Remember "permit reform"? The 2004 idea was to speed up development projects by scrapping the citizen Environmental Board and putting all environmental issues in the Environmental Court, which was expanded from one to two law trained judges.

In December 2007 the Supreme Court dealt with what it described as a "permit-application odyssey" which began in 2003 when Green Crow, a logging company, sought a permit to log above 2500' feet – an activity that it acknowledged required an ACT 250 permit. Access roads and infrastructure below 2500' were required to get there. Green Crow said the E-Board had no business regulating below 2500' because ACT 250 specifically said so.

In 2003 the District Commission ruled it had jurisdiction over the access development. On appeal to the E-Board, that Board ruled it couldn't decide that issue. Green Crow appealed to the Supreme Court, which, in 2006, sent the case back to the E-Board to decide the issue. The E-Board then issued two decisions, one in June saying it had jurisdiction over lower land, and another in August explaining that since a permit was required for logging above 2500' any development below 2500' to access the project impacted the higher area and required a permit. In doing so the E-Board overruled one of its 20 year old cases. Green Crow appealed, arguing that ACT 250 clearly said the E-Board had no authority over logging below 2500'

The Supreme Court agreed with Green Crow. It ruled it would usually uphold decisions of an administrative agency that were within its authority. On the other hand, if the agency is attempting to enlarge its powers beyond what the legislature granted – the Court would stop it. ACT 250, it said, allowed logging below 2500' without a permit and the E-Board was overreaching to regulate at lower altitudes.

The Supreme Court exercised its supervisory authority to rein in an expansive agency. Too bad for Green Crow though, the Court sent the case back to the now defunct E-Board to issue a permit for above 2500' logging. Four years later, and no logging. And the Environmental Court? Could take more than 2 years to get a decision there, and with Supreme Court appeals at least another 18 months. In Re Green Crow Corp 2007 VT 137.