Coventry dump can grow, but leachate has to go

Memphremagog conservation Inc. (MCI) President Robert Benoit described the findings of State of Vermont’s Environmental Commission regarding the expansion of the landfill in Coventry, VT as half a victory. While the application for a permit to expand the landfill by roughly 51 acres was approved, the commission ruled that the leachate generated from the site could no longer be treated in Newport, VT, which, once treated, enters Lake Memphremagog.
“It was more important to deal with the leachate,” Benoit said, explaining that it contains PFAS, a family of carcinogenic chemicals with the potential to bio-accumulate in the lake. “MCI was running two battles,” Benoit explained. The first was a long-term campaign to close the site or as Benoit explained, decrease the amount of garbage coming to the landfill to zero. The second was to stop the treatment of leachate from the dump in Newport, VT. “We won that fight.” See full story in the Thursday, July 25 edition of The Record.