State requires Casella to build a pilot project to reduce PFAS in leachate

After receiving a heap of public comments from locals, state officials have issued a permit that will require Vermont’s only operating landfill, located in Coventry, to start removing a class of harmful chemicals from its leachate. 

Casella Waste Systems, which owns the landfill, is now required to design a pilot project to reduce the amount of PFAS in the leachate — liquid waste that comes from rainfall and decomposing trash. 

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are found in many consumer products that end up in the landfill. Often called “forever chemicals” — because they take thousands of years to break down — PFAS are linked to a range of harmful health impacts, such as reproductive issues, cancers and a diminished immune system. 

In June, the Biden administration issued health advisories stating that consuming even the smallest amount of PFAS puts humans at risk.

Casella has not yet finalized a strategy for treating leachate for PFAS. In April, the company must submit its design for the pilot system, at which point the public will have another opportunity to comment. The permit requires the pilot to be in place and operating by the end of 2023. 

Along with requiring Casella to build the new system, the permit allows the company to continue trucking leachate to Montpelier’s wastewater treatment facility. Montpelier is the only Vermont wastewater treatment facility authorized to accept landfill leachate. While wastewater treatment plants remove other substances from leachate, none of the plants in Vermont can remove PFAS from water, which is eventually discharged into local waterways. 

A press release from the Department of Environmental Conservation called landfills and other systems of garbage disposal “a humbling consequence of our modern lives.”  

The department tried to “strike the balance between the necessity of waste management and the prevention and mitigation of negative environmental impacts” in its permit, according to the release.

Locals in Coventry have long expressed concern about the environmental impacts of the landfill — particularly the PFAS that exists in the leachate and, in at least one instance, in groundwater near the facility. Though the new project presents a path toward removing PFAS, some residents worry it sets the stage for more permanent facilities in Coventry. Many have told state officials they want the rest of the state to more evenly share in the burden of the waste disposal system. 

John Beling, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, said the state “had a significant community input during the public comment period for this permit.”

“We sincerely appreciate the engagement from the Coventry, Orleans County, and Lake Memphremagog watershed communities about their concerns,” he said.

Did you know VTDigger is a nonprofit?

Our journalism is made possible by member donations from readers like you. If you value what we do, please contribute during our annual fund drive and send 10 meals to the Vermont Foodbank when you do.