Code of Vermont Rules › Agency 12 - AGENCY OF NATURAL RESOURCES › Sub-Agency 030 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION › Chapter 025 - VERMONT WATER QUALITY STANDARDS › Section 12 030 025 - VERMONT WATER QUALITY STANDARDS

Current through June,
				2024
CH 1  GENERAL
				POLICY
Section 29 A. Applicability.
(a) Pursuant to 10 V.S.A. Chapter 47, after
				the classification of any waters has been established, those waters shall be
				managed by the Secretary in order to obtain and maintain the classification.
				The Secretary may enforce a classification and these rules against any person
				affected thereby who, with notice of the classification, has failed to
				comply.
(b) The applicable Water
				Quality Standards shall be those in effect at the time of final permit or
				certification issuance. Concerning Water Quality Certification for a License,
				or the renewal of a License, issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
				(FERC), the applicable Water Quality Standards shall be those in effect at the
				time that the FERC issues notice of application ready for environmental
				analysis for a License.
(c) These
				rules shall apply to all "waters," as defined in these rules, including "waters
				of the United States" as defined in titles 33 and 40 of the Code of Federal
				Regulations. These rules shall apply to wetlands as articulated in Sections
				§§
											29A-104(e) and
				29A-105(e).
				Application of these rules to waters shall not require the issuance of a state
				or federal permit, license, certification, or approval for discharges or
				activities for which no such permit, license, certification, or approval
				requirement exists under applicable state or federal law, including discharges
				and activities that satisfy the exemptions and exclusions set forth at
				40 C.F.R. §§
												122.3 and
				232.3.
(d) In the event any of these rules, or any
				portion thereof, is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be illegal or
				void, the remainder thereof shall be deemed unaffected and shall continue in
				full force and effect.
(e) The
				following exclusions apply only to artificial bodies of water that were not
				originally created in waters or did not result from impoundment of waters:
(1) Off stream reservoirs (such as snowmaking
				ponds) may be subject to water level fluctuations that are necessary to achieve
				the purposes for which the reservoir was constructed and accordingly, shall not
				be required to meet the criteria of these rules impacted by water level
				fluctuations in the reservoir;
(2)
				Waste treatment systems (including waste management systems constructed as part
				of Best Management Practices under 6 V.S.A. Chapter 215 and treatment ponds,
				lagoons, or wetlands created solely to meet the requirements of a permit issued
				for a discharge) determined to be necessary to achieve compliance with these
				rules shall not be required to be managed as waters under these
				rules.
(f) Waters
				created exclusively by rainfall or snowmelt events, such as puddles and
				overland flow, that are so temporary in nature that they do not support the
				existing and designated uses, shall not be considered waters.