Executive Order No. 10-49 (No. 02-21) [Reorganization of the Natural Resources Board]
WHEREAS, the Governor, pursuant to the Vermont Constitution Chapter II, Section 3 and 3 V.S.A. Section 2001 and Section 2002, may make such changes in the organization of the Executive Branch or in the assignment
of functions among its units as he considers necessary for efficient administration;
and
WHEREAS, the Constitution of Vermont, Chapter II, Section 6 provides that no bill,
resolution or other thing which shall have been passed by one house of the General
Assembly shall have the effect of or be declared to be a law without the concurrence
of the other, ensuring no action by a single house, committee or agent of the General
Assembly may be binding on the Executive Branch; and
WHEREAS, any organizational changes made by the Governor, pursuant to 3 V.S.A. Section 2001 and Section 2002, shall be subject to disapproval by both houses of the General Assembly; and
WHEREAS, it is desirable to reorganize the agencies, departments and divisions of
government by better coordinating certain activities and improving the coordination
and effectiveness of services to the public; and
WHEREAS, Act 250 has operated under the same administrative structure for over fifty
years, consisting of District Environmental Commissions (“District Commissions”),
administrative tribunals comprised of three volunteer members of the public, operating
independently in 9 regions of the State; and
WHEREAS, from 1970 through 2004, the former Environmental Board oversaw the operations
of the District Commissions and established policy precedents across the Act 250 enterprise
through the issuance of decisions in appeals of Act 250 permits; and
WHEREAS, when the Natural Resources Board replaced the Environmental Board in 2004,
the Natural Resources Board did not retain its ability to compel consistent application
of policy and law across the nine District Commissions through the issuance of decisions
in Act 250 appeals; and
WHEREAS, while Act 250 has served Vermont well, the scope and complexity of environmental,
planning, and regulatory issues District Commission must consider has expanded significantly
since 1970; and
WHEREAS, with complex emerging issues such as climate change, the interplay between
Act 250 and other state and municipal regulatory programs, demographic challenges,
and the growing economic divide between the rural and urban parts of our state, and
with a current governance structure that lacks a unifying policy authority across
the nine districts, restructuring Act 250 presents an opportunity to maximize natural
resource protections, enable well planned growth, increase predictability and reduce
redundancy with other state regulatory programs; and
WHEREAS, a professional Natural Resources Board that decides major cases will have
the capacity to consider and manage complex issues now and into the future, and, through
their Orders, will establish precedent and policy resulting in the consistent application
of Act 250 criteria statewide; and
WHEREAS, in each proceeding of the restructured Natural Resources Board, two members
from the District Commission from the District where the proposed project is located
will sit with the Natural Resources Board so regional considerations will continue
to inform Act 250 decisions.
NOW THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor by the Constitution
of the State of Vermont, Chapter II, Section 3 and Section 20, 3 V.S.A. chapter 41 and 32 V.S.A. § 704a, I, Philip B. Scott, do hereby reorganize the Natural Resources Board and its District
Commissions as follows:
1. As of July 1, 2021, a restructured Natural Resources Board made up of three full-time
professional members is hereby created to professionalize and modernize the current
governance structure, to unify policy authority across the nine District Commissions,
to maximize natural resource protections, to enable well-planned growth, to increase
predictability and uniformity and reduce redundancy and inconsistency with other state
regulatory programs.
2. As of July 1, 2021, the Natural Resources Board created in 10 V.S.A. § 6021 consisting of five members appointed by the Governor (the “Original Board”) is hereby
abolished and all the duties, responsibilities and authority of the Original Board
are hereby transferred to a reconstituted Natural Resources Board made up of three
full time professional members as established in Section 3 below.
3. As of July 1, 2021, the Natural Resources Board shall consist of three full-time professional
voting members which shall have all the duties, responsibilities, and authority of
the Original Board and such duties, responsibilities and authority as set forth in
this Order.
The members shall include a Chair and two additional members who shall be appointed
by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. In making these appointments,
the Governor and the Senate shall give consideration to experience, expertise or skills
relating to the environment or land use, as well as geographic, gender, ethnic and
racial diversity. Following initial appointments, the three members shall serve six-year
staggered terms.
Initial appointments shall be made prior to July 1, 2021. For initial appointments,
the Chair shall be appointed to a six-year term, one member shall be appointed to
a four-year term and the third member shall be appointed to a two-year term. Each
of the three members shall be a full-time employee, exempt from the classified service,
serving at the pleasure of the Governor.
When a particular application comes before the Board, two members from the District
Commission from the District where an application being reviewed was located shall
become voting members of the Board solely with respect to that matter. The two District
Commission members shall be selected by the applicable Chair of the District Commission.
4. As of July 1, 2021, the authority of each of the District Commissions in 10 V.S.A. § 1084(b), to determine whether a complete application shall be processed as a major application
with a required public hearing or a minor application, shall be transferred to the
Natural Resources Board, acting without District Commissioners.
5. As of July 1, 2021, the authority of each of the District Commissions to determine
whether to issue an administrative amendment shall be transferred to the Natural Resources
Board, acting without District Commissioners.
6. As of July 1, 2021, all authority of each of the District Commissions in Title 10
relating to any application determined to be a major application or a minor application
where a hearing is requested, shall be transferred to the Natural Resources Board.
7. As of July 1, 2021, the provisions of Title 10 and the rules, policies and procedures
of the Natural Resources Board relating to applications determined to be major applications
or minor applications where a hearing is requested shall be deemed to refer to and
shall be applicable to the Natural Resources Board.
8. An applicant who has received a Jurisdictional Opinion from a District Coordinator
may, within 30 days from the issuance of the opinion, request reconsideration of the
Jurisdictional Opinion by the Natural Resources Board, acting without the District
Commissioners.
9. All complete applications filed with a District Commission prior to July 1, 2021 shall
remain under the jurisdiction of the applicable District Commission until resolution
of the application.
This Executive Order shall be submitted to the General Assembly pursuant to 3 V.S.A. § 2002. This Executive Order shall take effect on April 15, 2021, unless disapproved by
both houses of the General Assembly.
Dated January 14, 2021.