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That's because they are farmers. Farmers rule in VT. Farmers can use propane tanks to store cow urine in and then re-use them as propane tanks. Farms are exempt from many fire safety regulations that apply to businesses and homeowners. Farmers can hire illegal aliens and need not fear that the cops will do anything about it. Farmers bleed trees and burn obscene amounts of wood to obtain maple syrup and no one complains about energy efficiency or carbon footprints. And yes, farmers can spread manure on a warm sunny day and if you live in VT, you better like the smell.
It's no wonder Bhatka wants his operation classified as a farm. If he succeeds, he can almost get away with murder.
So it sounds as if the laws are out of balance, probably based on naive ideas: farm = natural = agriculture = environmental = good; industry = unnatural = smokestacks = polluting = bad. Probably the farm designation is too loose and the Act 250 designation is too strict. Even so, I'd rather have a few small farms around, and they probably couldn't survive with stricter regulations. Down in Kentucky they make a lot of bourbon, and it probably does cause some pollution, but WistlePig is still in the "tiny" phase.
While he could have done a lot more to get his ducks in a row, that issue is between WP and the State of VT, not berry lady. It isn't berry lady's job to enforce state laws; their beef is purely personal as FY hinted at.
We'll see how it all works out. If the local community is behind WP then I think they will be in a good place eventually and will move on from this.
Raj Bhakta was on WCAX awhile back when this issue first became public. He is a piece of work as during the entire interview he was smoking cigs. He definately did not come off as anykind of a farmer type. He definately did not expect such tight scrutiny when he moved to Vermont.
I have a friend who also lives near WhistlePig. Here are some details that she shared with me:
1) To date 100% of the rye whiskey sold is from western Canada. According to what came out during the hearing, they have sold over 32,000 gallons of whiskey in the past 2 years or so. It can be purchased in all of the major metro areas of the country. This doesn't appear to be a small operation. One wonders if they will ever be able to produce the same high quality rye whiskey that they are buying and rebottling. At the ZBA meeting, they stated they had only sold 5000 cases last year - it just doesn't add up.
2) It appears the WhistlePig owners have no regard for any environmental considerations - it appears that the current bathroom facilities in their office area (whis was built without any permits) dumps into the old farm manure pond. If you read their application, their plan was to dump the distillery waste there as well. Since the pond is adjacent to the Lemon Fair River, there is a good chance that it will end up in the Lemon Fair River.
3) From what my friend tells me, most of the neighbors in the area are afraid of him. For others that appear to be supporters, he keeps them supplied in whiskey and promises that he'll make sure he sends some work or business their way.
4) He continues to lie to the Act 250 commission. Everyone in the area knows that he also wants to make this into a special event venue for weddings, etc. When he held a town xmas party in town, a fancy architect from NYC was at the party. The architect's wife described some of the plans her husband was working on. In fact, WhistlePig is appealing the conditional zoning permit they received from the town, since it doesn't allow them to conduct retail sales on the farm. When this came up at the hearing, they denied they would be doing this.
5) Some of us (including my friend) believe that he'll just use the farm as a front and tourist destination and always import the majority of the whiskey from Canada. He'd produce enough whiskey to make it look good and to allow him to exploit the made in Vermont name. If so, then the mold probably won't be an issue.
6) He is also appealing the Act 250 opinion that his operation is not a farm operation. The town selectboard has stated that they are fine with him being there (though not everyone agrees - even more so then the berry lady) as long as he falls under Act 250. I guess the town thinks that it'll be a tax revenue source. If it is a farm, they won't get an penny. Chances are the berry lady pays more tax then what is paid on the WhistlePig Farm, since the farm is in conditional use. From what it appears, Raj Bhakta doesn't want to have to have any oversight. If he gets the farming exception, he may potentially be any to build any number of warehouses without ever having to worry about the amount of ethanol being released in the environment.
