Committee reviews winter manure‑spreading rules, agency outlines exemption process and operational experience

The Agriculture Committee reviewed Vermont’s winter manure‑spreading rules and a seasonal exemption process that allows limited spreading outside the December 15–April 1 prohibition. Laura DiPietro, director of water quality at the Agency of Agriculture, explained the rules’ history and the agency’s recent operational approach.

DiPietro told the committee the earliest versions of the state guidance date to 1986 and were intended to define “accepted agricultural practices.” The winter ban became date‑based in 1995; under current statutory language the default prohibition runs December 15 to April 1, and the agency has authority in some cases to extend the period 15 days earlier or 30 days later.

The agency described two kinds of exceptions: individual emergency exemptions and a seasonal exemption process created after work with farmers following Act 64 (2015). DiPietro said the seasonal exemption language is detailed and has been difficult to operationalize; as written it includes requirements such as nutrient‑management controls, buffers and prohibitions where soils are saturated. She said those details have limited the agency’s use of preapproved seasonal exemptions.

Agency staff described how they handled the severe 2023–24 weather: rather than a statewide waiver, the department fast‑tracked case‑by‑case exemptions, using a short online form and DocuSign routing so many approvals could be issued quickly. “We issued, I think, 63 exemptions in that process,” DiPietro said, and noted the vast majority of those operations used injection equipment rather than surface spreading. The agency reported two instances of runoff tied to spreading in that period; staff said those incidents did not come from the managed exemptions discussed.

Committee discussion focused on the balance between environmental protection and operational flexibility. Members and staff agreed injection tends to reduce surface runoff risk because the manure is placed beneath the soil surface, is lighter to move on wet fields, and is less likely to be re‑mobilized on melt events. DiPietro also summarized storage expectations: medium and large farms must hold about 180 days of manure storage, while smaller farms face approximately 107 days of required storage under current regulation.

Several committee members asked whether the December 15–April 1 dates still reflect on‑the‑ground conditions. DiPietro said those dates were moved into statute and cannot be changed without legislative action, but the agency can and does issue emergency or case‑by‑case permissions. She recommended exploring whether the seasonal exemption language should be loosened so plans, rather than prescriptive statutory text, could give farmers predictable, preapproved seasonal flexibility while holding them to a performance standard (for example, a strict prohibition on any runoff).

Members also asked for written materials and for the agency to share the seasonal exemption paperwork and examples of permits. DiPietro offered to provide copies of the rules and the exemption template for the committee’s review.

No formal amendment or vote took place; committee members signaled interest in pursuing statutory or rule changes to allow more preapproved seasonal flexibility while retaining safeguards against runoff.