Court Opinion

ID: 4267906
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2018-04-24 00:07:18.161215+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:24:27.669218
License: Public Domain

State of Vermont
                           Superior Court—Environmental Division

======================================================================
                   ENTRY REGARDING MOTION
======================================================================

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
=============================================================================
Date copies sent: _________________                        Clerk's Initials _______
Copies sent to: