§ 6025 - Rules - Vermont Statutes

§ 6025. Rules

(a) The board may adopt rules of procedure for the panels, the district commissions, and the board itself.

(b) The land use panel may adopt substantive rules, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 25 of Title 3, that interpret and carry out the provisions of this chapter that pertain to land use regulated under section 6086 of this title. These rules shall include provisions that establish criteria under which applications for permits under this chapter may be classified in terms of complexity and significance of impact under the standards of subsection 6086(a) of this chapter. In accordance with that classification the rules may:

(1) provide for simplified or less stringent procedures than are otherwise required under sections 6083, 6084 and 6085 of this chapter; and

(2) provide for the filing of notices instead of applications for the permits that would otherwise be required under section 6081 of this chapter; and

(3) provide a procedure by which a district commission may authorize a district coordinator to issue a permit that the district commission has determined under land use panel rules is a minor application with no undue adverse impact.

(c)(1) This subsection shall apply to lots within a subdivision:

(A) that were created as part of a subdivision owned or controlled by a person who may have been required to obtain a permit under this chapter; and

(B) with respect to which a determination has been made that a permit was needed under this chapter; and

(C) that were sold to a purchaser prior to January 1, 1991 without a required permit.

(2) The rules shall provide for a modified process by which the sole purchaser, or the group of purchasers, of one or more lots to which this subsection applies may apply for and obtain a permit under this chapter that shall be issued in light of the existing improvements, facts, and circumstances that pertain to the lots; provided, however, that the requirements of this chapter shall be modified only to the extent needed to issue those permits. For purposes of these rules, a purchaser eligible for relief under this subsection must not have been involved in creating the lots, must not be a person who owned or controlled the land when it was divided or partitioned, as a person is defined in this chapter, and must not have known at the time of purchase that the transfer was subject to a permit requirement that had not been met.

(3) [Deleted.]

(d) The water resources panel may adopt rules, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 25 of Title 3, in the following areas:

(1) Rules governing surface levels of lakes, ponds, and reservoirs that are public waters of Vermont.

(2) Rules regarding classification of the waters of the state, in accordance with chapter 47 of this title.

(3) Rules regarding the establishment of water quality standards, in accordance with chapter 47 of this title.

(4) Rules regulating the surface use of public waters, and rules pertaining to the designation of outstanding resource waters, in accordance with chapter 49 of this title.

(5) Rules regarding the identification of wetlands which are so significant that they merit protection. Any determination that a particular wetland is significant will result from an evaluation of at least the following functions which a wetland serves:

(A) provides temporary water storage for flood water and storm runoff;

(B) contributes to the quality of surface and groundwater through chemical action;

(C) naturally controls the effects of erosion and runoff, filtering silt and organic matter;

(D) contributes to the viability of fisheries by providing spawning, feeding, and general habitat for freshwater fish;

(E) provides habitat for breeding, feeding, resting, and shelter to both game and nongame species of wildlife;

(F) provides stopover habitat for migratory birds;

(G) provides for hydrophytic vegetation habitat;

(H) provides for threatened and endangered species habitat;

(I) provides valuable resources for education and research in natural sciences;

(J) provides direct and indirect recreational value and substantial economic benefits; and

(K) contributes to the open-space character and overall beauty of the landscape.

(6) Rules regarding the ability to reclassify wetlands, in general, or on a case-by-case basis.

(7) Rules protecting wetlands that have been determined under subdivision (5) or (6) of this subsection to be significant, including rules that provide for the issuance or denial of conditional use determinations by the department of environmental conservation; provided, however, that the rules may only protect the values and functions sought to be preserved by the designation. The panel shall not adopt rules that restrain agricultural activities without the consent of the secretary of the agency of agriculture, food and markets and shall not adopt rules that restrain silvicultural activities without the consent of the commissioner of the department of forests, parks and recreation.

(8) Rules implementing 29 V.S.A. chapter 11, relating to management of lakes and ponds.

(e) Except for subsection (a) of this section, references to rules adopted by the board shall be construed to mean rules adopted by the appropriate panel of the board, as established by this section. (Added 1969, No. 250 (Adj. Sess.), § 25, eff. April 4, 1970; amended 1973, No. 85, § 2; 1979, No. 123 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. April 14, 1980; 1985, No. 52, § 3, eff. May 15, 1985; 1987, No. 186 (Adj. Sess.), eff. May 5, 1988; 1991, No. 111, § 5, eff. June 28, 1991; 2003, No. 115 (Adj. Sess.), § 49, eff. Jan. 31, 2005)

§ 6025. Rules

(a) The board may adopt rules of procedure for the panels, the district commissions, and the board itself.

