New Hampshire legislators consider moratorium on new landfill permits

The New Hampshire House of Representatives is considering a bill that would place a moratorium on new landfill permits until 2031, in addition to bills that would either change or clarify landfill siting and regulations.

The state is grappling with a new 10-year solid waste plan and outdated laws and regulations, reports InDepthNH.org. States including Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont have adopted solid waste plans that include landfill closures and have turned to New Hampshire as an attractive place to transfer waste, essentially turning New Hampshire into a dumping ground for surrounding states, the report adds.

The New Hampshire House Environment and Agriculture Committee held public hearings on three bills that would either change or clarify landfill siting and regulations as well as House Bill 1630, the moratorium. The bill originated in a solid waste study committee that met last year and a New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services report that said the state’s landfills have ample capacity to continue taking waste until 2034.

The proposed legislation was prompted by Rutland, Vermont-based Casella Waste Systems’ proposal to construct a new landfill in Dalton near Forest Lake State Park, according to the New Hampshire Bulletin, which has prompted statewide policy debate over solid waste.

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The bill’s sponsor, Rep. David Rochefort, says the moratorium would allow the state to explore advanced recycling, composting, incineration and greater utilization of recycled products to decrease the waste going into landfills.

“There is not any intention here to eliminate landfills entirely, they are a necessary evil we have to deal with,” Rochefort says. “It’s really a pause to find the most elegant solution to this issue with so many moving parts. We do have the capacity here in New Hampshire.”

The bill would not stop the department from accepting applications or investigating the applications.

The state’s Department of Environmental Services officials have objected to the bills, noting the suspension of new permits would impact the stability of the solid waste market and have an adverse economic impact on communities and businesses. Sarah Yuhas Kim, assistant director of the department’s Waste Management Division, tells InDepthNH.org existing landfills may not be positioned to expand and take additional solid waste for the state to reach the end of the proposed moratorium.  

Read the full text of House Bill 1620 here.