Landfill-siting bill praised and panned

There are differing opinions on the benefits and pitfalls of House Bill 707, but there is agreement that it’s a point on New Hampshire’s landfill-siting journey, but maybe not the destination.

While seated at a table above the beach at Forest Lake State Park in Dalton, Gov. Kelley Ayotte ceremonially signed HB 707 into law Thursday  to the delight of more than a dozen lawmakers and about 100 guests.

House Bill 707, signed into law by NH Gov. Kelly Ayotte, promotes expanding existing landfills, rather than building new ones, and also establishes a seven-member committee to evaluate landfill sites.

HB 707, according to Ayotte’s office, “helps protect New Hampshire’s outdoors and ensures local communities have a say in the siting process for new landfills.”

The law promotes expanding existing landfills, rather than building new ones, and also establishes a seven-member committee to evaluate landfill sites.

The location of the signing ceremony was significant in that seven years ago, residents around Forest Lake became concerned about a proposal by Casella Waste Systems of Rutland, Vermont, to build a new landfill within a mile of the park. Legislative work had started a year earlier.

Casella said its North Country Environmental Services (NCES) landfill in neighboring Bethlehem was nearing capacity, which is why it wanted to move forward with the Granite State Landfill in Dalton.

A grassroots initiative was begun to stop the Granite State Landfill, and it included Dalton voters adopting temporary emergency zoning to at least delay it.

There was also outreach for a legislative solution and to influencers, among them Ayotte.

Prior to her signing HB 707, Ayotte said she was shocked to learn that the current landfill siting process “didn’t have a local voice,” and also by the fact that “anyone would think of siting a landfill right here.”

Forest Lake State Park, she said, is among the many gems of natural beauty in the Granite State. She pledged that “there will never be a landfill here,” and that if there is one. “It’ll be over my dead body.”

A cake, cookies and a poster commemorate the signing of House Bill 707 on Thursday by Gov. Kelly Ayotte at Forest Lake State Park in Dalton. (Photo by John Koziol)

State Sen. Howard Pearl, R-Loudon, said HB 707 provides “a path forward” on siting landfills, but not a ban on them. “We have to have them (landfills),” he added.

A major bone of contention about New Hampshire landfills is that they accept solid waste from out-of-state and must do so under the Interstate Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

In 2025, the General Court addressed this concern, said Pearl, by enacting legislation that imposes a $3.50 per ton surcharge on all solid waste. By law, New Hampshire communities can apply for reimbursement of the surcharge.

Pearl said HB707 is fair to communities, the state, and to landfill developers.

Jeff Weld, who is vice president of communications for Casella, disagrees, spelling out the reasons in a July 30 e-mail.

“More than 200 New Hampshire communities depend on NCES today for safe, reliable, and affordable disposal,” Weld wrote. “The proposed Granite State Landfill was developed to replace the disposal capacity that will be lost when NCES closes in 2027. Without replacement capacity, waste will have to be transported farther to other facilities, increasing transportation costs, reducing competition, and ultimately driving up costs for residents, businesses, municipalities, contractors, and small hauling companies across the state.”

HB 707 reshapes the state’s waste disposal market by limiting competition and increasing the likelihood of higher costs for residents, businesses and municipalities, he said.

Rather than creating what Weld called “a fair and competitive marketplace,” HB 707 instead “tilts the market in favor of a single incumbent operator while disregarding the concerns of hundreds of New Hampshire communities that currently rely on the NCES Landfill, as well as many North Country residents, businesses, and host community stakeholders who have publicly supported keeping NCES open or developing Granite State Landfill to preserve local disposal capacity, jobs, host community benefits, and affordability.”

As to claims that “New Hampshire has sufficient overall disposal capacity,” which is a position taken by Jon Swan, a leader in the Save Forest Lake movement, Weld said those arguments overlook “a critical reality,” to wit that “access to disposal is just as important as total available volume. Haul distance, fuel costs, driver time, wait times, annual tonnage limits, contract availability, and tipping-fee certainty all directly affect what customers ultimately pay for waste and recycling services.”

Casella Waste Systems’ North Country Environmental Services landfill in Bethlehem is running out of capacity, says the company, which is why it wants to build a new landfill in neighboring Dalton. (Photo by John Koziol)

Weld said Casella has been raising the above concerns for “many years” but that it may take the closure of the NCES landfill “before the real-world consequences of reduced disposal access become fully understood by others. The economics of waste disposal are driven by proximity, transportation costs, available capacity, and competition—not simply by theoretical statewide disposal volume.”

Casella has heard from local hauling companies that use NCES who told the company that the loss of nearby disposal capacity could threaten the economic viability of their businesses, reduce service options and further limit competition, Weld said.

“With other disposal facilities already operating at or near their permitted annual capacity limits, longer travel distances, increased turnaround times, and higher disposal costs are likely to create significant affordability challenges for New Hampshire residents and businesses,” Weld said.