Today, the Vermont Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (LCAR) voted to object to the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) proposed amendments to the Vermont Wetland Rules.
Vermont Natural Resources Council, Conservation Law Foundation, Lake Champlain Committee and the Connecticut River Conservancy thank LCAR committee members for recognizing that ANR did not have the legal authority to make these changes through the rulemaking process.
“Wetlands improve water quality, mitigate flooding, and provide habitat, so Vermont law requires a site-specific assessment of wetlands functions and values before these areas are altered,” said Lake Champlain Committee Executive Director Jenny Patterson.“If put into effect, the proposed changes would result in a greater risk of harm to development and infrastructure due to flooding and environmental degradation, because the rule allows development without a site-specific review.”
In September 2025, Governor Phil Scott issued an Executive Order (EO) that attempted to unilaterally weaken protections for wetlands in Vermont in areas that the EO identified for growth. Environmental groups raised concerns that the Governor did not have the authority to allow building in significant wetlands without getting legislative approval to alter Vermont law. In November, the Vermont Attorney General issued a formal opinion that, at a minimum, ANR would have to propose changes to the Vermont Wetland Rules (VWR) through the formal rulemaking process to legally implement the EO.
During the subsequent rulemaking process, ANR’s proposed amendments to the Wetland Rules would allow residential construction in significant unmapped wetlands in certain growth areas, and reduce the protective area around mapped wetlands by half. ANR acknowledges that the proposed rule will result in harm to significant wetlands that perform vital ecological functions, including mitigating floods and filtering water pollution. However, ANR argued that the loss of wetlands is justified by the need to build housing.
“The Scott administration is ramming through major changes without listening to the serious concerns Vermonters have raised about safety, resilience, and accountability,” said Jenny Rushlow, CLF interim vice president for Vermont. “Vermonters know we need more housing, but we also know what happens when development ignores the realities of flooding and climate risk. Too many communities and families are still rebuilding from devastating floods. We should not be putting people and homes in harm’s way. We need to build intentionally for a safer future by expanding housing in ways that protect people, strengthen community resilience, and respect local voices.”
Environmental groups argued that ANR did not have the authority under Vermont’s wetland law to allow the filling, draining and development in wetlands for any use, including housing. In addition, environmental groups noted that allowing houses to be built in wetlands will put Vermonters who live in these areas at greater risk from flood damage, degrade what is built in wetlands by exposing housing and infrastructure to water damage, and harm the environment. Vermont has already lost more than 30% of wetlands to development.
Environmental groups have offered alternative approaches to improve wetland permitting, and remain open to discussions about how best to accomplish this to support needed housing development.
In Vermont, when a government agency proposes a rule, LCAR must approve the rule or object to the rule before an agency can put a rule into effect. LCAR objected to the proposed rule noting that ANR does not have the authority to alter wetland protections without obtaining approval from the Legislature to change Vermont’ s wetlands statute. As LCAR notes, Vermont law is clear – ANR must protect and restore wetlands and make decisions about managing Vermont’s wetlands based on science in order to achieve a net gain of wetlands.
Lauren Hierl, Executive Director of the Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC) stated, “Rather than working cooperatively, Governor Scott is once again trying to insist that Vermonters need to make a false choice between building housing or protecting the environment. He claims that we must allow the destruction of wetlands to build more housing, when in fact wetlands provide vital flood protection for housing in our communities. As the resident of a flood-ravaged community, I know firsthand how short-sighted this approach is. The overwhelming majority of people who weighed in on the rule opposed it.”
“Forcing through an unlawful rule that is vulnerable to legal challenges will only create uncertainty for housing developers. Now that LCAR has objected to the rule, ANR should withdraw it and work on ways to improve the wetland permitting process that are legal, support housing, and keep Vermonters out of harm’s way,” added Hierl.