Vermont § 1001 - Environmental Division

§ 1001. Environmental Division

• (a) The Environmental Division shall consist of two judges, each sitting alone. (b) Two Environmental judges shall be appointed to hear matters in the Environmental Division
  and to hear other matters in the Superior Court when so assigned by the Chief Superior
  Judge pursuant to subsection 21a(c) of this title. (c) An Environmental judge shall be an attorney admitted to practice before the Vermont
  Supreme Court. An Environmental judge shall be nominated, appointed, confirmed, paid,
  and retained and shall receive all benefits in the manner of a Superior judge. (d) An Environmental judge shall be appointed on April 1 for a term of six years or the
  unexpired portion thereof. (e) Evidentiary proceedings in the Environmental Division shall be held in the county
  in which all or a portion of the land that is the subject of the appeal is located
  or where the violation is alleged to have occurred, unless the parties agree to another
  location; provided, however, that the Environmental judge shall offer expeditious
  evidentiary hearings so that no such proceedings are moved to another county to obtain
  an earlier hearing. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, all nonevidentiary hearings
  may be conducted by telephone or video conferencing using an audio or video record.
  If a party objects to a telephone hearing, the court may require a personal appearance
  for good cause. (f) [Repealed.] (g) The Supreme Court may enact rules and develop procedures consistent with this chapter
  to govern the operation of the Environmental Division and proceedings in it. In adopting
  these rules, the Supreme Court shall ensure that the rules provide for: (1) expeditious proceedings that give due consideration to the needs of pro se litigants; (2) the ability of the judge to hold pretrial conferences by telephone; (3) the use of scheduling orders under the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure in order to
  limit discovery to that which is necessary for a full and fair determination of the
  proceeding; and (4) the appropriate use of site visits by the presiding judge to assist the court in rendering
  a decision. (Added 1989, No. 98, § 2; amended 1991, No. 108, § 3; 1993, No. 92, § 14; 1993, No. 232 (Adj. Sess.), § 39, eff. March 15, 1995; 1995, No. 181 (Adj. Sess.), § 21; 2001, No. 149 (Adj. Sess.), § 73, eff. June 27, 2002; 2003, No. 115 (Adj. Sess.), § 9, eff. Jan. 31, 2005; 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 53; 2021, No. 147 (Adj. Sess.), § 20, eff. May 31, 2022.)