Casella Waste Systems wants to site a massive 180-acre dump in Dalton, NH just half a mile from Forest Lake and at one point just 50 feet from Forest Lake State Park. The dump would be almost the same size as the lake and three times the size of the Bethlehem dump.
NCABC doesn’t oppose reasonable and responsible landfill siting until less damaging ways to manage our solid waste are developed. But poorly-sited dumps pose documented hazards to public health, the environment, our property values and our quality of life.
Dumps should be located only after careful study and where science, environment, traffic, public health and public process indicate are the best locations — not where a for-profit corporation and a willing seller decide they should be.
Here’s what we can expect from a Casella dump:
HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS IN OUR WATER All dumps produce leachate, a potentially toxic brew of chemicalsthat threatens human health and the environment. And all dumps leak, even the double-lined one that Casella proposes to build.
Leachate typically includes volatile organic chemicals, dissolved organic matter that causes bacterial growth, heavy metals like lead and chromium, and “forever chemicals” called PFAS that degrade slowly, accumulate over time, and harm human health.
A federal lawsuit accuses Casella of illegally discharging pollutants from its Bethlehem landfill into the Ammonoosuc River. The lawsuit alleges the leachate contains 1,4-dioxane, a likely human carcinogen. The now-closed Casella dump in Southbridge, MA has contaminated 21 residential wells with 1,4-dioxane.
LEAKS AND SPILLS Leaks of leachate can contaminate groundwater, lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands and water supplies. But leaks aren’t the only danger. A recent spill of leachate near the Casella dump in Coventry, VT reminds us how dumps put local communities at risk. A collision last December involving a tanker truck full of leachate from the Coventry dump spilled 8,000 gallons of leachate that almost emptied the truck and contaminated soil off Route 5.
HEAVY TRUCK TRAFFIC on our roads. By Casella’s own estimate, up to 90 round trips a day of trash-hauling trucks and tankers full of toxic leachate would roll up and down steep hills past Whitefield’s elementary school and through the centers of Whitefield and Twin Mountain.
THREATS TO FOREST LAKE A dump next door would threaten this lake beloved by generations. The lake’s water is so clean that many homes draw their household water from it. And the same clean water makes the lake ideal for swimming, boating and fishing, bringing hundreds of families each year to its beach – one of the few public beaches north of Franconia Notch.
Comprehensive water quality testing in 2019 found that the lake is essentially free of chemical and heavy metal contamination. Twenty years of water testing by the state of NH also attest to the lake’s health: in fact, the NH Department of Environmental Services has put Forest Lake on a short list of lakes that don’t need to be routinely tested for bacteria.
FECAL CONTAMINATION from landfill scavengers like seagulls will threaten the lake’s water quality. 1.5 million seagulls feed at landfills across the continent. Their poop contaminates lakes and wetlands. It causes algae to bloom in lakes and reservoirs, endangers aquatic life, kills fish, incurs cleanup costs that must be funded locally, and closes lakes to swimming, boating and fishing.
FOUL SMELLS up to 5 miles from the landfill, including hydrogen sulfide (that “rotten egg” smell). All landfills produce gas from decaying garbage, and about half the gas is methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Casella’s Bethlehem and Coventry, VT landfills consistently generate complaints of foul odors. A lawsuit from a Winnebago, IL landfill documented 240 complaints of rotten egg smells, nausea, burning throats and headaches.
A DUMPING GROUND FOR OUT-OF-STATE TRASH Private landfills like Casella’s accept and profit from out-of-state trash. One third of the garbage in the Bethlehem dump comes from other states. That’s the plan for Dalton too.
DECLINING PROPERTY VALUES and even our ability to sell property. Studies show that landfills can depress the value of properties up to three miles away, and homes closest to the dump can see property values fall by as much as 30%. A neighbor of the Coventry, VT dump estimates his house has lost half its value. And real estate professionals attest that even the prospect of a dump can make nearby homes difficult or impossible to sell.
A DIMINISHED TAX BASE caused by reduced property values. That means fewer resources to support vital local services. And that makes everyone’s tax rates go up.
A THREAT TO RECREATION AND TOURISM People come from all over the world to enjoy our endless scenic and recreational opportunities. These tourists bring dollars that will be lost when our environment is damaged.
A MASSIVE WASTE MOUND visible from neighboring homes. The Bethlehem landfill – only 51 acres compared to potentially 180 acres in Dalton – is now visible from Route 302 and Trudeau Road as well as many White Mountain viewpoints.
FEW BENEFITS AND FEWER JOBS In spite of promised benefits like tax breaks, free trash pickup and more jobs, Bethlehem and other dump towns repeatedly vote against landfill expansions, having found the supposed tax breaks and jobs to be illusory or exaggerated. Dumps employ few workers, and those workers face documented health and safety risks. A dump in Dalton would bring us no “advantages.” It would bring damage to our roads and our environment, diminished quality of life and falling property values.
A TROUBLING NEIGHBOR Casella has a long history of violations and compliance failures. In the past 20 years they’ve been fined multiple times and issued violation notices by environmental departments in NH, MA, NY and PA.
Bethlehem and Coventry, VT residents have repeatedly voted down landfill expansions championed by Casella. Yet Casella has continued to push to expand their dumps against the will of their neighbors.
SAVE THE NORTH COUNTRY FOR OUR CHILDREN. A dump is forever: we can expect decades of negative impacts and little or no public benefit in service to Casella’s corporate goals. The damage to our quality of life will last for generations.