§ 4810. Authority; cooperation; coordination
(a) Agricultural land use practices. In accordance with 10 V.S.A. § 1259(i), the Secretary shall adopt by rule, pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25, and shall implement and enforce agricultural land use practices in order to satisfy
the requirements of 33 U.S.C. § 1329 that the State identify and implement best management practices to control nonpoint
sources of agricultural waste to waters of the State. These agricultural land use
practices shall be created in two categories, pursuant to subsections (b) and (c)
of this section.
(b) Required Agricultural Practices. Required Agricultural Practices (RAPs) shall be management standards to be followed
by all persons engaged in farming in this State. These standards shall address activities
that have a potential for causing agricultural pollutants to enter the groundwater
and waters of the State, including dairy and other livestock operations plus all forms
of crop and nursery operations and on-farm or agricultural fairground, registered
pursuant to 20 V.S.A. § 3902, livestock and poultry slaughter and processing activities. The RAPs shall include,
as well as promote and encourage, practices for farmers in preventing agricultural
pollutants from entering the groundwater and waters of the State when engaged in animal
waste management and disposal, soil amendment applications, plant fertilization, and
pest and weed control. Persons engaged in farming who are in compliance with these
practices shall be presumed to not have a discharge of agricultural pollutants to
waters of the State. RAPs shall be designed to protect water quality and shall be
practical and cost-effective to implement, as determined by the Secretary. Where the
Secretary determines, after inspection of a farm, that a person engaged in farming
is complying with the RAPs but there still exists the potential for agricultural pollutants
to enter the waters of the State, the Secretary shall require the person to implement
additional, site-specific on-farm conservation practices designed to prevent agricultural
pollutants from entering the waters of the State. When requiring implementation of
a conservation practice under this subsection, the Secretary shall inform the person
engaged in farming of the resources available to assist the person in implementing
the conservation practice and complying with the requirements of this chapter. The
RAPs for groundwater shall include a process under which the Agency shall receive,
investigate, and respond to a complaint that a farm has contaminated the drinking
water or groundwater of a property owner. A farmer may petition the Secretary to reduce
the size of a perennial buffer or change the perennial buffer type based on site-specific
conditions.
(c) Best management practices. Best management practices (BMPs) are site-specific on-farm conservation practices
implemented in order to address the potential for agricultural pollutants to enter
the waters of the State. The Secretary may require any person engaged in farming to
implement a BMP. When requiring implementation of a BMP, the Secretary shall inform
a farmer of financial resources available from State or federal sources, private foundations,
public charities, or other sources, including funding from the Clean Water Fund established
under 10 V.S.A. § 1388, to assist the person in implementing BMPs and complying with the requirements of
this chapter. BMPs shall be practical and cost effective to implement, as determined
by the Secretary, and shall be designed to achieve compliance with the requirements
of this chapter. The Secretary may require soil monitoring or innovative manure management
as a BMP under this subsection. Soil monitoring or innovative manure management implemented
as a BMP shall be eligible for State assistance under the Clean Water Fund established
under 10 V.S.A. chapter 47, subchapter 7. If a perennial buffer of trees or other woody vegetation is required
as a BMP, the Secretary shall pay the farmer for a first priority easement on the
land on which the buffer is located.
(d) Cooperation and coordination. The Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets shall coordinate with the Secretary
of Natural Resources in implementing and enforcing programs, plans, and practices
developed for reducing and eliminating agricultural nonpoint source pollutants and
discharges from farms. The Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets shall cooperate
with the Secretary of Natural Resources in the implementation of the federal Clean
Water Act for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). The Secretary of Agriculture,
Food and Markets shall implement the State’s comprehensive, complementary nonpoint
source program. The Secretary of Agriculture, Food, and Markets and the Secretary
of Natural Resources shall coordinate regarding program administration; grant negotiation;
grant sharing; implementation of the antidegradation policy including to new sources
of agricultural nonpoint source pollutants, and watershed planning activities to comply
with Pub. L. No. 92-500. In accordance with 10 V.S.A. § 1259(i), the Secretary of Natural Resources, in consultation with the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets, shall issue
a document that sets forth the respective roles and responsibilities of the Agency
of Natural Resources in implementing the federal Clean Water Act on farms and the
Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets’ roles and responsibilities in implementing
the State’s complementary nonpoint source program on farms. The document shall be
consistent with and equivalent with the federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System permit regulations for discharges from CAFOs. The document will replace the
memorandum of understanding between the agencies. The allocation of duties under this
chapter between the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets and the Secretary of
Natural Resources shall be consistent with the Secretary’s duties, established under
the provisions of 10 V.S.A. § 1258(b), to comply with Pub. L. No. 92-500. The Secretary of Natural Resources shall be the State lead person in applying for
federal funds under Pub. L. No. 92-500 but shall consult with the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets during the
process. The agricultural nonpoint source program may compete with other programs
for competitive watershed projects funded from federal funds. The Secretary of Agriculture,
Food and Markets shall be represented in reviewing these projects for funding. Actions
by the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets under this chapter concerning agricultural
nonpoint source pollution shall be consistent with the water quality standards and
water pollution control requirements of 10 V.S.A. chapter 47 and the federal Clean Water Act as amended. In addition, the Secretary of Agriculture,
Food and Markets shall coordinate with the Secretary of Natural Resources in implementing
and enforcing programs, plans, and practices developed for the proper management of
composting facilities when those facilities are located on a farm. The Secretary of
Agriculture, Food and Markets and the Secretary of Natural Resources shall each develop
three separate measures of the performance of the agencies under the federal Clean
Water Act and State nonpoint source regulatory authority, and annually on or before
January 15, the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets and the Secretary of Natural
Resources shall submit separate reports to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, the
House Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency, and Forestry, the Senate Committee
on Natural Resources and Energy, and the House Committee on Environment regarding
the success of each agency in meeting its selected performance measures. (Added 1991, No. 261 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; amended 2003, No. 42, § 2, eff. May 27, 2003; 2003, No. 149 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. June 3, 2004; 2005, No. 78, § 1, eff. June 24, 2005; 2007, No. 38, § 13, eff. May 21, 2007; 2009, No. 141 (Adj. Sess.), § 3b, eff. June 1, 2010; 2015, No. 64, § 12; 2017, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 35; 2025, No. 67, § 1, eff. July 1, 2025.)