Miscellaneous

V.S.A. tit. 24 Appendix, ch. 417, subch. 6

in effect

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 417, § 56 Indemnification

56. Indemnification (a) The District agrees it shall protect, indemnify, and hold harmless each member municipality (except a member municipality found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be at fault) and its respective officials, officers, members, employees, and agents from and against all liabilities, damages, claims, demands, judgments, losses, costs, expenses, suits, actions, or proceedings, and attorney’s fees and further agrees to defend the indemnified party in any suit, action, or proceeding with respect to any act by or default of the District arising out of the location and operation of a District waste disposal facility or the negligent conduct arising from any District activities. (b) Any member municipality that operates or maintains or has operated or maintained a facility or facilities for the disposal of solid or hazardous waste (except a facility the operation or maintenance of which is, pursuant to express written authorization of the Board of Supervisors, conducted for the District) agrees that it shall protect, indemnify, and hold harmless the District and each other member municipality (except a member municipality found to be at fault) and their respective officials, officers, members, employees, and agents from and against all liabilities, damages, claims, demands, judgments, losses, costs, expenses, suits, actions, or proceedings, and attorney’s fees and further agrees to defend the indemnified parties in any suit, action, or other proceeding with respect to any act by or default of such municipality arising out of its operation or maintenance, or both, of such facility. (c) It is expressly agreed and understood by the District and the member municipalities that neither the District nor any member municipality has accepted or assumed any responsibility or liability for the past, present, or future operation or maintenance of any solid or hazardous waste disposal facility located within the District or operated by any member municipality, except a facility the operation or maintenance of which is, pursuant to express written authorization of the Board of Supervisors, conducted for or on behalf of the District. (d) In the event the District is unable to meet any obligation with regard to which the member municipalities are jointly liable, each member municipality shall contribute its proportionate share of such obligations as computed under section 37 of this chapter that are paid by the District to insure that all member municipalities share financial responsibility for these obligations. Amended 2011, No. M-17 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. July 12, 2012.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 417, § 57 Withdrawal of member municipality

57. Withdrawal of member municipality A member municipality may terminate its membership in the District by a majority vote of its voters present and voting at a duly warned annual or special meeting voting for such a termination. At such annual or special meeting, a majority of the municipality’s voters present and voting must also approve the terms and conditions of this chapter for withdrawal required pursuant to subdivision (1) of this section. Such duly warned meeting must be held no less than 30 days after notice of intent to withdraw has been given to the Board of Supervisors. Said notice shall be in writing and delivered to the Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The termination shall take effect upon a certification of the termination vote by the clerk of the terminating municipality that must be delivered by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Secretary of the District between July 1 and October 31 to become effective the following July 1. Requests for withdrawal received after October 31 shall result in the District requiring full payment of the withdrawing municipality’s assessment for the next fiscal year. (1) The terminating municipality must sign a written agreement with the District to pay, as applicable: (A) Its share of any financial obligations incurred by the District up to the point of termination, including its share of obligations subject to annual appropriation up to the effective date of withdrawal; (B) Its share of all existing indebtedness incurred by the District and obligations under long-term contracts, at the time its termination becomes effective, including its share of the debt or obligations incurred by the District for the remaining bonding term or contract term; and (C) Any direct, incidental, and consequential costs resulting from its withdrawal, including fixed operational costs and costs of redesigning, relocating, or rebuilding a facility. (2) [Repealed.] Amended 2011, No. M-17 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. July 12, 2012.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 417, § 58 Admission of new member municipalities

58. Admission of new member municipalities The Board of Supervisors may authorize the inclusion of additional member municipalities in the District upon such terms and conditions as it in its sole discretion shall deem to be fair, reasonable, and in the best interest of the District. The legislative branch of any nonmember municipality that desires to be admitted to the District shall make application for admission to the Board of Supervisors of the District. The Board shall determine the effects and impacts that are likely to occur if such municipality is admitted and shall thereafter either grant or deny authority for admission of the petitioning municipality. If the Board grants such authority, it shall also specify any terms and conditions, including financial obligations upon which such admission is predicated. If a majority of the voters of the petitioning municipality present and voting at a meeting of such municipality duly warned for such purpose shall vote to approve this chapter and the terms and conditions for admission, the vote shall be certified by the clerk of that municipality to the Board of Supervisors. Thereafter, upon satisfactory performance of the terms and conditions of admission, said municipality shall, by resolution of the Board of Supervisors, become and thereafter be a member municipality of the District. Amended 2011, No. M-17 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. July 12, 2012.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 417, § 59 Dissolution of District

