Don't Undermine
Memphremagog's Purity
Working to Restore and Protect the International Waters of Lake Memphremagog and its Watershed
DUMP is making progress!
New Bill Introduced to Protect Lake Memphremagog
Representatives Woodman Page and Larry Labor have submitted this bill, H.652, for consideration by the Vermont legislature. The purpose of the bill is to prohibit landfill leachate, treated or not, from being discharged anywhere in the Lake Memphremagog watershed. This is DUMP's number one goal, shared with our Canadian partners, Memphremagog Conservation (MCI).
Protecting the lake from further chemical contamination, including PFAS, is essential for the environment, people, and economies of the surrounding communities. Most importantly, the Lake is a drinking water reservoir for 175,000 Quebec neighbors.
You can help:
1) Contact your Representative now to request their support for H.652
2) Contact House Environment Committee Chair Amy Sheldon asheldon@leg.state.vt.us and Co-Chair Larry Labor llabor@leg.state.vt.us, to request that they take swift action to receive testimony on H.652 and pass it out of Committee asap.
Share broadly with friends, family and colleagues around Vermont.
Steps to Find Your Legislators:
1. Go to the Official State Website: legislature.vermont.gov.
2. Search For: Enter your town to find your Representatives in the State House.
H652 would prohibit the disposal of landfill leachate, treated or not, anywhere in the Memphremagog watershed.
I urge every citizen of the NEK and Memphremagog region to contact House Environment Committee Chair Amy Sheldon asheldon@leg.state.vt.us and Co-Chair Larry Labor llabor@leg.state.vt.us, to request that they take swift action to receive testimony on H652 and pass it out of Committee asap.
The Coventry landfill looms over the South Bay of Lake Memphremagog
A Big Win in Environmental Court!
Judge Thomas Walsh, of Vermont’s Environmental Court, handed down a decision on Tuesday January 27th, affirming a Jurisdictional Opinion (JO) issued by the Act 250 District #7 Environmental Commission Coordinator on January 25, 2025 (Case No. 25-ENV-00012). Vermont’s Land Use Review Board defended the Jurisdictional Opinion.
Don’t Undermine Memphremagog’s Purity, Inc. (DUMP) the grassroots environmental organization dedicated to protecting water quality in Lake Memphremagog, had requested a Jurisdictional Opinion, and the Act 250 District #7 Commission Coordinator agreed, that the NEWSVT leachate pretreatment system, in place on the Coventry landfill, would require an amended permit “ in the event that NEWSVT sought to convert the current experimental leachate pretreatment system from a pilot program to permanent installation at NEWSVT's facility.”
New England Waste Systems, Inc. (NEWSVT) then appealed the Jurisdictional Opinion to the Environmental Court. NEWSVT is a subsidiary of Casella Waste Systems, Inc.
DUMP stood by its claim that amended permit would be required for a leachate pretreatment facility, since it is a major change in operations onsite.
In his decision, Judge Walsh stated, “the Court concludes NEWSVT requires an Act 250 permit amendment to convert the pilot pretreatment system to a permanent installation.”
The leachate pretreatment system, SAFF, which partially removes hazardous and toxic PFAS chemicals from landfill leachate, has actually been fully operational since September 2023, but the “pilot” is not scheduled to begin until Quarter 2 of 2026, according to a NEWSVT spokesperson at a recent landfill oversight meeting.
Currently, the leachate pretreatment system is required to be staffed 24/7, and no leachate is permitted to be imported for pretreatment. Once the pilot concludes, after 180 days, there is no certainty those requirements would remain in place.
DUMP asserts that the current SAFF technology does not meet the highest standards for PFAS removal, and poses continued threat to the environment. Effluent discharged from the system still contains significant amounts of “forever” PFAS, proven to cause significant negative health effects in people and animals exposed to contaminated water and food.
In response to Judge Walsh’s decision, DUMP co-founder and Board Chair, Chris Jacobs, said "DUMP welcomes the decision of the Environmental Court affirming that the leachate pretreatment system will be subject to review under Act 250. That will force NEWSVT to make its case before the District 7 Environmental Commission. The people of the Northeast Kingdom will finally have an opportunity for real public participation, to identify the long-range negative impacts on the Lake Memphremagog watershed. The operation of the SAFF system- even as a pilot- is a threat to the health and safety of the environment, people and wildlife. The conversion of a pilot to a permanent leachate pretreatment system will increase the environmental burden that the operation of the state's only landfill currently represents to the quality of life of residents and the affected ecosystems."
Protect Lake Memphremagog!
End this environmental injustice.
It is an environmental injustice to truck almost all of Vermont’s waste to the Northeast Kingdom, which generates only 7% of the waste disposed of in the Coventry Landfill. Nearly 20% of the waste disposed comes from out of state – mainly Massachusetts. Meanwhile, the groundwater in the Memphremagog watershed is being contaminated. The State of Vermont needs a Solid Waste Plan that does not dump all its trash (and imported waste) in the Northeast Kingdom!
Join The Cause
Please join our team of Vermont and Canadian citizens in the fight to restore and protect Lake Memphremagog!
PROTECT
Through our research, monitoring of water quality reports and published testing, testimony to legislators, and our own petitions for improved regulatory and testing policies, we focus on keeping our water clean and healthy for all Vermonters and Canadians into the future..
EDUCATE
By holding scheduled meetings for stakeholders and the public, participating in press conferences, writing public comments and media articles, we are working hard to inform and engage the public.
COLLABORATE
Collaboration is a key to accomplishing our goal. Working together with other environmental groups in the US and Canada raises our combined knowledge, and provides a strong platform to make the biggest impact.
A literal mountain of trash overlooks a beautiful lake.
KNOW THE FACTS
The Latest in the Media - Concerns for Lake Memphremagog
Join us in the fight to protect Lake Memphremagog! Stay in the know of the latest updates regarding the Casella landfill. If you are able, please donate to our cause to help pay our legal expenses. Thank you!
New Permit Threatens
Lake Memphremagog
On May 31 the Department of Environmental Conservation Watershed Management Division issued the final amended Permit for the pilot leachate pretreatment system on site at the NEWSVT Coventry landfill.
Stay Tuned!
Keep an eye out for an announcement regarding information on the second Newport Forum on Environmental Issues. We would love to have all who can, attend.