Casella Waste Systems has withdrawn a wetlands permit application that is central to its proposed landfill near Forest Lake in Dalton, the company confirmed. The withdrawal, announced in a June 15 letter to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, is the latest development in a yearslong fight over the project.
Casella Vice President of Communications Jeff Weld said the company pulled the application to avoid "confusion or inefficiency" while it appeals a separate denial of a solid waste permit for the same site. That appeal is pending in court. Weld said Casella expects the overall permitting process to move forward and that the landfill is needed to address disposal capacity after a nearby Casella landfill in Bethlehem closes in 2027.
Opponents of the landfill said the withdrawal signals that Casella is backing off. "I think this is as close as we're going to get" to a concession, said Adam Finkel, a lakeside resident and vocal critic of the project. But Wayne Morrison, president of the North Country Alliance for Balanced Change, said the group is taking Casella at its word that it intends to continue. "We cannot take our eye off the ball," said Vice President Tom Tower.
Governor Kelly Ayotte has repeatedly opposed the landfill, stating in April, "We are not going to locate a landfill at Forest Lake." Casella has withdrawn and resubmitted a wetlands permit for the same site before, in 2021.
Originally reported by NH Bulletin.
Photo: Tom Fisk via Pexels. Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.
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