Vermont regulators have approved a controversial expansion of Vorsteveld Farm in Addison County, allowing the dairy operation to add nearly 600 cows to its herd, despite a documented history of environmental violations and rising public opposition. The move comes as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accuses Vermont of systemic failures in regulating agricultural water pollution under the federal Clean Water Act.
Vorsteveld Farm, owned by brothers Gerard, Rudy, and Hans Vorsteveld, currently operates 1,500 mature dairy cows and 1,500 heifers on 2,800 acres near Lake Champlain. The farm produces nearly 20 million gallons of liquid manure annually. Under the newly approved permit, the farm could grow to 2,000 adult cows and 1,580 heifers over the next decade, increasing waste output by another 7 million gallons.
At a public hearing in Panton earlier this year, more than 60 residents raised concerns about water pollution, algal blooms in Lake Champlain, and the farm’s track record—including previous violations for wetland impacts and manure runoff. Others noted recurring chloroform contamination in local drinking water, which experts attribute to a mix of chlorine and lake sediment.
Environmental concerns were intensified following a May 2025 Vermont Supreme Court ruling upholding a contempt charge against the Vorstevelds for violating a 2022 injunction aimed at stopping polluted tile drainage water from reaching a neighboring property and flowing into Lake Champlain. The court found that the farm delayed meaningful compliance for over a year and had only taken minimal steps to address runoff, resulting in a $1,000-per-day fine beginning November 2024.
Federal regulators are now casting a broader spotlight on Vermont’s regulatory shortcomings. Following years of petitions from environmental groups, the EPA concluded that Vermont’s divided oversight—between the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) and the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR)—has led to chronic underenforcement of the Clean Water Act. A federal investigation found that Vermont has never issued a single National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the more than 1,100 farms that qualify as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) under federal law, despite evidence that many discharge phosphorus-laden waste.
The EPA cited “systematic program flaws” and concluded that Vermont’s failure to require federal discharge permits is contributing to severe water quality problems in Lake Champlain and other state waters. As a corrective measure, the EPA is demanding ANR take sole responsibility for regulating agricultural discharges and submit a compliance plan by December 2025—or risk losing its authority to oversee all wastewater permitting in the state.
ANR Secretary Julie Moore acknowledged that Vermont’s current approach relies heavily on farms attesting they have “no discharge” in order to bypass federal permit requirements. While she defended the state’s efforts to resolve spills quickly, she conceded the EPA’s interpretation allows no such flexibility. “If you don’t have a discharge permit, you can’t ever have a discharge. Hard stop,” she said.
Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts maintains that Vermont’s regulatory system is working and helping farms meet environmental goals, but agreed to make adjustments if needed. Still, critics argue the agriculture agency faces a conflict of interest by both promoting and regulating the industry.
Environmental advocates, including the Conservation Law Foundation and Lake Champlain Committee, hailed the EPA’s intervention as a long-overdue reckoning. “This is a pivotal moment for safeguarding water quality in the state,” said CLF’s Elena Mihaly, who emphasized that the divided jurisdiction has long stifled effective enforcement.
Despite the broader regulatory crisis, the Vorsteveld expansion was allowed to proceed. Supporters say the farm has invested in conservation practices and that the expansion may not reach full scale. But with the EPA now pressing for stricter federal oversight and climate change intensifying runoff events, critics warn that allowing such growth without a federal NPDES permit represents a high-stakes gamble for Vermont’s waterways.
