Court decision clears way for Casella landfill expansion

Rutland, Vermont-based Casella Waste Systems, Inc., a regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, has announced that the New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld the issuance of a permit to expand a New Hampshire landfill.

The court’s decision concluded that the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) acted lawfully in issuing a permit for the Stage VI expansion at the North Country Environmental Services, Inc. landfill in Bethlehem, New Hampshire.

The decision reverses a previous ruling by the New Hampshire Waste Management Council, issued after an appeal from the Conservation Law Foundation, holding that the council erred in its interpretation of New Hampshire’s public benefit statute.

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North Country Environmental Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of Casella, and provides disposal capacity for more than 60,000 businesses and residents in nearly 200 towns throughout the state of New Hampshire.

“We are pleased that the decision of the court removes the uncertainty for our New Hampshire customers caused by the council’s decision,” says John W. Casella, chairman and chief executive officer of Casella. “Ensuring that we will be able to provide the continuity of service on which our customers rely has been our focus throughout this process. This decision recognizes the ongoing need for disposal capacity in the state.”

In September 2022, NHDES published an updated Solid Waste Management Plan outlining eight specific goals for improving solid waste management in the state over the next decade, and to assist the state in achieving its goal to reduce the disposal of municipal solid waste and construction and demolition debris by 25 percent by 2030 and 45 percent by 2050.

According to Casella, continued availability of disposal capacity at NCES and the proposed Granite State Landfill in Dalton, New Hampshire, which is targeted to come online near the time when NCES closes at the conclusion of Stage VI, is vital to helping the state achieve these goals.

“The future of solid waste management is to view it as an integrated set of solutions and critical infrastructure designed to keep people and their natural environment safe,” Casella says. “This approach considers the overall benefits of the entirety of our resource management efforts, and not simply those of a single facility. Disposal capacity is the foundation that allows for the continuation of ongoing materials management efforts. By providing customers with stable, reliable disposal capacity, we can understand the materials and propose better methods to manage them differently, which will ultimately benefit New Hampshire on its road to a more sustainable future.”