Turnkey III landfill air pollution permit approved despite appeal by neighbors

ROCHESTER − In the latest skirmish between state regulators and citizen activists, the NH Department of Environmental Services issued a modified air emissions permit for the Turnkey III landfill in Rochester on Jan. 19 while the original decision is under appeal.

The original decision approving the updated permit was issued in late October by Air Resources Division Director Craig Wright.

“NHDES reviewed the application against all applicable state and federal requirements pertinent to the requested modifications,” Wright wrote in the Findings of Fact portion of the permit. “In addition, NHDES considered all public comments submitted either in writing during the public comment period or in oral testimony during the public hearing. Based on its review and consideration of all the available information, NHDES determined that the requested modifications are allowable under all applicable state and federal air requirements.”

An appeal to the Air Resources Council was filed in November by Katie Lajoie of Charleston who represented a group of local and regional activists. They claim the state has neglected its duties to protect public health, and in particular chose to ignore most public comments about the permitting process into a “non-germane” file that could be excluded as evidence in the appeal.

“The excluded comments that appellants submitted directly relate to permit requirements and otherwise highlight the clear relationship between landfill operations and public health risks,” the appeal filed by Lajoie said. “This is also true for the comments received from others who participated in the permitting process. It is arbitrary and unreasonable for DES to deny appellants a fair opportunity for appeal by creating two sets of responses to public comments and then considering only one set in the Findings of Fact and Director’s Decision.”

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region I office in Boston completed its review of the Turnkey III air emissions permit in December and could find nothing to deny approval. An EPA spokeswoman said the agency was aware of the appeal but was limited by law in its actions regarding citizen concerns.

“EPA’s scope in these reviews is limited to those issues directly related to the modifications,” said Jo Anne Kittrell. “EPA did not find any objectional issues with the proposed permit found it to be in compliance with Title V of the Clean Air Act and the regulations at 40 CFR part 70.”

Kittrell added that, through Feb. 9 “any person may petition EPA to object to the proposed permit,” though the grounds for objection in these cases are limited” only if the petition can demonstrate does not comply with Title V of the Clean Air Act and connected regulations.

The 1,200-acre Turnkey property — which includes two other landfills that were capped in 1990s — is one of the largest landfill sites in New England, the final destination for more than a million pounds annually of garbage and waste for the greater Seacoast NH region and from out of state. The site is managed by a subsidiary of Waste Management NH. In 2018, the state approved a 60-acre expansion at the landfill to run through 2034. The Conservation Law Foundation sued to stop the expansion, but in early 2021 the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled in favor of the expansion permit.

Cynthia Walter, a retired environmental science college professor who lives nearby Turnkey III in Dover, had criticized the permitting process for ignoring the substantial harm being done to public health along with declining business and property values in areas surrounding the landfill. She said it’s a continuing “environmental justice violation” for the people of Rochester. The Oct. 25 decision proved there was little effort to address a wide range of public health issues from the landfill, she said.

“I am deeply disappointed at the inadequate response from the DES to citizen calls for better protection from harmful air pollution around Turnkey,” she said. “Pleas for improved testing of decades-old equipment and local air-quality monitoring were ignored, even though many air toxins from landfills are on the long list of industrial chemicals that DES is required to track. Instead, DES relies on infrequent tests of aging equipment and estimates” to confront the sources of nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide, landfill gases, methane, formaldehyde (from the burning of landfill gases), sulfur dioxide and more pollution from increased truck traffic.

Walter also said the system is geared to keeping public input to a minimum and for appeals to go nowhere. “There is no way a concerned individual could possibly file a meaningful (appeal) reply without a law degree and a great deal of technical expertise and experience,” she said.

Lajoie said she has received no word on a possible date for the Air Resources Council to hear the appeal. The state Department of Justice is handling the logistics of the appeal, and spokesman Michael Garrity said “we would not be in a position to comment outside of the hearing/our public filings in the matter” about the appeals process or the issues raised.

Though it approved the Turnkey III permit, the EPA has identified methane emissions from landfills as an enforcement priority to help mitigate emissions contributing to climate change. Kittrell said EPA Region I has received complaints about odors.

“We are referring concerns related to Turnkey to EPA Region 1’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division who can perform inspections and identify potential areas of noncompliance with the Facility’s Title V permit and the underlying regulations,” she said.

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This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Turnkey III landfill air pollution permit approved despite appeal