A promise made, and kept

In 2018, Vermont-based Casella Waste Systems proposed building a 180-acre commercial landfill directly adjacent to Forest Lake State Park in Dalton, one of the crown jewels of the North Country — a place where generations of families have swum, boated and built their summers. The lake feeds underground springs and private drinking water wells. Its outflow drains through Burns Pond, the Johns River in Whitefield and the Ammonoosuc River through the heart of Littleton. The idea that this watershed could become the receptacle for out-of-state trash was, as Governor Ayotte would later say, defying common sense.

Context matters here. Casella’s existing landfill in nearby Bethlehem is reaching capacity and will stop accepting trash as soon as next year. And because the U.S. Constitution’s Interstate Commerce Clause prohibits states from banning out-of-state waste, a significant portion of what fills New Hampshire’s landfills comes from other states. That legal reality is part of why New Hampshire passed a $3.50 per-ton surcharge on all solid waste in 2025, a step forward, but not the whole answer. HB 707 is the next, larger step.

But common sense alone does not win legislative battles. That takes years of sustained, organized, passionate advocacy — and the North Country delivered all of it.

The North Country Alliance for Balanced Change led the charge from the beginning. Wayne Morrison and Tom Tower and an army of community volunteers attended every hearing, wrote every letter, made every phone call, and refused to let the issue fade from the public agenda even when a well-resourced corporate opponent and a slow-moving legislative process seemed poised to outlast them. As Tom Tower put it at the signing ceremony: No hurricane could wreck this day.

They were right. On July 30, 2026, Governor Ayotte signed House Bill 707 into law at Forest Lake State Park, the very place this fight had always been about, surrounded by lawmakers and more than 100 community members who had earned every moment of that celebration.

HB 707 establishes a seven-member Solid Waste Site Evaluation Committee that will review proposed landfills using broader criteria than ever before, including impacts on human health, the environment, the local economy and scenery. It promotes expanding existing landfills rather than siting new ones. And it ensures that local communities have a formal voice in the process, baked directly into state law.

State Senator David Rochefort, R-Littleton, called HB 707 the most consequential legislation passed in New Hampshire in the past four years. I believe he is right.

None of this crosses the finish line without Senator Howard Pearl, whose bipartisan leadership and steady hand built the coalition that carried this bill through two legislative sessions. None of it happens without Governor Ayotte, who made this fight her own from day one and delivered on her word that the North Country would not become a dumping ground for out-of-state trash. And none of it happens without the House members who understood that this was bigger than Dalton; it was about what kind of state we want to be.

In June, Casella withdrew its permit application for the Dalton landfill entirely. A court rejected their lawsuit against the state. Forest Lake is safe.

There is still work ahead. New Hampshire needs a comprehensive long-term solid waste strategy, one that reduces dependence on out-of-state imports and invests in modern solutions. HB 707 is a major step, not a final destination. New Hampshire still needs a comprehensive solid waste strategy that reduces dependence on out-of-state waste imports and invests in modern, community-compatible solutions.

But today, the people of the North Country proved something that every community fighting an uphill battle needs to hear: organized, persistent, principled advocacy works. Eight years is a long time to fight. It is also exactly long enough to win.

Brennan Ward has nearly two decades of experience in public affairs and strategic communications, shaped by work in Washington, D.C., with deep roots in New Hampshire’s North Country. He can be reached at bward@novuspublicaffairs.com.