The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Subchapter
003
:
WATER QUALITY; FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
(Cite as: 6 V.S.A. § 4831)
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§ 4831. Vermont Seeding and Filter Strip Program
(a) The Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets is authorized to develop a Vermont
Critical Source Area Seeding and Filter Strip Program in addition to the federal Conservation
Reserve Enhancement Program in order to compensate farmers for establishing and maintaining
harvestable perennial vegetative grassed waterways and filter strips on agricultural
cropland perpendicular and adjacent to the surface waters of the State, including
ditches. Eligible acreage includes annually tilled cropland or a portion of cropland
currently cropped as hay. Acreage that is currently managed as hay shall have a prior
history of rotation as corn or other annual commodity crop.
(b) Incentive payments from the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets shall be made
at the outset of a grant agreement to establish or maintain the acreage as harvestable
grassed waterway or filter strip.
(c) The Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets may establish by procedure financial
and technical criteria for the implementation and operation of the Vermont Critical
Source Area Seeding and Filter Strip Program.
(d) Land enrolled in the Vermont agricultural buffer program shall be considered to be
in “active use” as that term is defined in 32 V.S.A. § 3752(15). (Added 2005, No. 147 (Adj. Sess.), § 55; amended 2009, No. 110 (Adj. Sess.), § 10; 2015, No. 39, § 15; 2019, No. 129 (Adj. Sess.), § 12 (redesignated from 6 V.S.A. § 4900); 2023, No. 141 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2024.)