A NH First: Athletic Field Converted from Landfill

Unusable by the public, closed town landfills typically waste valuable land and resources. When the Town of Goffstown, New Hampshire, needed to close its municipal landfill, they wanted something that wasn't considered acceptable. Although the NH Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) had never before allowed it, the Town wanted to reuse the land from two adjacent landfills-totaling 18 acres in size-and put it back into public use.

Finding a way to revitalize.
Out of several other environmental consultants, including a couple of large, national firms, the Town chose GeoInsight to help with the landfill conversions. They were the only firm (out of those the Town reviewed) that suggested-or would even consider-a comprehensive landfill reuse strategy.

However, the road to revitalizing the old landfills so that they could be used by the public was not straight and simple. GeoInsight met with Town Selectmen and the Town's special Landfill Redevelopment Committee and educated them about environmental law, engineering capabilities, and possible technical options for the land, so they could make a decision with confidence. The Town concluded that, if possible, transforming the landfills into athletic fields, rather than another alternative, would be the best direction due to the need for additional public playing fields.

Building for the future.
In order to meet the Town's needs and gain approval of the NHDES, GeoInsight designed a new athletic field complex with a multi-layer, geosynthetic landfill cap system that featured active gas collection, advanced stormwater drainage controls, waste isolation, and special slope stability components. The use of these advanced technologies was beyond the necessary legal requirements of closing a landfill, but, while costing more, they also provided a significant degree of long-term public safety. This approach, paired with GeoInsight's detailed project oversight, enabled both the NHDES and the Town to believe in the potential of this innovative solution, bringing the whole project to life, and, just two years later, into reality.

Enabling results that matter.
By reopening the Town's land to public use, Goffstown gained a piece of prime property right in the heart of its municipality. The project saved Goffstown taxpayers millions of dollars by not having to buy alternative property for the athletic field complex, and, at the same time, better served the people of that neighborhood, who had few other local parks, by giving their children a safe, clean place to live and play.

The evidence is in the impact.
"GeoInsight was critical in helping our Town's task force reach consensus on the project, then they engineered the design of the athletic field to fit our vision and meet the needs of regulatory authorities. Without their innovative way of thinking, this project would not have happened."

- Carl Quiram, PE, Director of Public Works, Goffstown, NH