Appropriations committee backs H319 package tying salt‑management, Reigate deadlines and waste‑stewardship changes to funding

The Vermont Senate Committee on Appropriations voted May 21 to recommend H319, a multi‑section bill that includes a voluntary commercial salt applicator training program, contingent implementation funding for the new program, an inventory requirement for salt and sand storage sites, a deadline extension for Reigate’s compliance plan tied to a new owner, and provisions phasing in an expanded household hazardous waste extended‑producer‑responsibility (EPR) program and related paint‑stewardship changes.

Katie McLennan, Office of Legislative Council, described the salt provisions as a voluntary program in which commercial salt applicators would “learn about best management practices for salt application on roads, parking lots and sidewalks” and keep records; the bill seeks to reduce over‑salting that is contributing to chloride contamination in Vermont lakes, ponds and waterways. McLennan said the bill’s liability language differs from New Hampshire’s program: in Vermont the Judiciary has crafted an approach that offers an “affirmative defense, rather than really... from liability, except in the case of gross negligence,” characterized in the meeting as a rebuttable presumption of compliance rather than blanket immunity.

Section 32 makes implementation of the salt‑management program contingent on a future appropriation from the general fund, McLennan said; she told the committee New Hampshire’s fees cover their program costs but that Vermont may need an appropriation to start. The bill also directs an inventory of state and municipal salt/sand sheds, identifying which sites are covered and which are uncovered and noting whether uncovered sites are within 100 yards of a water body or drinking‑water source. That inventory is intended to give policymakers a cost estimate should covering or moving stockpiles be required.

The bill contains a Reigate‑related provision (section 33) extending deadlines tied to the company’s revised plan under a new owner. A committee member said the new owner’s first name was given as “Viddy” during testimony and that she had financed prior owners and later took over; the committee required the owner to resubmit a plan because the operations have changed.

H319 also expands the state’s household hazardous waste EPR framework. McLennan explained the EPR organization set up last year will register initially and submit a three‑year initial collection plan before transitioning to a permanent plan. The initial plan is intended to be simpler to help the new group organize. The program requires collection to be free and convenient to consumers and to reimburse municipal solid‑waste entities for costs. If producers fail to form a stewardship organization or meet deadlines, the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) may establish a plan and charge manufacturers for the cost of that plan plus a 10% assessment, committee staff said.

Some paint‑related products that are not currently in the architectural paint stewardship program — for example, paint thinners and certain aerosols — would be transitioned into the paint program. The change codifies fees already charged under the paint stewardship structure and requires a fee report for newly included products; the legislature would approve any new fee schedule. Committee fiscal staff reported the existing paint stewardship organization collected roughly $995,000 in calendar year 2024 and that bringing additional products into the program would likely generate modest additional sales tax revenue (an estimated $60,000 in the fiscal example discussed) because the stewardship fees are included in the taxable sales price.

James Duffy, committee fiscal staff, said the contingency provisions are intended to ensure ANR will not be left to implement an unfunded program. He told the committee the provision that allows ANR to impose costs if producers fail to form a plan could yield roughly $500,000 per plan if triggered, though the agency does not expect the contingency to be needed; he and staff estimated the number of stewardship plans that might be needed for different product categories at around five or six.

McLennan and staff said enforcement of the EPR and fee collection authority sits with ANR; retailers will in practice collect stewardship fees at point of sale in many cases, and stewardship organizations file annual reports documenting revenues and expenditures. The committee recorded no immediate fiscal appropriation in the bill for some sections and placed multiple implementation provisions contingent on future appropriations so the programs would not start unfunded.

After discussion, the committee voted to report H319 favorably; roll call recorded unanimous 'yes' votes among Senators Norris, Watson, Baruth, Lyons, Westman, Brennan and Perchlet. Committee counsel said the amendment language will be posted and sent to editing before the bill moves to the floor.