New Hampshire
Opinion: The untold story of DES’ new landfill siting rules
Eliot Wessler lives in Whitefield and works with a number of grassroots organizations in New Hampshire’s North Country.
New Hampshire’s Department of Environmental Services (DES) has the responsibility to balance the interests of landfill developers and the public. But the agency, under the thumb of outgoing Gov. Sununu, has leaned heavily in favor of the solid waste industry for years, and the New Hampshire legislature has too often gone along.
DES’ new landfill siting rules were approved at the Dec. 19 JLCAR (Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules) hearing. DES provided JLCAR with just enough half-truths that it was able to ram home a version of the rules that was heavily influenced by landfill developers.
The stink from that hearing hasn’t abated. The written testimony in advance of the hearing consisted of virtually unanimous objection from scientists and crickets from the industry. As for the hearing, the 15-20 people who showed up to provide testimony opposed to DES’ rules were denied an opportunity to testify by an administrative maneuver engineered by two of the ten JLCAR members.
Given everything we now know about the risks of PFAS contamination from landfills, including the contamination of public water supplies near Pease, the hundreds of incidents of leachate mismanagement at Casella’s NCES landfill in Bethlehem, and Casella’s hubris in trying to push through permit applications to build a brand new mega-landfill (the GSL project), it’s appalling that DES’ new rules make it easier for landfill developers to build landfills wherever they want.
The most egregious thing DES did was to weaken the hydraulic conductivity standard compared to its original proposal. The industry lobbied DES to make the change, arguing that the stronger standard would make siting landfills harder. DES caved, despite overwhelming evidence that the weaker standard dramatically increased the risk of landfill contamination, and with no countervailing evidence that a stronger standard would prevent siting new landfills.
So now we’re stuck. DES’ standard is far weaker than the standard used in both Maine and Vermont. Moreover, it is weaker than all U.S. states that have such standards, as well as many foreign countries, including countries with extremely lax environmental rules such as India.
DES is required by administrative rules, enforced by JLCAR, to make decisions on the merits of the available evidence. In weakening the conductivity standard, DES offered assertions to JLCAR but provided no evidence that the conductivity standard weakening was based on merit. In fact, the evidence presented to JLCAR seems to confirm that DES reverse-engineered the standard so that permits for Casella’s GSL project could be greenlighted:
■DES argued that the old rules did not have a hydraulic conductivity standard, so the new rules are ipso facto more protective. That defies logic given that the standard is set so low that it virtually provides a permission structure for landfills to be sited in highly permeable soil.
■DES disowned a DES-sponsored soil permeability map that showed some 85% of the state has more suitable soils for landfill siting than the GSL site. But having disowned the map, DES produced no data or evidence of any kind regarding the distribution of soil permeability in New Hampshire.
■In DES’s own words, “NHDES staff asked other concerned members of the regulated community to provide information and documents to demonstrate …foreclosing… the siting of any new landfill or the expansion of any existing landfill, but the department did not receive any supporting documentation.”
■On the same subject, in DES’ own words, “Other commenters including several industry representatives commented that the initial values…would make it very difficult to site new landfills or to expand the existing landfills in the state. One industry representative referenced a statewide study that had been conducted for a private client that they claim showed this result. The representative was unwilling to share the document.”
With JLCAR’s acceptance of DES’ Section 800 rules revisions, DES may have won a pyrrhic victory. Outgoing Gov. Sununu is just about the last public official to think GSL is a good idea, and he will be remembered by many as a cheerleader for unneeded large engineering projects, including the albatross that is the Seabrook nuclear plant, and the ill-conceived Northern Pass transmission project.
With the inauguration of Governor-elect Ayotte in a few weeks, DES will be under new management. She has said that under her watch New Hampshire will modernize its landfill management practices, will not become the solid waste dump for all of New England, and that the GSL project will not happen.
In addition, given the heightened awareness in the New Hampshire legislature of the dangers from landfills, as well as heightened awareness that DES historically has not done nearly enough to faithfully fulfill its mission to protect public health and welfare, there is hope that through new legislation and tougher oversight, DES will be encouraged (or maybe forced) to re-focus on its mission.
New Hampshire
Texting and driving? Lawmakers want you to pay steeper fines – Monadnock Ledger-Transcript
If you use your cell phone while driving, you may want to think twice — unless you’re willing to pay twice as much.
A bipartisan bill, backed by state law enforcement, would institute higher fines for drivers who use handheld devices behind the wheel. In some cases, motorists could lose their licenses for a month or more.
Sen. Donovan Fenton, a Democrat from Keene who serves on Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s Highway Safety Task Force, pointed to state crash data as reason for the change proposed in his Senate Bill 649
The number of traffic deaths in New Hampshire has crept up over the past few years. In 2023, there were 127 fatalities, at least six of which stemmed from distracted driving, Fenton said.