It seems that most of the problem is that WhistlePig is not being upfront with the community and basically tells a different story based on the occassion. It appears to me, this guy doesn't give a damn about the community but is just exploiting them. They only person that is going to get rich is Raj Bhatha and his "investors".
It seems that most of the problem is that WhistlePig is not being upfront with the community and basically tells a different story based on the occassion. It appears to me, this guy doesn't give a damn about the community but is just exploiting them. They only person that is going to get rich is Raj Bhatha and his "investors".
Thanks for your perspective. I too was wondering how much whiskey he could actually produce with rye that he grew himself on the farm. Most of the other complaints you mention are what I would expect for a business start-up. Obviously Bhakta is going to try to bend the rules as much as possible to guarantee the success of his business. What got me interested was the berry lady's emphasis on ethanol-related mold. That doesn't seem like a serious problem and takes away the focus from more important issues. I'm also interested in the Act 250 investigation. To me, WhistlePig is a farm, though it does have the potential for negative environmental impact. It seems to me that there may be an inherent flaw in the way Act 250 gives small farmers a free lunch but makes life hard for everyone else. Environmental impact is environmental impact no matter what you call the operation. If the right rules and procedures were in place, I don't think this would be confusing at all. It sounds as if Shoreham is willing to put up with a few minor inconveniences in order to gain a few jobs, and that's the way I look at it too. If Bhakta surprises me and turns out to be a crook, it will come out in time and he'll be gone.
After watching You've Been Trumped I hope that Raj Bhakta isn't modeling himself after Donald Trump. Trump is a self-promoting, environmentally unfriendly, dishonest windbag who gives capitalism a bad name. The film is about his development of a golf resort near Aberdeen, Scotland, during which he relentlessly bulldozes both land and people. Fortunately a few locals stood up to him, but land damage has already been done. With any luck the entire venture will fail and he'll be out of there. Interestingly, there are some parallels between Scotland and Vermont. Both are predominantly rural tourist destinations looking for more jobs. Trump offered good jobs that never materialized and may be backing out of his original plans.
Though Bhakta's operation is tiny in comparison and is not based on tourism, we certainly don't need anyone like Donald Trump setting up shop around here.
No, we don't need a Donald Trump, but for once it would be nice to have a transplant who does something FOR the economy instead of against it. And Act 250 really deserves to be revisited.
If the issue is that the guy is being a jerk, well a lot of successful businessmen are jerks. It doesn't make sense to bring up the bogus issue with the ethanol mold.
I also don't see the issue with having the place be a wedding venue frankly. Anyone who has been to an event at one of the craft breweries has seen the traffic, the parking and also the revenues that flow it. He's got something like 500 acres so he has plenty of room.
And let's be honest, if you know the right politician in VT you can always bend the rules to suit your needs. Bhatka is not doing anything other than playing the game, he is just playing it better than most.
No, we don't need a Donald Trump, but for once it would be nice to have a transplant who does something FOR the economy instead of against it. And Act 250 really deserves to be revisited.
If the issue is that the guy is being a jerk, well a lot of successful businessmen are jerks. It doesn't make sense to bring up the bogus issue with the ethanol mold.
I also don't see the issue with having the place be a wedding venue frankly. Anyone who has been to an event at one of the craft breweries has seen the traffic, the parking and also the revenues that flow it. He's got something like 500 acres so he has plenty of room.
And let's be honest, if you know the right politician in VT you can always bend the rules to suit your needs. Bhatka is not doing anything other than playing the game, he is just playing it better than most.
Agreed. So far Bhakta seems relatively harmless and may even have a net positive economic effect on Vermont. I just dislike his flamboyance and association with Donald Trump. I can't see why his neighbors would be afraid of him. Compared to Trump, he's done nothing. Trump publicly called his neighbors' property slums and then proceeded erect giant hills of earth around them so that they couldn't be seen from his golf course.
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You've Been Trumped
