The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2024 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.
Title 10 : Conservation and Development
Chapter 047 : Water Pollution Control
Subchapter 002B : EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE FOAM
(Cite as: 10 V.S.A. § 1322)-
§ 1322. Installation, repair, removal, and sale of buoys, docks, or floating structures
(a) Encapsulation required. Expanded polystyrene foam used for flotation, including buoys, docks, or floating structures, shall be encapsulated by a protective covering or shall be designed to prevent the expanded polystyrene foam from disintegrating into the water.
(b) Prohibition; unencapsulated polystyrene and open-cell (beaded) polystyrene; repair. No person shall use unencapsulated polystyrene or open-cell (beaded) polystyrene for the installation of a new buoy, dock, or floating structure on the waters of the State. Unencapsulated polystyrene materials and open-cell beaded polystyrene shall not be used for the repair of buoys, docks, or floating structures on waters of the State.
(c) Methods of encapsulation.
(1) Encapsulation of a buoy, dock, or floating structure required under subsection (a) of this section shall completely cover or be a physical barrier between the expanded polystyrene foam and the water. Small gaps up to 0.75-inch-diameter ballast holes are permitted in the physical barrier or covering provided they are 0.1 percent or less of the square footage of the buoy, dock, or floating structure.
(2) All materials and methods of encapsulation shall provide an effective physical barrier between the expanded polystyrene foam and the water for a period not less than 10 years. Any fasteners used to hold encapsulation materials together shall be effectively treated or be of a form resistant to corrosion and decay.
(d) Disposal. Irreparable encapsulated polystyrene, unencapsulated polystyrene, and irreparable encapsulated open-cell (beaded) polystyrene used for flotation, including buoys, docks, or floating structures, shall be properly disposed of in an approved manner.
(e) Sale or distribution. No person shall sell, offer for sale, or otherwise distribute for compensation within the State dock floats, mooring buoys, or anchor or navigation markers made, in whole or in part, from expanded polystyrene foam that is:
(1) not wholly encapsulated or encased within a more durable material; or
(2) open-cell (beaded) polystyrene, including materials that are encapsulated and unencapsulated. (Added 2023, No. 121 (Adj. Sess.), § 26, eff. July 1, 2024.)