“Distracted driving is becoming more pronounced, more dangerous and more deadly,” he said at a public hearing last week. “The current penalties are not enough to change behavior, particularly with repeat offenses.”
There were 133 traffic deaths in 2024 and 138 in 2025, according to the Office of Highway Safety. In 2026 so far, thirteen people have died in car crashes.
Fenton’s bill would increase the amount someone has to pay for violating the prohibition on cell phone use while driving. First-time offenders would pay $250 instead of the current $100, and on the second violation in two years, the offender would pay $500. For the third offense in two years, they would pay $750 and lose their license for 30 days. All those penalties could increase if cell phone use behind the wheel is found to be a contributing factor in a car crash.
Current law allows hands-free operation of a cell phone via Bluetooth but prohibits handheld device use. The state collected more than $568,000 in related fines and penalty assessments in the most recent fiscal year.
Distracted driving was a contributing factor in 4,520 of the state’s nearly 28,000 non-fatal crashes in 2023, according to the Department of Safety. That’s a little over 16%, though a report from the task force said officials suspect distracted driving is difficult to track and underreported in more serious collisions. Cell phones are a common culprit in distracted driving.
Ayotte’s task force has highlighted other policies that it says would increase public safety, including doubling the license suspension period for refusing a breathalyzer test.
In the first 10 weeks of 2026, three-quarters of the people arrested for impaired driving in New Hampshire refused to take a breath alcohol test, Ayotte said in a recent press release. The governor has waged a public campaign for the proposed law, Senate Bill 260, which she says would disincentivize drivers from refusing the test.
What’s next: Senate Bill 649 breezed through the Senate earlier this year. The House of Representatives is set to vote on it in the coming weeks after a committee recommended its passage almost unanimously.
New Hampshire
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Are you ready for your mornings reimagined?
Hi! I’m Garret Doll (like Ken, but less hair and not as handsome), and I’m teaming up with Katie Killourhy for 97.5 WOKQ’s new morning show, Garret & Katie in the Morning!
You ready to join us?
So, Who Is Garret Doll?
I’ve learned something about myself… I don’t like clutter. Unless it’s my clutter. Then it’s not clutter, it’s a system.
That’s probably a pretty accurate starting point for who I am. A little self-aware, a little stubborn, and definitely someone who knows what he likes. I like tacos, steak tips and lobster rolls. (Fun fact: I’ve never had a lobster roll until moving here.)
How It All Started
This whole radio thing started for me when I was 15. My mom helped me land a job at a radio station in my hometown (cause she worked there), and I fell in love with radio. I’ve never left this career.
I’ve spent my entire adult life doing this job, and I still feel like I lucked into the best job in the world. No two days are the same. One minute you’re talking about life, the next you’re playing your favorite songs, then suddenly you’re out in the community meeting people who feel like friends you’ve known forever.
Most of my career took me to places like Denver, Charleston, and Richmond. Now, somehow, it’s brought me here to New Hampshire.
Honestly, I look at it like a “this is exactly where I’m supposed to be” moment. It’s a new start on life, so to speak. You will learn more about that as we get to know each other and you listen to the show on 97.5 WOKQ.
Why WOKQ Matters to Me
WOKQ is one of those stations you hear about in radio. It’s got history. It’s got heart. And it’s built around a community that actually cares about local connection and country music throughout New England.
That matters to me.
I don’t want to just “be on the radio.” I want to be part of what’s happening here. The towns, the events, the random conversations at a bar, the places you tell your friends they have to check out.
That’s the fun part of all of this.
What I’m All About
I’m a pretty simple dude:
I’m the guy who would give you the shirt off my back
Glass half full (even when it probably shouldn’t be)
Always smiling
Authentic… sometimes too authentic
And yeah, there are definitely moments where I say something before thinking it all the way through.
So if you ever hear me and think, “Did he really just say that?” There’s a decent chance the answer is yes.
Some Quick Hits About Me
Coffee order: Americano
Drink Order: Old Fashioned or just a good local beer
Favorite food: Tacos (not even close)
Guilty pleasure show: The Big Bang Theory
Pet peeve: Close talkers… and people who are late
Random fact: I once got a tattoo of Dopey from the Seven Dwarfs because a girl I was dating wanted one. We got them together. (Don’t worry, it’s been covered up by a microphone and a rose… and I haven’t heard from her in about 20 years)
Let’s Do This Together
I’m new to town, which means I could really use your help.
Where’s your go-to spot when you just want to get outside? Best place to hike? Kayak? Local bar? Just disappear for a few hours?
READ MORE: Hidden Gems in New Hampshire: 5 Secret Places Worth Discovering
Drop me your favorites, because if there’s one thing I know, it’s that the best recommendations don’t come from Google… they come from you! The ones who actually live it.
And I’m ready to start exploring and getting to know you. So make sure to tune in to Garret & Katie in the Morning! See you there.
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