(b) The land use panel may adopt substantive rules, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 25 of Title 3, that interpret and carry out the provisions of this chapter that pertain to land use regulated under section 6086 of this title. These rules shall include provisions that establish criteria under which applications for permits under this chapter may be classified in terms of complexity and significance of impact under the standards of subsection 6086(a) of this chapter. In accordance with that classification the rules may:

(1) provide for simplified or less stringent procedures than are otherwise required under sections 6083, 6084 and 6085 of this chapter; and

(2) provide for the filing of notices instead of applications for the permits that would otherwise be required under section 6081 of this chapter; and

(3) provide a procedure by which a district commission may authorize a district coordinator to issue a permit that the district commission has determined under land use panel rules is a minor application with no undue adverse impact.

(c)(1) This subsection shall apply to lots within a subdivision:

(A) that were created as part of a subdivision owned or controlled by a person who may have been required to obtain a permit under this chapter; and

(B) with respect to which a determination has been made that a permit was needed under this chapter; and

(C) that were sold to a purchaser prior to January 1, 1991 without a required permit.

(2) The rules shall provide for a modified process by which the sole purchaser, or the group of purchasers, of one or more lots to which this subsection applies may apply for and obtain a permit under this chapter that shall be issued in light of the existing improvements, facts, and circumstances that pertain to the lots; provided, however, that the requirements of this chapter shall be modified only to the extent needed to issue those permits. For purposes of these rules, a purchaser eligible for relief under this subsection must not have been involved in creating the lots, must not be a person who owned or controlled the land when it was divided or partitioned, as a person is defined in this chapter, and must not have known at the time of purchase that the transfer was subject to a permit requirement that had not been met.

(3) [Deleted.]

(d) The water resources panel may adopt rules, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 25 of Title 3, in the following areas:

(1) Rules governing surface levels of lakes, ponds, and reservoirs that are public waters of Vermont.

(2) Rules regarding classification of the waters of the state, in accordance with chapter 47 of this title.

(3) Rules regarding the establishment of water quality standards, in accordance with chapter 47 of this title.

(4) Rules regulating the surface use of public waters, and rules pertaining to the designation of outstanding resource waters, in accordance with chapter 49 of this title.

(5) Rules regarding the identification of wetlands that are so significant that they merit protection. Any determination that a particular wetland is significant will result from an evaluation of at least the following functions and values which a wetland serves:

(A) provides temporary water storage for flood water and storm runoff;

(B) contributes to the quality of surface and groundwater through chemical action;

(C) naturally controls the effects of erosion and runoff, filtering silt and organic matter;

(D) contributes to the viability of fisheries by providing spawning, feeding, and general habitat for freshwater fish;

(E) provides habitat for breeding, feeding, resting, and shelter to both game and nongame species of wildlife;

(F) provides stopover habitat for migratory birds;

(G) contributes to an exemplary wetland natural community, in accordance with the rules of the panel;

(H) provides for threatened and endangered species habitat;

(I) provides valuable resources for education and research in natural sciences;

(J) provides direct and indirect recreational value and substantial economic benefits; and

(K) contributes to the open-space character and overall beauty of the landscape.

(6) Rules regarding the ability to reclassify wetlands, in general, or on a case-by-case basis.

(7) Rules protecting wetlands that have been determined under subdivision (5) or (6) of this subsection to be significant, including rules that provide for the issuance or denial of permits and the issuance of wetland determinations under chapter 37 of this title by the department of environmental conservation; provided, however, that the rules may only protect the values and functions sought to be preserved by the designation. The panel shall not adopt rules that restrain agricultural activities without the consent of the secretary of the agency of agriculture, food and markets and shall not adopt rules that restrain silvicultural activities without the consent of the commissioner of the department of forests, parks and recreation.

(8) Rules implementing 29 V.S.A. chapter 11, relating to management of lakes and ponds.

(e) Except for subsection (a) of this section, references to rules adopted by the board shall be construed to mean rules adopted by the appropriate panel of the board, as established by this section. (Added 1969, No. 250 (Adj. Sess.), § 25, eff. April 4, 1970; amended 1973, No. 85, § 2; 1979, No. 123 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. April 14, 1980; 1985, No. 52, § 3, eff. May 15, 1985; 1987, No. 186 (Adj. Sess.), eff. May 5, 1988; 1991, No. 111, § 5, eff. June 28, 1991; 2003, No. 115 (Adj. Sess.), § 49, eff. Jan. 31, 2005; 2009, No. 31, § 7.)