(This Dec, 22, 2021 letter to the editor is reprinted with permission of the Caledonian Record)
John Casella’s Letter to Dalton—It’s Full of Holes
To the Editor of the Caledonian Record:
Casella’s Chairman and CEO sent an open letter last week to the residents of Dalton “…to inform you of (Casella’s) intentions to withdraw our wetlands permit application…and to resubmit in 2022.” He reached out directly by letter, he said “…so you would read it from me.”
Well now we’ve had a week to read his letter and if you’re like me, his letter raises a number of troubling questions. For example:
First, he says: “This decision was not made lightly as it comes at a significant cost to our company…” We don’t know for sure what significant cost Mr. Casella is talking about, but one thing is clear—DES told Casella in no uncertain terms that it is not going to review the GSL permit applications until Casella does all of the hydrogeological (and other) field testing that DES requires. So it seems the cost Mr. Casella would have preferred to avoid is the cost of the testing that DES says it needs to evaluate Casella’s permit applications.
Second, the letter says that the permit withdrawal “…will allow us to take into consideration the public opinion that we have gathered, and will continue to solicit, throughout this process.” Is it really possible that Casella doesn’t know there is overwhelming opposition to GSL throughout NH’s North Country? It’s true you can find some GSL supporters in Dalton. But one wonders whether Casella finds it regrettable that GSL’s most vocal supporters have employed smarmy tactics, including spreading false information, and attacking the integrity and competence of Dalton’s town officials. Casella is quick to slap its opponents with defamation suits, so maybe this is just a case of the apple not falling far from the tree.
Third, the letter says: “GSL will have an opportunity to perform additional field work to support the multiple applications.” To which we should all say: “Good, do it”. And this time around maybe Casella will not prohibit Dalton’s wetlands expert from doing the field testing that he believes is necessary to provide the town of Dalton with an accurate picture of the environmental damage that a landfill at the GSL site will cause.
Fourth, Mr. Casella says: “We have confidence in our permitting and compliance teams…” Are these the same permitting teams that told DES and the public that GSL’s design is so good that contamination of surface and groundwater was impossible? “Can’t happen” is what DES and the public was told. Are these the same compliance teams that had oversight of the landfills and other Casella facilities that have been cited for multiple violations in NH and all over the Northeast? And will the same team preside over GSL that allowed a 154,000 gallon leachate spill at the Bethlehem landfill, and took two days to discover the spill? One sure hopes not!
And finally, the letter says: “…the reality is that New Hampshire will be facing a waste disposal capacity shortfall based on its current permitted capacity.” That very well may be true—but not for about 25 years! Given the existing capacity and the planned capacity that exists at the Mt. Carberry and Turnkey landfills, there is no landfill capacity crisis. A more accurate statement of reality is that Casella is in crisis because without GSL, and with the Bethlehem landfill closing, Casella’s future profits from NH operations are in doubt.
I’m certain that a lot of what I’ve said here Casella will find fault with. If so, the grassroots organizations that oppose the GSL project are prepared to engage in public debates with Casella on these or any other topics. Debate is healthy, and if Mr. Casella has the confidence evinced in the letter that GSL is “…of vital importance to New Hampshire’s health and environmental safety infrastructure…”, he should want that public debate to take place.
Paul Damiano
Dalton, NH