LEBANON — When Lebanon officials first pitched plans to require residents in the 23 Upper Valley towns who are eligible to use the city’s landfill to get a permit, they spoke of convenience.
It was supposed to be easy to obtain one of the free permits, with the option to either go through an online portal on the Lebanon website or to drop by their town hall, where a municipal employee could process applications on the spot.
But with the Wednesday deadline to obtain a permit fast approaching, some people are finding out that their town cannot process applications as promised, confusing those who lack reliable internet or have trouble navigating the city’s website.
Lebanon City Clerk Kristin Kenniston said Monday that her staff has turned away residents from neighboring towns looking for a permit. To prevent long lines, she said, only those who live in Lebanon are allowed to apply at City Hall, where they’re charged a $10 processing fee for doing it in person.
For now, signs outside the doors to City Hall warn people that landfill permits are “Processed in person for LEBANON RESIDENTS ONLY.”
“It’s been, I think, frustrating for those who come in from other towns because we can’t assist them in person,” Kenniston said outside the clerk’s office around noon.
However, she pointed out, many towns had the option to process applications and declined.
Shortly after Lebanon first proposed using permits earlier this year — an effort aimed at tracking where the landfill’s trash comes from — officials sent out new agreements to the 23 Upper Valley communities that for years were allowed to drop trash off at the Route 12A facility.
But many of those municipalities balked at a provision that would have forced their employees to comply with Lebanon’s “welcoming ordinance” in exchange for access to its records system. They argued the ordinance — which bans Lebanon police, employees and volunteers from asking people about their immigration status or sharing information with federal immigration authorities — doesn’t belong in a contract meant to cover trash.
In turn, city officials said that they were simply asking partner towns not to discriminate or offer information from Lebanon’s system to immigration authorities.
Hanover Town Manager Julia Griffin said Monday that the two groups eventually reached a compromise where a town could choose one of three options — agree to the welcoming language and be allowed to issue permits, have residents apply for permits on Lebanon’s website or forgo use of the landfill altogether.
Most communities — Orford, Grafton, Canaan, Hanover, Hartford, Norwich, Hartland, Vershire, Pomfret, Fairlee, Strafford, Thetford, West Fairlee and Woodstock, Sutton, N.H., and Newbury, N.H. — chose the online-only option.
Meanwhile, Enfield, Lyme, Plainfield and Sharon agreed to issue permits at their town offices.
Officials said it wasn’t just the welcoming ordinance that led them to direct residents online. Woodstock Municipal Manager William Kerbin Jr. said the town clerk is already overstretched and could do without the additional burden.
Hannah Tyler, Hartford’s public works director, said the same is true of her community’s staff.
“We were just thinking there was quite a bit of business, and we weren’t sure that we could put that all onto our town clerk,” she said.
Regardless, officials say, people are calling and showing up to ask about the permits.
Griffin said her staff has fielded queries from “a handful” of residents — mostly seniors — who either don’t have internet access or don’t know how to provide a digital image of their identification for the Lebanon site.
Griffin said the application through the Lebanon website only takes a few minutes and can be approved typically in three days.
“If they come, we’ll help them,” she said.
Other communities, like Hartford, said they’re working with libraries and senior centers to cater to those who can’t apply online. The Lebanon library system is already equipped to help non-residents, Kenniston said, and landfill staff are typically at the Thursday Lebanon Farmers Market processing applications.
But Plainfield Town Clerk Michelle Marsh said she hasn’t jumped through hoops to complete applications because her Selectboard approved a landfill agreement that allows her to access Lebanon’s system.
“It literally takes two minutes, and it’s a very simple procedure,” she said. “They just come in and they ask, and I type their name and information. Then I print it out, and they’re on their way. It’s not stressful.”
Permits will be required to visit the Lebanon landfill starting Wednesday. Information about landfill permits, including town-by-town applications, can be found at Lebanonnh.gov/1514/Solid-Waste-Permits.
Although the permits are free, landfill users will still need to purchase landfill punch cards, which allow people to drop off 10 bags of trash for $15. A list of punch card vendors is at Lebanonnh.gov/452/Landfill-Punch-Cards.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.