HB177 WILL ACTUALLY HELP RETURN LOCAL CONTROL TO LOCALS
1. Five North Country towns (at a minimum) will be directly affected by a huge new landfill if DES issues permits for the Casella proposed project. Each and every one of those towns has come out against the project—including Dalton.
2. Casella argues that HB177 is the enemy of local control. In the Littleton Record last month, a Casella VP is quoted as saying: “HB177 is an attempt by opponents of a single development project to use legislation to bypass the regulatory process and snatch local control from residents in Dalton….” Another tidbit: Casella has told Dalton repeatedly, despite Dalton enacting its first zoning ordinance, that the Town is powerless to stop the juggernaut that is DES and the only option Dalton has left is to roll over for Casella’s plan and take the money that Casella is offering.
3. So….. sounds like Casella maybe is in favor of local control when it helps the company’s bottom line, but otherwise—meh!
4. Casella has demonstrated its lack of commitment to local control by seemingly targeting:
New Hampshire’s North Country because it is the poorest and least politically powerful region of the state; and New Hampshire because other New England states have reasonably set limits on landfill expansion.
Also, Casella has a spotty record – at best – for honoring commitments to towns that it has facilities in– for one, ever since Casella got a toehold in Bethlehem (NCES) it has repeatedly threatened, and sued, to allow multiple expansions at NCES despite repeated votes by Bethlehem residents to prohibit endless expansions.
5. These examples should make it easy for NH House members: if you believe in the concept of local control, one way you can show it is by not caving to Casella’s hypocrisy. Instead, please consider demonstrating your commitment to local control by supporting HB177.
What does Casella actually do despite touting the importance of local control? See #4 above.
In contrast, here’s what we mean: if all of the towns affected by a huge environmentally-harmful development are on record as opposed, then the State has a huge obligation to listen. These towns, and the vast majority of people who live in those towns, with an absolutely consistent and clear voice, have told the State it is nuts to put a landfill right next to a cherished, and environmentally-sensitive state park. Because DES does not have the tools to respect local control, we ask the NH Legislature to recognize and fix the problem.
Eliot Wessler
Whitefield NH