59. Dissolution of District (a) Procedure. If the Board of Supervisors receives a dissolution petition from no less than five percent of voters in each member municipality in which votes are verified by the town clerk in each municipality, or if the Board by Supervisors, by resolution approved by two-thirds of all the votes entitled to be cast, determines that it is in the best interests of the public, the member municipalities, and the District that the District be dissolved, and if the District then has no outstanding debt or obligations under long-term contracts, or will have no such debt or obligation upon completion of the plan of dissolution, it shall prepare a plan of dissolution and thereafter adopt a resolution directing that the question of such dissolution and the plan of dissolution be submitted to the voters of the District at a special meeting of the District duly warned for such purpose. If two-thirds of the voters of the District present and voting at such special meeting of the District duly warned for such purpose shall vote to dissolve the District and approve the plan of dissolution, the District shall cease to conduct its affairs except insofar as may be necessary for the winding up thereof. The Board of Supervisors shall cause a notice of the proposed dissolution to be mailed to each known creditor of the District and to the Vermont Secretary of State, and shall proceed to collect the assets of the District and apply and distribute them in accordance with the plan of dissolution. (b) Plan of dissolution. The plan of dissolution shall: (1) identify and value all unencumbered assets of the District; (2) identify and value all encumbered assets of the District; (3) identify all creditors of the District and the nature or amount of all liabilities and obligations of the District; (4) identify all obligations under long-term contracts; (5) specify the means by which assets of the District shall be liquidated and all liabilities and obligations of the District shall be paid and discharged, or adequate provision shall be made for the satisfaction thereof; (6) specify the amount of monies due from each member municipality, if necessary, to extinguish the liabilities of the District; (7) specify the nature and amount of any liabilities or obligations to be assumed and paid by the member municipalities; (8) specify the means by which any assets remaining after discharge of all liabilities shall be liquidated, if necessary; (9) specify that any assets remaining after payment of all liabilities shall be apportioned and distributed among the member municipalities according to the same basic formula used in apportioning the annual assessments of the District. (c) Termination. When the plan of dissolution has been implemented, the Board of Supervisors shall adopt a resolution certifying that fact to the member municipalities. Then, this chapter and the District created hereby shall be terminated. Amended 2011, No. M-17 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. July 12, 2012.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 417, § 60 Amendment of charter

60. Amendment of charter (a) This chapter may be amended by petition of five percent of the voters (certified by each Town Clerk) of the District under subchapter 5 of this chapter or by the Board of Supervisors under this section. The Board of Supervisors at any regular or special meeting of the Board of Supervisors may, by a majority vote, adopt a resolution stating its intent to amend the chapter. A written copy of the resolution, stating the wording and purpose of the amendment and the date of the meeting scheduled to act on the amendment, shall be delivered to the legislative branches of each member municipality and mailed or left at the usual place of residence of each member of the Board of Supervisors, by the Clerk of the District at least ten business days prior to the meeting scheduled to adopt the amendment. The amendment may be adopted by a vote of members present and representing two-thirds of all the votes entitled to be cast at a regular meeting or a special meeting called for that purpose of the Board of Supervisors, unless two-thirds of legal voters of the legislative branches of the member municipalities request, in writing, the Board of Supervisors hold a special District meeting to vote on the amendment. (b) If the amendment is adopted by the Board of Supervisors or by the voters of the District, the Clerk of the District, within 10 business days after the vote of adoption, shall certify to the Secretary of State each proposal of amendment showing the facts as to its origin and the procedure followed. The Secretary of State shall then proceed as with municipal charter amendments under 17 V.S.A. § 2645. The amendment shall become effective upon affirmative enactment of the proposal, either as proposed or as amended by the General Assembly. Section 53 of this chapter, relating to reconsideration and rescission of vote, shall apply to an amendment adopted by a vote of the Board or the voters under this section. (c) This chapter may be amended in the manner provided in this chapter, but no such amendment shall be made that shall substantially impair the rights of the holders of any bonds or other notes or other evidence of indebtedness or substantially affect any obligations under long-term contracts of the District then outstanding or in effect, or the rights of the District to procure the means for payment, continuation, or termination thereof. Amended 2011, No. M-17 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. July 12, 2012.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 417, § 61 Severability

