EPA finds gaps in Vermont CAFO oversight; state moves to revise corrective action plan

Vermont environmental regulators told the Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 1 has concluded the state is not fully implementing federal NPDES requirements for concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, and has required the Agency of Natural Resources to take corrective actions.

At a committee hearing, Keith Laplomb, director of the Watershed Management Division at the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, said EPA’s review found that CAFOs are point sources that require National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits at the time of any discharge and that the state has not issued individual NPDES CAFO permits. Laplomb said the Conservation Law Foundation, Vermont Natural Resources Council and the Lake Champlain Committee filed a de‑delegation petition in March 2022 and EPA reviewed complaints, inspections and agency records before issuing findings in September 2024.

The EPA review covered 113 complaints made to state agencies between 2021 and 2023, Laplomb said. Of those complaints, 26 remained unresolved in the agencies’ records; 51 were concluded as "no violation found" despite documentation on file; 8 were identified as Clean Water Act violations but were remediated without further…