From my story at InDepthNH.org: Granite State Landfill, LLC, the company seeking to site a new lined landfill in Dalton, is fighting local residents and a skeptical New Hampshire Wetlands Board to secure permission to begin the three-phase project that the company projects will be completed over at least three decades.
Parent company Casella Waste Systems already operates a landfill in nearby Bethlehem under the business name North Country Environmental Services, Inc. The state is investigating what is described as the state’s largest spill of leachate, with as much as 154,000 gallons of liquid runoff overflowing a holding tank and detention pond at the site, potentially reaching the Ammonoosuc River.
That problem, along with other complaints at sites in Massachusetts, Vermont, and New York, have both residents and environmental groups worried about Casella’s plans.
Abutters Scream At Ice Cream
A photograph that the Sandwich Creamery posted on its Facebook page shows three signs on a tree at the intersection of Wing and Hannah roads: “Private Road Residents Only,” “Please Keep Out,” and “Buy Your Icecream Elsewhere.” The Creamery wrote below it: “We ARE open. These are NOT our signs. We’re sorry for the negativity. Please drive slowly and respect the road.”
The signs indicate an escalation of the complaints neighbors have with traffic on the dirt roads leading to the Creamery. Rebecca Upham, William Babcock Viner, and Michael Woodaman have filed suit in Carroll County Superior Court, seeking a reversal of the planning board decision that allowed the creamery to add a second parking lot for customers.
Sandwich Police Chief Shawn Varney said the signs were the work of Woodaman, who owns the land where they are posted. He said the signs are legal, part of Woodaman’s free speech rights, but he also noted that the public can use the road, even though it is privately owned.
State Guidance On New Anti-Discrimination Laws
A press release from Attorney General John M. Formella, Department of Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut, and Commission for Human Rights Executive Director Ahni Malachi offers links to guidelines on implementing Sections 297 and 298 of House Bill 2.
The guidance for public employers and government programs is posted at: https://www.doj.nh.gov/civil-rights/documents/faq-public-government.pdf
The guidance for public schools is posted at: https://www.doj.nh.gov/civil-rights/documents/faq-educational-programs.pdf
They also say that anyone experiencing discrimination may file a complaint with the New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights, nh.gov/hrc/howto.html, or the Attorney General's Office's Civil Rights Unit, doj.nh.gov/civil-rights/.
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