§ 1021 - Alteration prohibited; exceptions - Vermont Statutes

§ 1021. Alteration prohibited; exceptions

(a) A person shall not change, alter or modify the course, current or cross-section of any watercourse with a drainage area greater than ten square miles at the location of the proposed change, alteration or modification, or of designated outstanding resource waters, within or along the boundaries of this state either by movement, fill, or by excavation of ten cubic yards or more in any year, unless authorized by the secretary.

(b) This subchapter shall not apply to emergency protective measures necessary to preserve life or to prevent severe imminent damage to public or private property, or both. The protective measures shall be limited to the minimum amount necessary to remove imminent threats to life or property, shall have prior approval from a member of the municipal legislative body and shall be reported to the secretary by the legislative body within 72 hours after the onset of the emergency.

(c) No person shall remove gravel from any watercourse primarily for construction or for sale.

(d) Notwithstanding subsection (c) of this section, a riparian owner may remove up to 50 cubic yards of gravel per year from that portion of a watercourse running through or bordering on the owner's property, provided:

(1) the material shall be removed only for the owner's use on the owner's property;

(2) the material removed shall be above the waterline; and

(3) at least 72 hours prior to the removal of 10 cubic yards, or more, the landowner shall notify the secretary;

(4) however, if the portion of the watercourse in question has been designated as outstanding resource waters, then the riparian owner may so remove no more than 10 cubic yards of gravel per year, and must notify the secretary at least 72 hours prior to the removal of any gravel.

(e) This subchapter does not apply to dams subject to chapter 43 of this title nor to highways or bridges subject to 19 V.S.A. § 10(12).

(f) This subchapter shall not apply to accepted agricultural or silvicultural practices, as defined by the secretary of agriculture, food and markets, or the commissioner of forests, parks and recreation, respectively.

(g) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit, in the normal use of land, the fording of or access to a watercourse by a person with the right or privilege to use the land.

(h)(1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, recreational mineral prospectors:

(A) shall not operate suction dredges in any watercourse;

(B) may operate sluice boxes in any watercourse, provided:

(i) a request for approval to conduct mineral prospecting shall be filed with and approved by the secretary; and

(ii) mineral prospecting shall not be conducted on private land without landowner permission, or on state land without permission from the secretary.

(2) Hand panning prospecting techniques shall be exempt from this subchapter. (1965, No. 111, § 1, eff. June 22, 1965; amended 1969, No. 281 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; 1975, No. 150 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1981, No. 222 (Adj. Sess.), § 24; 1983, No. 193 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. April 27, 1984; 1987, No. 67, § 4; 1997, No. 106 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. April 27, 1998; 1999, No. 156 (Adj. Sess.), § 32, eff. May 29, 2000; 2003, No. 42, § 2, eff. May 27, 2003.)