61. Severability Should any court of competent jurisdiction judge any term, phrase, clause, sentence, or provision of this chapter to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable in any respect, such judgment shall not affect the validity, legality, or enforceability of the chapter as a whole, or any part of this chapter.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 417, § 62 Definitions

62. Definitions As used in this chapter, all terms below shall have the following meanings: (1) “Composting” means the controlled biological decomposition of organic matter through active management to produce a stable humus-rich material. (2) “Conditionally exempt generator” (CEG) means a generator of hazardous waste that is conditionally exempted from certain provisions of the Vermont Hazardous Waste Management Regulations. (3) “Discrete disposal facilities” means all facilities other than diffuse disposal facilities that are used for the disposal of solid wastes. A discrete disposal facility may include one or more landfill units. (4) “Hazardous waste” means any waste or combination of wastes of a solid, liquid, contained gaseous, or semisolid form, including those that are toxic, corrosive, ignitable, reactive, strong sensitizers, or that generate pressure through decomposition, heat, or other means that in the judgment of the Secretary of Natural Resources may cause or contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible or incapacitating reversible illness, taking into account the toxicity of such waste, its persistence and degradability in nature, its potential for assimilation or concentration in tissue, and other factors that may otherwise cause or contribute to adverse acute or chronic effects on the health of persons or other living organisms, or any matter that may have an unusually destructive effect on water quality if discharged to ground or surface waters of the State. All special nuclear, source, or byproduct material, as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, is specifically excluded from this definition. (5) “Recyclable materials” means solid waste that may be reclaimed or processed so that it may be used in the production of materials or products. (6) “Recycle” means the process of utilizing solid waste for the production of materials or products, but shall not include processing solid waste to produce energy or fuel products. (7) “Recycling facility” means a facility that accepts, aggregates, stores, or processes recyclable materials. (8) “Resource recovery facility” means a waste-to-energy facility. (9) “Sludge” means any solid, semisolid, or liquid generated from a municipal, commercial, or industrial wastewater treatment plant or process, water supply treatment plant, air pollution control facility, or any other such waste having similar characteristics and effects. (10) “Solid waste” means any discarded garbage, refuse, septage, or sludge from a waste treatment plant, water supply plant, or pollution control facility, and other discarded material including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous materials resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, or agricultural operations and from community activities but does not include animal manure and absorbent bedding used for soil enrichment or solid or dissolved materials in industrial discharges that are point sources subject to permits under the Water Pollution Control Act, 10 V.S.A. chapter 47. For the purposes of this chapter, solid waste that is also hazardous waste is subject to further regulation under the Vermont Hazardous Waste Management Regulations. (11) “Solid waste management” means the activities that result in the storage, transportation, transfer, or treatment of solid waste or recyclable materials or in the disposal of solid waste. (12) “Transfer station” means a solid waste management facility where solid waste is collected, aggregated, sorted, stored, or processed for the purpose of subsequent transfer to another solid waste management facility for further processing, treatment, transfer, or disposal. (13) “Treatment” means any method, technique, or process, including neutralization, designed to change the physical, chemical, or biological character or composition of any hazardous or solid waste so as to neutralize such waste or so as to recover energy or material resources from the waste or so as to render such waste safer for transport, amenable for recovery, amenable for storage, or reduced in volume or, for hazardous wastes, so as to render such waste nonhazardous. Amended 2011, No. M-17 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. July 12, 2012.

Source: Vermont General Assembly (legislature.vermont.gov)URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/24APPENDIX/417Fetched: 10/21/2026