waste. For purposes of this section, mineral processing waste means solid waste from an industrial or manufacturing facility that processes materials from a mining activity and where chemicals, as defined by the Secretary by rule, are intentionally added as a part of that processing. (Added 1989, No. 61, § 3, eff. May 22, 1989; amended 1989, No. 286 (Adj. Sess.), § 7; 2005, No. 65, § 3; 2011, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 2013, No. 175 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 2015, No. 150 (Adj. Sess.), § 26, eff. Jan. 1, 2018.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 159 - Waste Management › § 6605g. Incineration emissions

§ 6605g. Incineration emissions
(a) Findings. The General Assembly finds that given the regional nature of weather patterns, the incineration of solid waste, whether from incinerators located inside the State or outside its borders, causes negative effects on the health and welfare of the people of the State, and on the State’s natural resources. Accordingly, it is in the public interest to require the use of the best required technology in incinerators, wherever located, if they are to receive solid waste from the State of Vermont, pursuant to new contracts or contract renewal for the disposal of solid waste.
(b) Best required technology requirement. To the extent consistent with federal law, no person shall enter a new contract or renew an existing contract for the incineration of solid waste produced within the State’s borders, at an incinerator, regardless of location, that fails to use the best technology currently required by federal law of any solid waste incinerator in the country, in reducing hazardous emissions from the incinerator. (Added 1997, No. 151 (Adj. Sess.), § 5.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 159 - Waste Management › § 6605h. Composting registration

§ 6605h. Composting registration
Notwithstanding sections 6605, 6605f, and 6611 of this title, the Secretary may, by rule, authorize a person engaged in the production or management of compost at a small scale composting facility to register with the Secretary instead of obtaining a facility certification under section 6605 or 6605c of this title. This section shall not apply to a farm producing compost under subdivision 6001(22)(H) of this title. (Added 2009, No. 41, § 2; amended 2021, No. 41, § 5, eff. May 20, 2021.)