Committee examines H.72 to expand municipal tools for nuisance properties, add cleanup grants and liens

The House Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee on an unspecified date heard detailed explanation and testimony about H.72, a bill that would expand municipal authority over properties with accumulations of salvage, scrap and other refuse and add funding and collection tools to support cleanup.

Legislative Council counsel Tucker Anderson told the committee that the bill would add a new subdivision to the waste management fund statute allowing grants to municipalities for soil testing and cleanup on properties foreclosed under 32 V.S.A. chapter 9, and that “grants ... shall not exceed $250,000.” He described multiple changes across Title 24 that would (1) permit municipalities to require people who illegally deposit refuse to dispose of it at a solid waste management facility or face a $100-per-day penalty for failing to do so; (2) create definitions for “unauthorized salvage yard” and related terms; and (3) make unpaid civil penalties and fines a lien on the property “in the same manner and to the same extent as taxes assessed on the grand list,” with collection procedures modeled on existing tax-collection law.

Why it matters: Municipal officials and the Vermont League of Cities and Towns told the committee that chronic nuisance properties — piles of derelict vehicles, appliances, tires, roll-off containers and other waste — are common, costly and difficult to clean up. Trevor Lashua, Randolph town manager, described a single property with a history of enforcement dating back to 2008 and said towns “want compliance” and “safe, healthy properties” for neighbors. Josh Hanford, director of intergovernmental relations at the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, said the League supports H.72 as a tool local governments need to recoup cleanup costs and resolve long-running problems.

Key provisions and clarifications discussed

- Grants and fund source: Anderson said the bill amends the statute that governs the state waste management fund administered by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) to allow grants to municipalities for soil testing and cleanup on certain foreclosed properties; he said grants under the provision would be capped at $250,000 per award.

- Penalties and disposal requirement: The bill would add a requirement that a person who violates the dumping and depositing statute and who does not take improperly disposed materials to a solid waste management facility may face a $100-per-day civil penalty. Anderson contrasted that daily penalty with the existing statutory upper limit of $800 for civil penalties adopted by municipal ordinance.

- Liens and tax-sale collection: Multiple sections in the bill would make unpaid civil penalties and fines a lien on the property and subject to the same remedies and procedures used to collect delinquent property taxes, potentially leading to tax sale and the existing redemption procedures under Title 32. Anderson advised the committee to review Title 32 tax-sale procedures closely because they include notice, repayment opportunities and a one-year redemption window after sale.

- Definitions and scope: H.72 adds definitions (for example, “unauthorized salvage yard” and automobile-graveyard thresholds tied to existing Title 24 definitions). Anderson noted the statute creates “bright line” standards for some salvage-yard categories, but said several terms and boundary questions — such as when a person’s belongings become “refuse” or when a property creates a sufficiently public nuisance — will need careful legal review.

What witnesses said

- Trevor Lashua, town manager of Randolph, described a chronic case involving RVs, grills, tires, nonmoving vehicles, appliances and a roll-off container where enforcement over 17 years produced limited cleanup. “We want compliance,” Lashua said, describing repeated enforcement attempts, DEC involvement and failed collections of prior fines.

- Josh Hanford, Vermont League of Cities and Towns, said the League supports H.72’s goals. He noted municipal tax-sale timing changes enacted last year and explained how long redemption and delinquency timelines can delay municipal remedies; he said allowing municipalities to recover cleanup fines through tax-sale collections would be “very helpful” in some cases.

Concerns and open questions

Committee members and counsel raised several topics the bill would need to clarify: the legal definition of “refuse” and when private property becomes abandoned property; how the “public nuisance” standard is proved and whether phrases such as “considerable number of persons” have been interpreted in Vermont case law; the interplay with existing salvage-yard permitting and screening rules; and protections for property owners who assert they are storing valuable items rather than refuse. Anderson recommended follow-up legal review and flagged the need to reconcile the bill with multiple sections of Title 24 and Title 32.

No formal action or vote on H.72 was recorded during this hearing. The committee heard municipal testimony and signaled it will continue work on the bill in subsequent meetings.