Local advocates and community members packed a meeting of the Mount Sunapee Advisory Commission Tuesday to voice concerns over the ski resort’s wastewater treatment system.
According to representatives from the Newbury Conservation Commission, the resort’s 50-year old system might be leaking, contaminating local water bodies, including Lake Sunapee — the main source of drinking water for the town.
“We're finding more and more information that maybe things aren't as rosy as we want them to be,” said Conservation Commission Board Member John Magee.
But officials with the state Department of Environmental Services who were at the meeting were firm in their assessment that the current system is stable, with no evidence of contamination.
The system works through the disposal of wastewater into two lagoons, where the water sits until solids can separate from liquids and go through a natural filtration system. That water is then sprinkled over a field near the resort.
But members of the Newbury Conservation Commission say, based on their study of the wastewater system, they are concerned that not enough testing has been conducted by the Department of Environmental Services to rule out potential contamination. State regulators gather samples from two stream water sites twice a year. Newbury’s Conservation Commission has also questioned the lack of testing for phosphorus, which can fuel cyanobacteria growth.
According to Andrew Koff, an hydrogeologist with the Department of Environmental Services, phosphorus has been tested in surface water and levels are generally low.
“It is not a routine parameter that is required by the groundwater discharge permit,” he wrote in an email to NHPR.
The latest environmental report conducted by the Department of Environmental Services on the site identified high levels of suspended solids and oxygen. While those levels are in violation of permit conditions, regulators say they are no cause for concern.
Conservation Commission members also noted concerns about other possible permit violations: specifically, that the resort wasn’t monitoring the level of the lagoons or assessing sludge. But state regulators say lagoon level monitoring has happened, and that the resort is in compliance with their permit conditions or working towards compliance.
“At this point in time, we do think it is a safe facility from an environmental and human health standpoint,” said Adam Crepeau, assistant commissioner at the Department of Environmental Services in their portion of the presentation.
While state officials will not demand that Mount Sunapee Ski Resort update its wastewater system, they recommended that the resort conduct a feasibility study in the next five years to explore potential alternatives.
Many at the meeting, though, said a feasibility study would do little to address their immediate concerns.
“It's one thing to study something. It's a different thing to actually make the change on the ground,” said Advisory Commission member Elizabeth Harper, the executive director of the Lake Sunapee Protective Association.
The Advisory Commission, which oversees the state’s lease of Mount Sunapee to the resort owners, does not have the authority to require any changes to the wastewater system. But a majority of commissioners agreed that the wastewater system should be replaced by the end of 2026.
“I'm not trying to figure out which scientist is correct and which is not. I'm just looking at simple facts. You've got a 54-year-old system. That is outdated,” said Advisory Commission member Daniel Wolf.
The Advisory Commission will continue to take written public comments on the resort’s annual operations plan until June 10.
Samara Sausville, a representative from Vail Resorts, which owns Mount Sunapee resort, said the resort works with state regulators to assess maintenance needs and update the wastewater system.
“This unified approach underscores our commitment to the environment while ensuring the success of the resort,” she said in an emailed statement.
