Canterbury Solid Waste committee and select board clash after citizen report flags PFAS in landfill wetlands

A volunteer report and subsequent committee presentation about decades of water testing at the town landfill prompted a contentious exchange between the Solid Waste Committee and the Board of Selectmen at the meeting.

The Solid Waste Committee chair, Richard (Rich) (Solid Waste Committee chair), opened the topic by asking the board to “set the record straight” about remarks made at a prior meeting and to address what committee members described as mischaracterizations of their work. Committee member Roy Bliscoe, who authored a risk-assessment report compiled from public DES filings and other records, said the document was his independent work and not directed by the committee: “This report was not tasked to me by the Solid Waste Committee.”

Why it matters: Bliscoe’s analysis highlights long-running monitoring data and asserts that PFAS compounds, lead and iron show up in groundwater and surface-water samples near the landfill and nearby wetlands. Committee members said the data support further study before the town spends money on infrastructure at the current transfer-station site. The select board said it wanted…