Senate amends agriculture bill to shift CAFO permitting to ANR, sets July 1, 2025 effective date

Senators on the Vermont Senate on April 18 approved an amendment to S.124, a bill that updates state law on agricultural water-quality regulation so the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) will administer discharge permitting for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The amendment passed by roll call, 29-0, and the bill was ordered to third reading.

The amendment responds to an EPA finding that Vermont had not adequately regulated farm pollution under the federal Clean Water Act and directs ANR, in coordination with the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, to administer the Vermont Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) for CAFO discharges. Senator Calmore, for the senator from Rutland, told the Senate the bill was drafted to meet the EPA directive while minimizing new burdens on farmers.

"The bill before us, which is S.124, was drafted by legislative council to respond to that directive," Senator Calmore said. "The senate agriculture committee began work on the bill with the intent of developing something that had the lightest touch, but still with the, meeting the, guidelines that were set forth by the EPA."

Why this matters: The EPA in 2022…