House Bill 1454 took a step forward on Thursday
House Bill 1454 — which adds a groundwater hydrology-based setback for new landfills — took a step forward on Thursday, passing the New Hampshire Senate with a vote of 16 to 8. The move followed the addition of a “compromise” amendment proposed by Senator Erin Hennessey, R-Littleton. Existing state rules, established in 1991, only require that a landfill be located at least 200 feet from an existing body of water. HB 1454 would add another rule: the setback distance from the water body must be great enough that any contaminated groundwater from a landfill leak or spill would not reach the water body within five years.
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