Environment groups protest Coventry Dump open house

By Matthew McCully

Three environmental groups held a peaceful protest during the open house organized by Casella at the Coventry, Vermont landfill on Saturday. The purpose of the demonstration was to demand the protection of the environment and Lake Memphremagog and against the leachate discharge into the lake. Three groups present were DUMP (Don’t Undermine Memphremagog’s Purity)(Vermont), Save Forest Lake (New Hampshire) and MCI (Memphremagog Conservation Inc.) (Quebec, Canada).
In the middle of July, the State of Vermont’s Environmental Commission ruled that the leachate generated from the Coventry dumpsite could no longer be treated in Newport, VT, which, once treated, enters Lake Memphremagog. “That decision is very fragile,” explained MCI President Robert Benoit. According to Benoit, at the moment, around 15,000 gallons of leachate are still being processed daily in Newport. The commission gave Newport 90 days to cease accepting Coventry dump’s leachate, which would put a deadline around Oct. 21. See full story in the Wednesday, Sept. 18 edition of The Record.

Share this article