10 V.S.A. §8007(b)(2) authorizes the Agency of Natural Resources and the Land Use Panel to settle administrative enforcement actions through an Assurance of Discontinuance which may include a "contribution toward other projects related to the violation, which the respondent and the secretary or the land use panel agree will enhance the natural resources of the area affected by the violation, or their use and enjoyment." These projects are referred to as Supplemental Environmental Projects. A Respondent funds an SEP by contributing all or a portion of a penalty to an approved project in lieu of paying that portion of the penalty directly to the state. Typically, SEP contributions are provided to a third party, non-profit organization to perform the project.

An SEP is an environmentally beneficial project approved by the Agency and the Respondent as part of the settlement. The project must involve an activity which the Respondent is not otherwise legally required to perform, and which does not directly benefit the Respondent. The project must have some relationship or nexus to the violation and must be a discreet project with a beginning and an end. SEP funds may be used in conjunction with funding sources other than the Respondent to accomplish a specific project.

SEPs include the following types: environmental enhancement; education and awareness; research, monitoring and data collection; emergency planning and preparedness; pollution prevention; and pollution reduction projects.

Only SEPs approved in Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) enforcement actions can be seen via this page. At this time, a narrative of many of our SEPs related to cases that were resolved since 1996 is available. In the future, all of our completed SEPs will be posted on this page.

Supplemental Environmental Project Policy:

Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) Policy, April 8, 2013 (174 KB PDF)

Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) Policy, December 20, 2011 (343 KB PDF)

Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) Policy, June 14, 2010 (426KB PDF)

Supplemental Environmental Project Summaries:

ANR Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) Summaries (556KB, PDF)
A listing of many SEPs from 1996 – 2010
(Listed alphabetically by SEP recipient)