by Guy Page
The State of Vermont wants the state’s largest solid waste disposal company to remove a rocky flood control berm it built in Montpelier after the July flood.
The large berm lacks proper permitting and must be removed, state officials say. Since the flood, the State has insisted that flood restraints like berms actually increase the likelihood of future flooding downstream. Instead, it prefers to slow floodwaters by using floodplains as much as possible.
This morning, water quality advocate James Ehlers sent Vermont media photos of a newly built rocky berm with the following comment: “Hey Vermonters – Which sociopath(s) did this and or issued the permits to destroy the Winooski floodplain not even 6 weeks after the last flood? Location: East Montpelier Road, Montpelier.”
Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore this morning confirmed the construction of the berm.
“We have received numerous reports about the large berm that was constructed after flooding severely damaged that facility,” Moore told VDC. “The berm was constructed without proper permitting and the Agency is concerned that it is likely to exacerbate future flooding conditions; we are actively working with Casella, the property owner, to remove this unauthorized structure.”
According to its website, the Montpelier depot on East Montpelier Road accepts household trash and recycling, and does not accept hazardous waste.
Casella enjoys a reputation as a good corporate citizen and practitioner of environmentally sound practices. It is also a Vermont business success story. On its website: “Casella Waste Systems, Inc., headquartered in Rutland, Vermont, is one of the largest recyclers and most experienced fully integrated resource management companies in the Eastern United States. Founded in 1975 as a single truck collection service, Casella has grown its operations to provide solid waste collection and disposal, transfer, recycling, and organics services to more than one million residential, commercial, municipal, institutional, and industrial customers and provides professional resource management services to over 10,000 customer locations in more than 40 states.”
VDC has contacted Casella by email and will publish any response ASAP.