Opponents appeal decision on Sheffield wind project to Vermont Supreme Court

Appellants filed a notice of appeal to the Vermont Supreme Court of the
rulings by the Vermont Environmental Court to reaffirm a stormwater
construction permit for UPC Vermont Wind’s Sheffield project.
‘It is our belief that the Environmental Court’s rulings are based on
critical misinterpretations and applications of Vermont laws involving the
Water Quality Standards (VWQS) and the issue of who has the burden of
proof,’ said Stephanie Kaplan, attorney for the appellants. ‘The
decision is inconsistent with Vermont legal precedent, with legislative
intent, and if allowed to stand eviscerates the VWQS when it comes to
stormwater, which cannot be permissible under the Clean Water Act.’
The citizens argue that the most significant error the Court made was
ruling that monitoring of streams during construction and applying the
numerical standards and anti-degradation requirements of the VWQS are not
practical or necessary in the context of stormwater. The presumption that
stormwater construction permittees that comply with Best Management
Practices automatically therefore comply with VWQS creates a very
far-reaching precedent that cannot be allowed to stand.
‘What it means is that the State of Vermont is knowingly putting at risk
and willingly trading off unique headwater stream ecosystems including the
native brook trout and other species that inhabit them. These ecosystems
exist only in isolated pockets across Vermont’s mountain landscape,’
said Paul Brouha, a retired fisheries biologist and one of the appellants
who live adjacent to the project.