MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – A Montpelier dump for yard waste is closing after state officials say it violated wetland protection laws.
“The city was issued two violations from the state of Vermont. One was for wetlands encroachment and the other was the requirement to have a solid waste permit,” said Montpelier Public Works Director Kurt Motyak.
He says the city was surprised to hear from the Agency of Natural Resources since their own atlas didn’t list the area on wetland maps. “I think likely what happened is there was a drain and the material sort of blocked the natural drainage off the site and then the water started to pool up and created the wetland, basically from our actions,” Motyak said.
The Stump Dump used to be the old city landfill but in 1990 became the disposal area for stumps, lumber, snow, street sweeping, and asphalt recycling. Karina Dailey with the Vermont Natural Resources Council says the dump’s evolution may explain the creation of one of Vermont’s newest wetland habitats. “Man-made wetlands happen all the time. It’s not something that can happen overnight, but when you divert the hydrology, like when you divert a stream, you can certainly create a wetland,” she said.
The city has temporarily closed the Stump Dump and will try to grade the property to create a buffer between the yard waste and the wetland. For now, the city is asking residents to bring their yard waste to the Casella facility next to the Agway on East Montpelier Road.
Public Works officials say they hope to have the stump dump ready for use again by next summer.
