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N.H. lawmakers hear bipartisan bill to tighten landfill leachate plans after Bethlehem overflow
Summary
Lawmakers reviewed HB 566, which would add statutory requirements that landfill permit applicants file detailed leachate management plans and named disposal contracts with the Department of Environmental Services after multiple facility failures, including a 54,000‑gallon overflow in Bethlehem.
CONCORD, N.H. — Lawmakers heard testimony July 23 on HB 566, a bipartisan bill that would require landfill permit applicants to file detailed leachate management plans and identify contractual arrangements for off‑site treatment and disposal with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES).
Representative Nick Germana, R‑Cheshire (District 15), the prime sponsor, told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee the bill was developed with input from “Director Mike Wimsatt at DES” and from regulated industry representatives to avoid undue burdens on operations. Germana said the measure would “provide statutory support for DES’s current rules by requiring applicants for landfill permits to provide detailed leachate management plans,” including storage, on‑site treatment when applicable, transport estimates and contingency plans.
The bill was presented amid examples of recent leachate management failures. Tom Tower, vice president of North Country Alliance for Balanced Change and a Whitefield resident, cited reporting and DES correspondence about the Bethlehem…
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