The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation has issued a final pretreatment discharge permit to Casella Waste for the Coventry landfill, allowing leachate to be sent to the Montpelier wastewater treatment plant. The permit includes a requirement that the company develop a pilot system to reduce per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the leachate.
“We 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 related to NEWSVT,” DEC Commissioner John Beling said in a statement.
Leachate forms when rainwater and decomposing waste mix, picking up chemicals including PFAS. The pilot system's design will be subject to a future public comment period as part of a permit amendment.
The DEC emphasized that this permit is separate from the solid waste certification for the landfill's operation and expansion, and is not related to groundwater underdrain discharges at the site. “Landfills and other systems of garbage disposal are a humbling consequence of our modern lives,” the agency said, adding that it aims to balance waste management needs with environmental protection.
NEK will be looking into the timeline for the pilot system's design and whether any interim PFAS monitoring data is publicly available.
Photo: Tom Fisk via Pexels. Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.
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