New Hampshire Supreme Court Decision Upholds Stage VI Permit Issuance

Appeal by CLF denied, and issuance of the Stage VI permit held to have been lawful

RUTLAND, Vt., Dec. 29, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CWST) (“Casella”), a regional solid waste, recycling, and resource management services company, announced today that the New Hampshire Supreme Court (the “Court”) concluded that the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (“NHDES”) acted lawfully in issuing a permit for the Stage VI expansion at the North Country Environmental Services, Inc. (“NCES”) Landfill in Bethlehem, New Hampshire.

The Court’s decision reversed a previous ruling by the New Hampshire Waste Management Council (the “Council”), after the Conservation Law Foundation (“CLF”) appealed the permit issuance. The Court’s decision held that the Council erred in its interpretation of New Hampshire’s public benefit statute and that the determination that the Stage VI expansion did in fact satisfy a capacity need was lawful and correct.

NCES, a wholly owned subsidiary of Casella, provides disposal capacity for more than 60,000 business and residents in nearly 200 towns throughout the State of New Hampshire.

“We are pleased that the decision of the court removes the uncertainty for our New Hampshire customers caused by the Council’s decision,” said John W. Casella, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Casella. “Ensuring that we will be able to provide the continuity of service on which our customers rely has been our focus throughout this process. This decision recognizes the ongoing need for disposal capacity in the State, even as anti-landfill activists such as CLF continue to make baseless claims that take time and resources away from moving New Hampshire closer to the goals outlined in its most recent Solid Waste Management Plan.”

In September 2022, NHDES published an updated Solid Waste Management Plan, which outlined eight specific goals for improving solid waste management in the state over the next decade, and to assist the state in achieving its goal to reduce the disposal of municipal solid waste (MWS) and construction and demolition debris (C&D) by 25% by 2030 and by 45% by 2050.

According to Casella, continued availability of disposal capacity at NCES and the proposed Granite State Landfill in Dalton, New Hampshire, which is targeted to come online near the time when NCES closes at the conclusion of Stage VI, is vital to helping the State achieve these goals.

“The future of solid waste management is to view it as an integrated set of solutions and critical infrastructure designed to keep people and their natural environment safe,” said Mr. Casella. “This approach considers the overall benefits of the entirety of our resource management efforts, and not simply those of a single facility. Disposal capacity is the foundation that allows for the continuation of ongoing materials management efforts. By providing customers with stable, reliable disposal capacity, we can understand the materials and propose better methods to manage them differently, which will ultimately benefit New Hampshire on its road to a more sustainable future.”