“Toxic garbage water has no place in Lake Memphremagog or any of Vermont’s waters,” said CLF attorney Peter Blair. “Landfill leachate contains a toxic soup of chemicals, including PFAS, which cause serious health issues in humans and animals. Waste companies need to take responsibility for the damage they’re causing to our waters, and this new permit is a huge step towards making that happen in Vermont.”
Toxic “forever chemicals” are everywhere: in our nonstick pans, our food packaging, our water-repellant rain jackets. The Vermont legislature is considering a bill that would protect us from these dangerous chemicals by banning PFAS in food packaging, carpets, and firefighting foam. This bill will help keep toxic “forever chemicals” out of our products and out of our drinking water.
CLF’s Zero Waste program has identified eight New England landfills that want dangerous expansions, a surefire way to increase the pollution they emit into the air, soil, and water. We’re working to stop them from expanding.
The Coventry Landfill sits on over 600 acres in northern Vermont, and Casella Waste wants to expand it an additional 51 acres. This expansion is unnecessary and dangerous to the health of Vermonters.
