Canadians worried about proposed Coventry landfill expansion

There's interest on both sides of the border in a proposal to expand Vermont's only permitted landfill in the Northeast Kingdom.

Robert Benoit from Quebec's oldest nonprofit environmental organization tells Vermont Public Radio that the Coventry landfill is near a major source of drinking water on the Canadian side of the border. He said of the proposal "we are worried."

Those concerns have grown since testing revealed elevated levels of PFAS chemicals, including PFOA, in the groundwater near an unlined, closed portion of the landfill. Those chemicals are used in industrial applications.

Conservation Law Foundation is asking Vermont to delay the permit application process until that testing is complete.