Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Natural Resources Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced today that The Forest Farmers, LLC, was fined $6,750 for clearing trees and placing fill within a wetland and its 50-foot buffer on an over 2,300-acre property it owns in Marshfield, Vermont.
Vermont’s wetlands provide many valuable services to the public and environment including flood water storage, water quality protection, habitat for fish, wildlife, and plant species, and recreation.
Development activities conducted in or near wetlands have the potential to harm these important services and habitats. Vermont law requires a wetland permit for any activity within significant wetlands or their buffer areas. DEC reviews activities, such as clearing and filling, conducted in or near wetland and permits those activities that will not cause undue harm to the wetland.
Between summer 2018 and winter 2019, the company constructed a sugarhouse and wastewater disposal system on the property. Tree clearing, earth disturbance, and fill associated with the work impacted nearly 37,000 square feet of the wetland and 50-foot buffer area.
Although the company secured a permit for the wastewater disposal system prior to its installation, the company did not get a wetland permit until after the work was completed in 2021. The wetland permit authorized some of the work but also required that the company restore nearly 9,000 square feet of wetland and buffer area.
“During the development phase of a project, we provide education and consultation to landowners and developers to help them avoid and minimize impacts to wetlands,” says John Beling, DEC Commissioner. “However, when development projects do not get the required permits or exceed permitted wetland impact, we use a suite of tools to gain compliance, up to and including formal enforcement.”
The company agreed to resolve the enforcement matter by paying a penalty of $6,750 and restoring the property as required by the permit. The agreement was entered as a Final Judicial Order by the Vermont Superior Court, Environmental Division on July 20, 2022.
For more information about DEC’s Watershed Management Division, including educational resources about wetland functions and values and wetland resources for landowners, visit dec.vermont.gov/watershed/wetlands.
7.22.2022. Montpelier, VT – The Agency of Natural Resources