The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 10 : Conservation and Development

Chapter 159 : Waste Management

Subchapter 001 : General Provisions

• § 6605j. Accepted composting practices

  (a) The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets, shall adopt by rule, pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25, and shall implement and enforce accepted composting practices for the management of composting in the State. These accepted composting practices shall address:

  (1) standards for the construction, alteration, or operation of a composting facility;

  (2) standards for facility operation, including acceptable quantities of product or inputs, vector management, odors, noise, traffic, litter control, contaminant management, operator training and qualifications, recordkeeping, and reporting;

  (3) standards for siting of composting facilities, including siting and operation of compost storage areas, compost bagging areas, and roads and parking areas;

  (4) standards for the composting process, including rotation, management of compost piles, compost pile size, and monitoring of compost operations;

  (5) standards for management of runoff from compost facilities, including liquids management from the feedstock area, active composting areas, curing area, and compost storage area; the use of swales or stormwater management around or within a compost facility; vegetative buffer requirements; and run-off management from tipping areas;

  (6) specified areas of the State unsuitable for the siting of commercial composting that utilizes post-consumer food residuals or animal mortalities, such as designated downtowns, village centers, village growth areas, or areas of existing residential density; and

  (7) definitions of “small-scale composting facility,” “medium-scale composting facility,” and “de minimis composting exempt from regulation.”

  (b) A person operating a small scale composting facility who follows the accepted composting practices shall not be required to obtain a discharge permit under section 1263 or 1264 of this title, a solid waste facility certification under chapter 159 of this title, or an air emissions permit under chapter 23 of this title unless a permit is required by federal law or the Secretary of Natural Resources determines that a permit is necessary to protect public health or the environment.

  (c) [Repealed.]

  (d) The Secretary shall not regulate under this section a farm producing compost under subdivision 6001(22)(H) of this title. (Added 2009, No. 41, § 3; amended 2021, No. 41, § 6, eff. May 20, 2021.)