Estrie citizens are imploring Quebec and Ottawa to oppose a pilot project for the pre-treatment of leachate from the Coventry landfill site in Vermont, fearing that it will open the door to a resumption of discharges into Lake Memphremagog; the Quebec government, on the contrary, sees it as good news.
In December, the Vermont Natural Resources Agency authorized the owner of the site, Casella Waste Systems, to build a plant aimed at removing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as eternal pollutants, from leachate (see box ).
Until 2019, this leaching water was sent to the Newport wastewater treatment plant, which discharges the water it treats into the Lake Memphremagog watershed, but a moratorium has forced Casella Waste Systems to send its effluents from at the plant in Montpelier, the state capital, which discharges the water it treats into the Lake Champlain watershed. However, neither of the two plants can eradicate PFAS.
“We expect greater than 90% removal of targeted PFAS, which would result in levels below Vermont’s drinking water standards,” the company said. The Press Casella Waste Systems communications director Jeff Weld.
An “experimental treatment”
The citizen organization Memphrémagog Conservation is asking Quebec and Ottawa to challenge the authorization granted to Casella Waste Systems, whose landfill site is located near Newport, on the Quebec border.
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“Why would we undergo an experimental treatment that has not been proven? asks its volunteer president, Johanne Lavoie.
She would rather wait for “a real treatment that eliminates everything”, fearing that leachate will start to be sent to the Newport water treatment plant again, when the current ban ends, in 2026.
This is the door that we are opening and that we will no longer be able to close. Do you really think that the multinational will agree to build a temporary factory of 10 million [de dollars] and then tear it down? The precautionary principle must be applied.
Johanne Lavoie, from the citizen organization Memphrémagog Conservation
Lake Memphremagog is the source of drinking water for some 175,000 people in Estrie, including residents of Sherbrooke and Magog, said Ms.me Lavoie, recalling that traces of PFAS have already been detected in the Sherbrooke water intake.
Quebec favorable
The Quebec government sees very favorably the construction of a pre-treatment plant at the Coventry landfill site.
“We can’t be against the will to remove PFAS from leachate, because removing PFAS from leachate, whether in Montpelier or elsewhere, is always good news, it means less PFAS in the environment” , told The Press Nathalie Provost, Director General of Analysis and Expertise for Central and Southern Quebec at the Ministry of the Environment, the Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks (MELCCFP).
“No matter where the water is treated, it comes back to Quebec,” whether in Lake Memphremagog or Lake Champlain, underlines Ms.me Provost.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY TERESA GERADE
View of the Coventry Landfill from the Newport Veterans Bridge in June 2022
And if Casella Waste Systems asks for permission to send its pretreated effluent to the Newport water treatment plant in 2026, Quebec can decide, she says.
What we have seen since 2011 is that Vermont is discussing with us and taking measures to ensure the quality of the water in Lake Memphremagog.
Nathalie Provost, General Director of Analysis and Expertise for Central and Southern Quebec at the MELCCFP
The federal Ministry of Environment and Climate Change has indicated that the matter falls under Quebec’s jurisdiction and that Ottawa supports its decision not to oppose the pilot project.
Opposition in Vermont
Citizens of Vermont are officially challenging the authorization granted to Casella Waste Systems, as permitted by the law of this state for persons or organizations having previously participated in the consultation process on the subject.
The authorization does not specify the method of treatment or the standard to be achieved, criteria that will have to be established and subsequently approved, deplores Ed Stanak of the DUMP organization, for Don’t Undermine Memphremagog’s Purity. Memphremagog).
“They are shoveling the problem forward,” he protests, further fearing that the project is the prelude to a new expansion of the landfill, the only one in Vermont, whose area already reaches some 89 acres.
“The pre-treatment plant should be built on the land of a municipal water treatment plant, not on a private landfill,” Stanak said.
The Vermont Natural Resources Agency did not respond to questions from The Press about the permit granted to Casella Waste Systems, declining “to comment or speculate on ongoing proceedings,” said its spokeswoman, Stephanie Brackin.
What are PFAS?
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals that can repel water and oils. They are used in various industrial processes, but they are also found in many everyday products, such as cosmetics, food packaging and textiles. The fact that they persist in the environment has earned them the nickname “eternal pollutants”. “Studies in humans have shown that exposure [à certaines PFAS] can affect the liver, birth weight, metabolism and immune system,” explains Health Canada on its website. The International Agency for Research on Cancer considers that one of these substances, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), may be carcinogenic to humans.
Learn more
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- 540,000
- Tons of waste sent to the Coventry landfill each year, 80% of which comes from Vermont
Source: Casella Waste Systems
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- 1,265,000
- Tons of residual materials sent each year to the Terrebonne landfill, the largest in Quebec
Source: Office of Public Hearings on the Environment