Letters: Landfills make no sense for Milton

To the Editor:

Milton is faced with a choice. Are we to become a dumping ground for out-of-state unrecyclable materials? As owners of McKenzie's Farm, this issue is of great concern. We are dependent on clean water and air to sustain our business. Our most valuable resource in Milton is our water. It provides recreation, jobs, and farming.

Warrant Article 3 on the March 10th ballot proposes that landfills may be sited anywhere in Milton. The latest NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) 2014 soil survey shows over 70% of the soils in Milton are excessively well drained and the other 30% are bedrock or moderately well drained. This allows any leakage from a landfill to very quickly infiltrate Milton's water table and thus our streams and lakes. Milton does not possess any impermeable soils such as clay to help prevent this.

Milton residents need to understand that not only does this affect Milton's air and water quality, it also affects towns downstream such as Rochester, Somersworth, and Dover.

Companies are well versed to say that their landfills use impermeable liners that do not allow seepage. However, EPA engineering studies determined that there are no composite liners available that do not have pinhole leaks. These leaks can allow up to 90,000 gallons of seepage per acre of a landfill per year. If Warrant Article 3 passes, it will not be "if" our air and water become polluted, but "when."

I highly urge the voters in Milton to vote No for Warrant Article 3 on March 10.

Jock and Annie McKenzie,

Milton NH