Vermont
Environmental enforcement final actions
The Environmental Enforcement office of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has seven Environmental Enforcement Officers in districts across the state. They are responsible for investigating and documenting alleged violations, including citizen complaints, of Vermont's environmental permits, rules, regulations and statutes that are under the jurisdiction of DEC and the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. DEC publishes its final enforcement actions.
In a Phase I ESA
ASTM E1527-21 does not name state enforcement records among its standard record sources. They still matter: the Secretary issues an administrative order when it is determined that a violation exists, and an assurance of discontinuance is a written settlement agreement over a violation.
What the record shows
DEC's Final Actions page describes four kinds of final action:
| Action | Statute | What DEC says it is |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative Order (AO) | 10 V.S.A. section 8008 | Issued by the Secretary when it is determined that a violation exists. When signed by the Environmental Court, it becomes a Judicial Order. |
| Assurance of Discontinuance (AOD) | 10 V.S.A. section 8007 | A written settlement agreement, signed by the Secretary and the respondent, accepted as an alternative to administrative or judicial proceedings. When signed by the Environmental Court, it becomes a Judicial Order. |
| Civil Complaint (CC) | 10 V.S.A. section 8019 | Issued by the Secretary when it is determined that a violation exists; the respondent must deliver a plea to the Court within 15 days, or a default judgment is entered. |
| Emergency Administrative Order (EO) | 10 V.S.A. section 8009 | Issued when a violation presents an immediate threat of substantial harm to the environment or public health. |
DEC says the Environmental Court will sign an Administrative Order if it was properly served, the respondent did not request a hearing within 15 days of receipt, and it otherwise meets the requirements of 10 V.S.A. Chapter 201. DEC also says the Secretary may bring an enforcement action to obtain injunctive relief or remediation.
Some DEC violations also involve violations of Act 250 permits or regulations, and DEC's enforcement officers coordinate those cases with staff of the Land Use Review Board. DEC's Final Actions page also links the Act 250 final enforcement actions.
Where to look a site up
DEC's Final Actions page links:
- final AO documents issued since 1996;
- final AOD documents issued since 1996;
- final CCs issued since 2013;
- final EOs issued since 1996;
- the Land Use Review Board's final enforcement actions under Act 250.
Violations are reported to DEC through its Online Environmental Violation Report Form.
Getting the file
DEC's pages link, in their footer, Request public information and Department of Environmental Conservation Records Liaisons, both on the Agency of Natural Resources' public records page, which this handbook did not read. Beyond the published final actions, the pages read give no route of their own for an enforcement file.
Sources
Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation pages, read October 13, 2026, no modified date shown: