Fair organizers tell Agriculture Committee 3‑acre stormwater rule could cost Rutland fair about $3.7 million

Representatives of Vermont fairs told the Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry on an underspecified date that new stormwater rules known as the "3‑acre" rule could require roughly $3.7 million in retention and treatment infrastructure at the Rutland-based Vermont State Fair, creating a funding and permitting impasse that could affect multiple county fairs.

"Appreciate the funding that we always get for the stipends and, capital grants. It helps us to continue with our infrastructure," said Jason Secard, a representative of the Orleans County fair, echoing comments from several fair officials who described recent capital projects such as new bathrooms, electrical upgrades and improvements to show rings.

The Vermont State Fair's representative, Robert Condon, told the committee the fair owns about 75 acres of property and has roughly 16.9 acres of impervious surface (roofs, gravel, asphalt). Because Muzzy Brook runs through the property and the brook has been designated an impaired watershed, Condon said state rules would require the fair to capture 100% of stormwater from impervious areas and emphasize retention rather than partial treatment. "Our current price tag is $3,700,000. That is potentially up to $200,000 of engineering," Condon said, adding an estimated $160,000 of impact fees could apply and noting a $50,000-per-acre impact-fee figure used by regulators for runoff that cannot feasibly be captured.

Condon said the fair has completed a feasibility study only recently and that engineering and permitting could take at least a year, leaving the fair unable to access a separate round of Clean Water Fund or ARPA-allocated grant dollars intended to help fairs comply. "Because we don't have a permit in hand, we're gonna miss it," he said, referring to deadlines for planned grant programs.

Multiple fair representatives described how capital grants and stipend funding have been used in recent years for projects meant to maintain or expand fair operations: Peggy Sherlock of the Tunbridge Fair said her grounds recently added a new bathroom and built a "Heritage Hall," and that this year's request is focused on electrical upgrades to support larger RVs and vendor power needs. She said Tunbridge's average attendance is "about 30, 32,000 over 4 days." Ken Button of the Addison County Fair and Field Days reported similar improvements and that the fair serves as a county hub for organizations and youth programs, with roughly "30, 34,000 paid attendants plus volunteers" spread over its run.

At least two fairs described site-specific capital projects: Tunbridge and Memorial County reported converting or planning to convert riding rings from turf to sand to expand usable programming; Memorial County's Randy Bean said the fair is replacing a turf arena with sand to make the ring more usable and that last year's attendance was about 10,000 for their three-day event.

Committee members asked technical and regulatory questions. Representative O'Brien and others discussed watershed designations and where runoff ultimately drains; Condon said the brook eventually reaches the Otter Creek/Lake Champlain watershed and that his fair appears to be a high-cost site because of underlying topography, legacy infrastructure and an undersized railroad culvert that can trap water on the grounds.

Fair leaders said they have applied for the small engineering grants that have been made available through DEC and related funds but that those awards (about $30,000 net after administrative fees on the initial program) will not cover full engineering costs. Condon said the fair association has requested site visits from DEC and the Agency of Agriculture to better explain on-the-ground conditions and that, for now, they have been allowed to continue operations while the regulatory and funding questions are unresolved. "In the interim, I'm allowed to continue," he told the committee.

No formal committee vote or directive was recorded during the discussion. Fair representatives asked for greater coordination among state agencies and clearer, feasible funding pathways to move from feasibility studies to full engineering and construction without losing planned grants.

The comments from fair officials combined two recurring themes: (1) smaller, ongoing capital projects such as bathrooms, electrical upgrades and building preservation have depended on stipends and capital grants; and (2) the 3‑acre rule and impaired-watershed treatment requirements pose a possible one-time, existential capital cost that local fairs cannot absorb without larger state or federal support or regulatory relief.

Committee members did not adopt a formal action during the meeting. Fair leaders said they will continue to press for engineering funding, seek meetings with state regulators, and pursue available capital grants while continuing this year's events.