On Dec. 3 2019, with other concerned citizens from Bethlehem and Dalton, Sarah Doucette of Whitefield gave testimony to NHDES, Waste Management Division on NCES/Casella’s proposed Stage VI expansion of the landfill in Bethlehem.
Many comments pointed to Casella’s history of violations and compliance failures over nearly 30 years of operation on the site and particularly highlighted recent charges of filling the landfill more quickly than the permitted rate, failure to cover open faces of waste overnight, and toxins detected consistently in groundwater monitoring wells. Other speakers noted the long-recognized seep from the landfill into the Ammonoosuc River; odors were mentioned as a long standing aggravation to those living in Bethlehem; and the percent of out of state trash coming to the site — about 30% historically — was also a subject of concern as it pertains to NH’s limited landfill capacity.
The few speakers who favored continuing the landfill expansion and extending the facility’s use into 2023 cited tax breaks and free trash pick up as their reasons. Pubic comments from throughout the state are accepted until Dec. 20, 2019 at 4 pm: swpublic.comment@des.nh.gov or mail to NHDES at 29 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03302-0095.
