Editor’s note: This article is by Chris Mays, of the Brattleboro Reformer, in which it was first published April 27, 2015.
WILMINGTON — It looks like the Hermitage Club could be paying the state $205,000 over six months.
According to court documents, defendants Hermitage Inn Real Estate Holding Company, LLC, and Rushing Creek, LLC, were adjudged liable for violations of Vermont’s land use and environmental laws and regulations at the Hermitage Club at Haystack Mountain.
As long as Windham County Superior Judge John Wesley approves of the settlement, the first $55,000 must be paid within seven days of the state’s consent and final judgment orders. Then $25,000 must be paid every month for six months. The state will return the checks if the court should reject those orders.
The final judgment order says that without Act 250 permits, the private ski resort had constructed a snowmobile trail; installed a ski patrol and bathroom building; constructed trails and stream crossings; constructed a dock, raft, fence and beach area at Mirror Lake; and did blasting work for a wind turbine. Trees and vegetation within buffer zones were removed in violation of an existing Act 250 permit. Construction occurred without proper stormwater permits. Water lines were connected without a public water supply permit. A beach area was constructed without authorization from Agency of Natural Resources to alter a dam or spillway. There was discharge of sediment and runoff into state waters without ANR signing off on it.
According to documents, the Hermitage Club cannot contest or appeal the consent and final judgment orders.
Attorney General Bill Sorrell and Hermitage Club officials could not be reached for comment by press time.
