This Wednesday, October 13, the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection will hold a public hearing online at 3 p.m. regarding the proposed Wheelabrator Putnam Ash Landfill expansion. If approved, the expansion will double the size of the current landfill from 68 to 120 acres. The Wheelabrator ash landfill is situated along the banks of the Quinebaug River in Putnam, designated an environmental justice community. The landfill takes the ash from 4 of 5 trash incinerators in Connecticut and receives out of state ash from Westchester, NY.
The permits under consideration in this hearing request modifications to existing solid waste permits to construct and operate an ash residue landfill, renewal and modification to the permit to discharge into sanitary sewer, and modification to the permit to discharge to groundwater.
Local activists and residents petitioned DEEP for a public hearing due to environmental and public health concerns about expanding the landfill and extending its life for decades. Also of concern, discharge of wastewater containing toxic chemicals found in the incinerator ash (PFAS, dioxins and heavy metals) into the groundwater and into the water treatment system of the host town, Putnam, and questions about adequate testing and monitoring.
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