In re Musto Wastewater System and Water Supply Permit WW-1-1949; In re Musto Wastewater System and Water Supply Permit Revocation
Page 930
Editorial Note:
This Opinion is subject to motion for reargument or formal revision before publication. See V.R.A.P. 40
On Appeal from Superior Court, Environmental Division. Thomas G. Walsh, J.
Affirmed.
Mark L. Sperry and F. Rendol Barlow of Langrock Sperry & Wool, LLP, Burlington, for Appellant.
Gary R. Kupferer and S. Stacy Chapman, III of Webber, Chapman & Kupferer, Ltd., Rutland, for Appellees.
William H. Sorrell, Attorney General, and Gavin J. Boyles, Assistant Attorney General, Montpelier, for Appellee Agency of Natural Resources.
Present: Reiber, C.J., Dooley, Skoglund and Crawford, JJ.,[1] and Morse, J. (Ret.), Specially Assigned
OPINION
Page 931
Marilyn S. Skoglund, J.
[¶1] This case involves a disputed permit for a wastewater system and potable water supply granted to applicants David and Martha Musto for a home on Lake Bomoseen. Next-door neighbor Carolyn Hignite appeals the environmental court's decision to deny her request to revoke the permit issued to applicants in 2009, and to dismiss her direct appeal of the permit. Applicants cross-appeal from the environmental court's holding that neighbor had standing to appeal in either instance. We affirm the court's holding in both of neighbor's appeals.
[¶2] Along with her brothers, neighbor is part owner of a lake property that has been in their family for sixty-two years. Applicants' property is a .38-acre lot on the western shore of the lake, which at present contains a single-story seasonal camp of about 960 square feet. In 2009, applicants submitted a permit application to the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) to replace the camp's septic system and on-site water supply. On the permit application, applicants described the project as the " reconstruction of a 3 bedroom year-round single use family residence using a new wastewater disposal system and drilled bedrock water supply well."
[¶3] ANR issued the requested permit to applicants on March 30, 2009. In August 2009, neighbor filed a petition with ANR to revoke the permit, claiming that applicants submitted false or misleading information on the permit application regarding the number of bedrooms in the camp. ANR held a hearing in May 2010, and denied neighbor's petition to revoke the permit. Neighbor subsequently appealed the permit to the environmental ...