Over the course of the winter and spring, the Burgin Lodge team worked through four different permitting processes. Applying for permits was (very) frustrating at times, but each step provided us with new experiences and insights into operating within a highly bureaucratic environment. The Ripton town building permit and Vermont state construction permit were fairly straightforward; each provided us with the opportunity to get to know folks in our community who are involved with these regulatory processes.
The real excitement of the permitting process came with our Act 250 and wastewater permit applications. Administered by the state Natural Resources Board and seen as a hallmark of Vermont’s commitment to sustainable development, “the Act 250 program provides a public, quasi-judicial process for reviewing and managing the environmental, social and fiscal consequences of major subdivisions and developments in Vermont” (http://www.nrb.state.vt.us/lup/).
The proposed Burgin Lodge, a ~500 ft² backcountry shelter that is designed to sit lightly on the land, does not have much in common with the housing developments and strip malls that more commonly fall under the purview of Act 250 permitting. However, because the size and scope of Middlebury College land use and development is subject to Act 250, our relatively dinky project needed Act 250 approval as well. Many of the criteria, such as 6(a): “Estimate the number of additional students who may attend local schools as a result of this project” and 8(f): “Describe exterior lighting, including location, lamp wattage, fixture style, and height of pole” were completely irrelevant to our backcountry project with no plumbing or electricity. However, we worked carefully on environmental criteria related to wetlands, productive forest soils, primary agricultural soils, wildlife habitat, and endangered species. With Marc Lapin’s GIS layers and technical assistance, we compiled a supplemental environmental analysis that went above and beyond the requirements of the permit application.
An example of supplemental environmental analysis work
So, we submitted our 50+ page Act 250 permit application in February, received a ruling that, as part of Act 250, we also had to apply for a wastewater permit for our privy, did so with the help of wastewater permit specialists at Lincoln Applied Geology, and received our Act 250 and wastewater permits this past September!
As we were delighted to discover, applying for permits does not solely consist of paperwork and phone calls. Unanimously, our favorite part of permitting involved getting, very literally, down and dirty. The wastewater permit application required that we dig a test pit at two different potential privy locations to ensure that 1) bedrock was at least 48″ below the surface and 2) there was no evidence of a shallow groundwater system within 36″ of the surface. Generally, people dig their test pits with a backhoe – but Larson, Joseph, and I felt confident that a shovel, rock bar, and a pleasant spring evening were all that we needed to get the job done.
Joseph, feeling like a character from Holes
Off we went to the site, jazzed to use our muscles and take a break from the arcane details of physics and architecture. Two challenges ensued. First, geology became extremely hands-on as we slowly made our way through New England’s famous rocky topsoil. In the process of digging this tiny hole, we gained significant respect for our colonial forefathers and foremothers who dug entire foundations. Second, we learned that it is impossible to remove soil from a reasonably narrow 4′ deep hole with a 5′ shovel. We put our problem solving skills, ab muscles, and my trucker hat to work to devise a system to remove loosened dirt from the bottom of the hole.
For those of us on the Burgin Lodge team, these permits and associated adventures represent a significant part of our Middlebury College educations. If not for this project, I never would have done anything as complex and self directed during my time at Middlebury. No professor was there to help us answer to questions like,”What do we do next?” or “Why didn’t this work?” or “What are we supposed to write in this blank?” Those were questions for state agency scientists, local zoning board members, and College administrators. Often, figuring out who the particular person was to whom we needed to direct a specific question was a significant challenge in itself!
-Phoebe
Ian Burgin Memorial Lodge 