ANR says stakeholder report will guide launch of KO permitting program; officials pledge clearer communication with farmers

For the record, Julie Moore, secretary of natural resources, told the Senate Agriculture Committee that the Agency of Natural Resources will use the stakeholder report due at the end of the month as a roadmap for standing up a KO permitting program.

"We anticipate having a report by the end of this month that both summarizes the input we've received from stakeholders and then we're going to write sort of a wraparound to it to start to lay out our vision," Moore said. She added that the agency understands its statutory authorities and will follow timelines in the report while moving toward rulemaking and program implementation.

Misty Saggalli, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, described the X67‑mandated stakeholder process as broadly successful. She said a consultant‑facilitated series of meetings brought farmers and environmental groups into the same room and produced a package of recommendations. "If you had said to me that I would come into this process and want to sit in the same room as the environmental groups, I would have said you were crazy," Saggalli said, citing the unusual degree of engagement between historically divergent interests.

ANR officials told lawmakers they expect some recommendations to require agency rulemaking while others can be implemented administratively. Moore said the KO program team now includes a program manager and a five‑person staff and that the agency will work with farmers as the program is built and implemented so "they understand what is required of them."

Committee members pressed ANR on enforcement follow‑up and customer service, describing cases where farmers who had been referred for enforcement actions later did not know the outcome. ANR acknowledged the problem and said it is improving internal coordination so referrals include timely status updates and clear next steps. "We want to make sure that one we follow up in a timely manner...and that two we communicate with our partners as to what is going on and keeping that communication open," Saggalli said.

ANR identified stakeholder participants that informed the report, including the Natural Resources Conservation Service, UVM Extension, Vermont Natural Resources Council, Conservation Law Foundation, Lake Champlain Committee and Farm Bureau, plus a roster of roughly a dozen to 20 farmers who represented a range of farm sizes.

The committee said it would reserve time to receive ANR's report when it is available. Moore told members the agency remains on track to deliver the stakeholder report this month and will notify the committee when it is ready.