Vermont § 4851 - Permit requirements for large farm operations

§ 4851. Permit requirements for large farm operations

• (a) No person shall, without a permit from the Secretary, construct a new barn, or expand
  an existing barn, designed to house more than 700 mature dairy animals, 1,000 cattle
  or cow/calf pairs, 1,000 veal calves, 2,500 swine weighing over 55 pounds, 10,000
  swine weighing less than 55 pounds, 500 horses, 10,000 sheep or lambs, 55,000 turkeys,
  30,000 laying hens or broilers with a liquid manure handling system, 82,000 laying
  hens without a liquid manure handling system, 125,000 chickens other than laying hens
  without a liquid manure handling system, 5,000 ducks with a liquid manure handling
  system, or 30,000 ducks without a liquid manure handling system. No permit shall be
  required to replace an existing barn in use for livestock or domestic fowl production
  at its existing capacity. The Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets, in consultation
  with the Secretary of Natural Resources, shall review any application for a permit
  under this section with regard to water quality impacts prior to approval of a permit
  under this subsection. If, upon review of a large farm application for a permit under
  this subsection, the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets determines that the
  farm may be discharging to waters of the State, the Secretary of Agriculture, Food
  and Markets shall promptly refer the potential discharge to the Secretary of Natural
  Resources for response in accordance with the federal Clean Water Act regarding concentrated
  animal feeding operations. The Secretary of Natural Resources shall direct a large
  farm to obtain a permit under 10 V.S.A. § 1263 if required by federal regulations for concentrated animal feeding operations or
  by the VPDES CAFO Rules. If the farm is not required to obtain a CAFO permit and is
  not in violation of federal regulations for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations,
  the Secretary of Natural Resources shall promptly notify the Secretary of Agriculture,
  Food and Markets. (b) A person shall apply for a permit in order to operate a farm that exceeds 700 mature
  dairy animals, 1,000 cattle or cow/calf pairs, 1,000 veal calves, 2,500 swine weighing
  over 55 pounds, 10,000 swine weighing less than 55 pounds, 500 horses, 10,000 sheep
  or lambs, 55,000 turkeys, 30,000 laying hens or broilers with a liquid manure handling
  system, 82,000 laying hens without a liquid manure handling system, 125,000 chickens
  other than laying hens without a liquid manure handling system, 5,000 ducks with a
  liquid manure handling system, or 30,000 ducks without a liquid manure handling system.
  Two or more individual farms that are under common ownership and that adjoin each
  other or use a common area or system for the disposal of wastes shall be considered
  a single animal feeding operation or “farm” when determining whether the combined
  number of livestock or domestic fowl qualifies the farm as a Large Farm Operation
  under this section. In order to receive this permit, the person shall demonstrate
  to the Secretary that the farm has an adequately sized manure management system to
  accommodate the wastes generated and a nutrient management plan to dispose of wastes
  in accordance with Required Agricultural Practices adopted under this chapter and
  current U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrient management standards. (c) The Secretary shall approve, condition, or disapprove the application within 45 business
  days following the date of receipt of a complete application for a permit under this
  section. Failure to act within the 45 business days shall be deemed approval. (d) A person seeking a permit under this section shall apply in writing to the Secretary.
  The application shall include a description of the proposed barn or expansion of livestock
  or domestic fowl; a proposed nutrient management plan to accommodate the number of
  livestock or domestic fowl the barn is designed to house or the farm is intending
  to expand to; and a description of the manure management system to be used to accommodate
  agricultural wastes. (e) The Secretary may condition or deny a permit on the basis of odor, noise, traffic,
  insects, flies, or other pests. (f) Before granting a permit under this section, the Secretary shall make an affirmative
  finding that the animal wastes generated by the construction or expansion will be
  stored so as not to generate runoff from a 25-year, 24-hour storm event and shall
  be disposed of in accordance with the Required Agricultural Practices adopted under
  this chapter and current U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrient management standards. (g) A farm that is permitted under this section and that withdraws more than 57,600 gallons
  of groundwater per day averaged over any 30 consecutive-day period shall annually
  report estimated water use to the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets. The
  Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets shall share information reported under
  this subsection with the Agency of Natural Resources. (h) The Secretary may inspect a farm permitted under this section at any time, but not
  less frequently than once per year. (i) A person required to obtain a permit under this section shall submit an annual operating
  fee of $2,500.00 to the Secretary. During any calendar year in which a person has
  an active Large Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation permit issued by the Agency
  of Natural Resources pursuant to the federal Clean Water Act and pays the required
  associated fee, that person shall not be required to pay the $2,500.00 annual operating
  fee described in this section. The fees collected under this section shall be deposited
  in the Agricultural Water Quality Special Fund under section 4803 of this title. (Added 1995, No. 163 (Adj. Sess.), § 17, eff. May 15, 1996; amended 1997, No. 124 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. April 21, 1998; 2003, No. 42, § 2, eff. May 27, 2003; 2003, No. 149 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. June 3, 2004; 2005, No. 78, § 8, eff. June 24, 2005; 2007, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. June 9, 2008; 2015, No. 39, § 11; 2015, No. 64, § 6; 2025, No. 67, § 3, eff. July 1, 2025.)