Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed into law a bill requiring trash companies to submit detailed management plans for leachate, the toxic liquid born from rainfall mixing with waste inside landfills.
While the state already requires operators to create leachate management plans, House Bill 566 adds additional permit application requisites for prospective new landfills and expansions for existing dumps, including on-site treatment of that 鈥渢rash juice鈥� as well as its transportation to off-site treatment facilities.
The bill was a priority for lawmakers amid years-long squabbles between towns and waste companies over the environmental and health hazards of landfills new and old, especially after the Department of Environmental Services issued letters to operators last year outlining issues found at four active landfills in the state.