N.H. lawmakers hear bipartisan bill to tighten landfill leachate plans after Bethlehem overflow

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 facility, saying the site experienced “over 10 feet of leachate” where rules limit leachate depth to about 12 inches. Tower said from the second half of 2021 through the first half of 2023 the site pumped about 2,800,000 gallons of leachate per quarter and that figure rose to about 5,200,000 gallons in late 2023 into 2024. He also referenced a February 2021 incident he described as a 54,000‑gallon leachate overflow at the Bethlehem facility.

Mike Wimsatt, identified in committee testimony as director of the Waste Management Division at DES, said DES has referred conditions at Bethlehem to the Department of Justice for enforcement and confirmed the agency has observed problems at multiple facilities. “We have had a number of problems…seeing leachate both collecting in excess on the liner system above what's allowed under the rules, but also some leachate breakouts of facilities that make their way to stormwater systems,” Wimsatt said.

Wimsatt and other witnesses explained how landfill design intends to keep most precipitation away from the waste, but that extreme rainfall events and exposed working faces create leachate that must be collected, pumped and removed to wastewater treatment plants or other authorized facilities. Under current rules, DES requires facilities to have arrangements with at least two wastewater plants for acceptance of leachate; the department may request contracts during inspections but does not currently require those contracts to be submitted proactively with permit applications.

Representative Germana said HB 566’s central enforcement enhancement is a requirement that operators provide detailed information about contracts with at least two facilities that will treat and dispose of leachate. He told members DES asked for a technical timing change to the bill language so that some contract details would be required later in the permitting timeline rather than at initial application, acknowledging that applicants may not have all contracts finalized at first filing.

Senators on the committee asked whether the contract reporting requirement raised proprietary concerns. Germana said earlier drafts included broader contract provisions that were narrowed after discussions with DES and regulated industry representatives. “Those parts that were kind of concerning about what they should report or not report, have been removed,” he said, adding the current draft reflects collaboration.

Several senators asked DES whether the agency’s existing rules and enforcement authorities are sufficient. Wimsatt said DES can and does enforce violations and had referred the Bethlehem conditions for enforcement, but added that placing explicit leachate management language in statute would strengthen the agency’s regulatory posture because statutes reduce legal argument over rule interpretations.

The hearing closed without a committee vote on HB 566; committee members moved on to the next agenda item after questioning and additional brief public testimony supporting the bill.

Ending — The bill’s sponsors and DES framed HB 566 as a targeted statutory reinforcement of existing leachate rules: requiring more detailed, documented plans and named contractual arrangements for treatment and disposal to improve DES’s ability to prevent and respond to large‑scale leachate events.