By Dummer Yard Repurposing Project Team
BERLIN, NH – Dangerous levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) compounds, along with hazardous concentrations of certain heavy metals have been identified throughout Dummer Yard, a former paper mill landfill located south of Success Pond Road and east of Hutchins Street. Testing conducted by Sanborn Head & Associates between Oct. and Nov. 2025 have confirmed the presence of these contaminants in the soil, groundwater and surface water.
In conjunction with their findings, The Dummer Yard Repurposing Project Team has applied to participate in the state’s Brownfield Covenant Program, which encourages the safe, voluntary redevelopment of tainted property by ensuring private developers are not liable for pre-existing environmental contaminants.
“Dummer Yard is generating toxic leachate that is pooling, spilling and flowing into nearby neighborhoods, taxing the city’s water treatment system and threatening local wildlife and the Androscoggin River,” said Jarrett Everton, Project Lead and Director of Environmental Services at WL French. “The site has long been abandoned and funding to maintain it has been exhausted. The Dummer Yard Repurposing Project offers the only viable path to remediating the property and repairing the old landfill caps while adding millions of dollars to city coffers through a proposed soil disposal facility next to the landfill.”
PFAS concentrations exceeding regulatory standards were detected in dozens of the samples collected, with several of those samples exhibiting elevated levels of PAHs. Manganese concentrations exceeding regulatory limits were also identified in the majority of samples, while detectable concentrations of arsenic, iron, sodium and potassium were identified throughout the site. It was additionally determined that groundwater is actively flowing toward neighboring properties, the Androscoggin River and communities downstream of the river.
In compliance with state and federal regulations, the project team has reported its findings to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES).