New Hampshire governor signs leachate management bill

New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte has signed into law a leachate management bill, requiring waste companies to submit a leachate management plan prior to the development of a new landfill or landfill expansion, the New Hampshire Bulletin reports.

According to House Bill (H.B.) 566, nicknamed the ‘trash juice’ bill, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services cannot issue approval for a new landfill or landfill expansion unless the application includes leachate management procedures outlining the safe and effective management of leachate throughout the life of the facility, including the postclosure period.

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House Bill 566 requires applicants to provide the following information:

• A description of how leachate will be collected and stored onsite;
• If and how leachate will be treated;
• How leachate will be transported offsite;
• The type of leachate disposal facility the applicant proposes to use;
• A statement of the projected frequency of leachate transports per week; and
• Contingency plans for leachate disposal capacity constraints.

Landfill operators also are to provide the department with documentation of contractual arrangements with at least two leachate disposal facilities demonstrating how the permittee will be able to comply with the leachate disposal provisions of its operating plan.  

“New Hampshire’s natural beauty is the bedrock of our quality of life,” Ayotte tells the New Hampshire Bulletin. “We should not let beautiful areas of our state like Forest Lake in Dalton become a dumping ground for out-of-state trash. That’s why I supported this law and why I will continue to push for a moratorium on new landfill construction and a revamped regulatory process that includes community input.”

The state already requires landfill operators to outline leachate management and disposal plans. Landfill operators must have at least two locations for leachate disposal, estimate how much leachate they will generate and describe how leachate will be handled at the landfill before being shipped for disposal. Heavy rain exacerbates leachate levels, and operators also must have procedures in place to bring leachate levels down to 1 foot or lower within a week of a 100-year storm event.