By Kaitlin Hayes, VT Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets
On Thursday, November 8, 2018, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) filed the adopted rule amendment to the Required Agricultural Practices (RAPs) with the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (LCAR) and the Secretary of State (SOS). The amendment includes requirements for reducing nutrient contribution to waters of the State from subsurface tile drainage on agricultural fields.
The formal rule amendment process began in January 2018. Throughout the rule amendment process, the Agency was engaged in soliciting feedback from farmers and stakeholders. This includes various discussions and nine meetings to gather feedback pertaining to the content of the amendment, involving 190 attendees prior to filing the proposed rule.
After filing the proposed rule, the Agency held a public comment period which ran from February 28, 2018 through April 20, 2018, and included three public hearings in St. Albans, Montpelier, and Middlebury to gather additional feedback on the proposed rule. Overall, the Agency received over 50 written and emailed comments on the proposed rule amendment. The final proposed rule was filed with LCAR in August. LCAR voted to approve the subsurface tile drainage rule amendment on October 18, 2018.
The rule amendment was adopted on November 8, 2018 and took effect on November 23, 2018. The requirements of the rule amendment include the required installation of rodent guards on subsurface tile drainage outlets installed or modified after January 1, 2019, the prohibition of new installation of surface inlets located within or next to cropland following the effective date of the amendment, and other provisions focused on reducing nutrient losses from subsurface tile drainage.
The adopted rule amendment, an updated RAP Rule, the responsiveness summary to public comments received, and other pertinent information can be found at: http://agriculture.vermont.gov/rap-tile-rule Please contact agr.waterquality@vermont.gov or call (802) 272-0323 if you have questions about the rule amendment.
Tile drainage installation on a farm field in Vermont.