Conservation groups critique leachate permit

by Sylvia C. Dodge

As Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) moves forward with the development of a statewide system to remove and manage PFAS from leachate, PFAS, advocacy groups have weighed in on the draft plan.  They are especially interested in a “pilot project” slated for development at the New England Waste Services (NEWS-VT) landfill in Coventry owned by Casella Waste Systems, the only operating landfill in Vermont.

The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) praised the ANR’s “Draft Pretreatment Discharge Permit for New England Waste Services” for its work to make Vermont “a national leader in leachate management.”  But the organization also expressed some concerns as well — chiefly, that as the plan is currently drafted, “Casella — not ANR” will be in charge of the pilot project, the centerpiece of the state’s proposed PFAS management plan.