Committee backs municipal delegation for pretreatment permitting; removes $50 cap after ANR cost estimate

Staff explained new language that would permit the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) to delegate pretreatment discharge permitting (the program that requires pre‑treatment of industrial or commercial discharges before they reach municipal wastewater treatment plants) to municipalities. The change is intended to align Vermont with the common model in other states where municipal wastewater authorities administer pretreatment programs. Staff said formal delegation will be contingent on receiving official written approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the 1983 memorandum of agreement and therefore will not take effect until ANR secures EPA authorization.

Separately, staff reported the conference report removes a $50 permit fee cap that had applied to potable water supply or wastewater permits within certain designated areas. ANR estimated that applying a $50 cap across expanded designated areas could cost the agency as much as $500,000 and strain staffing; staff said the cap had been little used to date. The committee accepted removal of the cap in the conference report.

Members sought clarification about how municipal delegation will work in practice (municipalities must apply for delegation and ANR approval will remain possible), and staff said larger towns such as Burlington and Middlebury already manage pretreatment interactions with local businesses in coordination with ANR. The pretreatment delegation contains a contingency clause: the statutory delegation language will not be operational until ANR obtains formal EPA approval.