MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) -
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott’s administration and an environmental group agreed on comprehensive changes to the state’s development control law, looking to streamline review for projects in designated areas and eliminate local commissions.
The recommendations were presented in joint testimony Tuesday to the House Natural Resources, Fish and Wildlife Committee, Vermont Public Radio reported.
Some lawmakers pushed back on the proposal to get rid of the nine regional district commissions, saying that the deal between the Republican governor’s administration and the Vermont Natural Resources Council was struck without their involvement and would destroy the citizen-based nature of Vermont’s existing law.
The law, Act 250, requires that major projects be evaluated under 10 environmental criteria that include impacts on water quality, air pollution and transportation.
The governor appoints members to regional commission that review the projects. Under the new proposal, the appeals would go directly to the state’s Supreme Court instead of the environmental court.
The law was passed in 1970, initially as a response to the growing resort development, especially in ski areas in southern Vermont.
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