About salvage yards

Requirements surrounding the location and operation of salvage facilities frequently raise legal questions. When the Vermont State Legislature drafted the salvage facility laws, it noted the importance that salvage yards play in the recycling of materials, but that poorly operated salvage yards have the potential to “significantly impact and contaminate the natural resources of Vermont.” The following is a brief overview of the statutory requirements.

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  an area used by an automobile hobbyist to store, organize, restore, or display motor vehicles or parts of such vehicles, provided that the hobbyist’s activities comply with all applicable federal, state, and municipal law;
  
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  an area used for the storage of motor vehicles exempt from registration under chapter 7 of Title 23: wood splitters and pole dinkeys;
  
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  an area owned or used by a dealer registered under 23 V.S.A. § 453 for the storage of motor vehicles; or
  
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  an area used or maintained for the parking or storage of operational commercial motor vehicles, as that term is defined in 23 V.S.A. § 4103(4), that are temporarily out of service and unregistered but are expected to be used in the future by the vehicle operator or owner.
  

The term “salvage yard” does not mean a garage where wrecked or disabled motor vehicles are stored for less than 90 days for inspection or repairs. *Facilities permitted by the ANR as solid waste facilities are exempt from municipal regulation as a salvage yard. (15)*

Municipalities’ enforcement authority includes field penalty authority, ability to obtain a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction or permanent injunction against a salvage yard which is in violation of terms of the statute or the Certificate of Approved Location (CAL) in Environmental Court. The municipalities have these rights with, or without, having zoning or a local salvage yard ordinance.

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   Contact the Town by phone or mail asking for an application for a certificate of approved location (CAL) for a salvage yard (either where the salvage yard is located or where it is proposed to be located).
   

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   Once you receive the form, read it carefully to make sure you have all other permits required under state or federal environmental law before you turn in the application, because you must make copies of those permits and attach them to the application.
   

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   There is an application fee of twenty-five ($25.00) that must be made payable to the municipality when you turn in the form.
   

5. After CAL has been approved, an Application for Certificate of Registration must be obtained by Vermont DEC, completed and submitted with a copy of the approved CAL within 30 days.

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  The salvage yard is not located within a protected area (i.e. near drinking water, wetlands, buffer zones, etc.)
  

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  The salvage yard is not located such that it is visible from the main traveled way at any season of the year.
  

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  The salvage yard is not located near churches, schools, hospitals, public buildings, or other places of public gatherings;
  

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  The location of the salvage yard will not affect public health, safety, environment, protections from a nuisance condition and aesthetics; and
  

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  The local governing body may take into account general aesthetic considerations and whether the proposed use will have a negative aesthetic impact on the surroundings. For example, the governing body may consider such factors as: the road the salvage facility would abut (and from which the facility may be seen); natural and artificial barriers protecting the facility from view; the proximity to established tourist and recreational areas or main access routes thereto; as well as the reasonable availability of other suitable sites.
  

All the provisions of the salvage facility statute have been complied with during the previous license period; the salvage facility has not become a public nuisance under the common law; and the applicant is not convicted of any type of larceny or receiving stolen property.