By Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts and Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore
As we shared earlier this fall, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has directed Vermont to make changes to its water quality regulation of farms. Specifically, EPA is requiring the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) to assume a greater role in inspections and compliance monitoring, and to issue permits to farms that are discharging to state waters. The Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (AAFM) will continue to issue permits and regulate farms that are not discharging to state waters. EPA has determined that this change is necessary to fulfill our obligations under the federal Clean Water Act. We are committed to keeping the agriculture community informed of this work as it goes forward and so are reaching out to provide some additional information.
Earlier this week, ANR submitted a draft corrective action plan, or CAP, to EPA. The CAP was prepared in response to a directive ANR received from EPA in September that stated ANR was not fulfilling its obligations under the federal Clean Water Act regarding the regulation of water quality on farms. Specifically, EPA stated that ANR needed to take a larger role in conducting routine farm inspections, reviewing nutrient management plans, and issuing permits to any farms found to be discharging.
The draft CAP proposes to shift regulatory oversight to ANR, over time, for farms where there is evidence of a discharge. The next step is for EPA to review the draft CAP and either approve it or return it to ANR if they find changes or additional commitments are needed. We anticipate receiving this feedback from EPA in early 2025.
Once we have gained EPA’s approval of the draft CAP, one of the first public-facing steps in implementing the CAP will be for ANR staff to join AAFM in their routine inspections of medium and large farms; we expect these joint inspections to begin this spring.
Sincerely,
Julie Moore, Secretary Anson Tebbetts, Secretary
Agency of Natural Resources Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets