Vermont Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1082
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1082
- Dam: includes an artificial barrier that meets all of the following:
- Department: means the Department of Environmental Conservation. See
- following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
- Intake structure: means a dam that is constructed and operated for the primary purposes of minimally impounding water for the measurement and withdrawal of streamflow to ensure use of the withdrawn water for snowmaking, potable water, irrigation, or other purposes approved by the Department. See
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Nonfederal dam: means a dam that is not a federal dam. See
- Person: means any individual; partnership; company; corporation; association; joint venture; trust; municipality; the State of Vermont or any agency, department, or subdivision of the State; any federal agency; or any other legal or commercial entity. See
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See
§ 1082. Authorization
(a) No person shall construct, enlarge, raise, lower, remodel, reconstruct, or otherwise alter any nonfederal dam, pond, or impoundment or other structure that is or will be capable of impounding more than 500,000 cubic feet of water or other liquid after construction or alteration, or remove, breach, or otherwise lessen the capacity of an existing nonfederal dam that is or was capable of impounding more than 500,000 cubic feet within or along the borders of this State where land in this State is proposed to be overflowed, or at the outlet of any body of water within this State, unless authorized by the State agency having jurisdiction so to do. However, in the matter of flood control projects where cooperation with the federal government is provided for by the provisions of section 1100 of this title, that section shall control.
(b) For the purposes of this chapter, the volume a dam or other structure is capable of impounding is the volume of water or other liquid, including any accumulated sediments, controlled by the structure with the water or liquid level at the top of the lowest nonoverflow part of the structure.
(c) An intake structure in existence on July 1, 2018 that continues to operate in accordance with a valid Department permit or approval that contains requirements for inspection and maintenance subject to section 1105 of this title shall have a rebuttable presumption of compliance with the requirements of this chapter and rules adopted under this chapter, provided that no presumption of compliance shall apply if one or both of the following occur on or after July 1, 2018:
(1) the owner or operator of the intake takes an action that requires authorization under this section; or
(2) the Department issues an order under section 1095 of this title directing reconstruction, repair, removal, breaching, draining, or other action it considers necessary to improve the safety of the dam. (Amended 1975, No. 179 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1981, No. 242 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2017, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)