Landfill

Granite State Landfill LLC is suing the state’s Department of Environmental Services over their decision to deny a permit. Regulators said the permit application was incomplete for more than a year.

New Hampshire House lawmakers hoping to enact a temporary moratorium on new landfills in NH, lowered their aim to a three-year pause in an attempt to strike the right balance to negotiate with their counterparts in the Senate and Gov. Kelly Ayotte.

The moratorium will be part of the policy section of the state budget. It will also introduce a new siting proposal that would allow the community to have a say when these projects come up.

The new rules cover where landfills in the state can be located, and how they are built and maintained.

Advocates and residents had raised concerns that the proposed regulations – which are being updated, as required, after 10 years – had been overly molded by industry, and that they were not adequately protective.

At a public hearing Monday, not one attendee voiced agreement with the environmental agency’s proposed rule changes.

The state’s Waste Management Council previously said regulators acted unlawfully in approving the expansion.

The point of contact for the assistance program, Pamela Kathan, is running for state office in a special election for former Rep. Troy Merner’s seat, following his resignation. This is the second year the company has offered assistance.

Casella Waste Systems submitted new permit applications for a landfill in Dalton, but a lawyer for the North Country Alliance for Balanced Change says the state should wait until court cases are resolved and new waste rules are adopted before reviewing applications.

The new proposal cuts the landfill’s size in half, but still maintains the location next to Forest Lake State Park.