Vermont Statutes Title 29 Sec. 403
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 29 Sec. 403
- Department: means the Department of Environmental Conservation. See
- Encroach: means to place or cause to be placed any material or structure in any lakes and ponds that are public waters or to alter, or cause to be altered, the lands underlying any waters, or to place or cause to be placed any bridge, dock, boathouse, cable, pipeline, or similar structure beyond the shoreline as established by the mean water level of any lakes and ponds that are public waters under the jurisdiction of the Board. See
- following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. 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.
- 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
- Public good: means that which shall be for the greatest benefit of the people of the State of Vermont. See
- Public waters: means navigable waters excepting those waters in private ponds and private preserves as set forth in 10 V. See
§ 403. Encroachment prohibited
(a)(1) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, no person shall encroach on any of those waters and lands of lakes and ponds under the jurisdiction of the Department without first obtaining a permit under this chapter.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, no person shall encroach on the following waters with a dock or pier without first obtaining a permit under this chapter:
(A) boatable tributaries of Lake Champlain and Lake Memphremagog upstream to the first barrier to navigation; and
(B) Connecticut River impoundments and boatable tributaries of such impoundments upstream to the first barrier to navigation.
(3) No permit shall be granted if the encroachment adversely affects the public good.
(b) A permit shall not be required for the following uses provided that navigation or boating is not unreasonably impeded:
(1) wooden or metal docks for noncommercial use mounted on piles or floats provided that:
(A) the combined horizontal distance of the proposed encroachment and any existing encroachments located within 100 feet thereof that are owned or controlled by the applicant do not exceed 50 feet and their aggregate surface areas do not exceed 500 square feet; and
(B) concrete, masonry, earth or rock fill, sheet piling, bulkheading, cribwork, or similar construction does not form a part of the encroachment;
(2) a water intake pipe not exceeding two inches inside diameter;
(3) temporary extensions of existing structures added for a period not to exceed six months, if required by low water;
(4) ordinary repairs and maintenance to existing commercial and noncommercial structures;
(5) duck blinds, floats, rafts, and buoys.
(c) Existing encroachments shall not be enlarged, extended, or added to without first obtaining a permit under this chapter, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section.
(d) This chapter shall not apply to encroachments subject to the provisions of 10 Vt. Stat. Ann. chapter 43, concerning dams, or regulations adopted under the provisions of 10 V.S.A. § 1424 concerning public waters.
(e) This section shall not apply to the installation on lake bottoms of small filtering devices not exceeding nine square feet of disturbed area on the end of water intake pipes less than two inches in diameter for the purpose of zebra mussel control. (Added 1967, No. 308 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. March 22, 1968; amended 1975, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. March 15, 1976; 1981, No. 222 (Adj. Sess.) § 41; 1993, No. 233 (Adj. Sess.), § 52, eff. June 21, 1994; 2009, No. 117 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)