Behind many of Casella's most important initiatives is a Legal team that helps employees navigate complex challenges and move projects forward. As Senior Associate General Counsel, Melissa Stevens partners with teams across the company to provide practical legal guidance, solve complex problems, and help turn ideas into action. Whether she's supporting energy initiatives, government affairs, acquisitions, or day-to-day operations, Melissa brings a collaborative approach that helps teams make informed decisions and find practical solutions.
I was drawn to the legal field because I enjoy research, analysis, and problem-solving. That is at the heart of what lawyers do. This profession also offers a meaningful opportunity to help others navigate complex issues. When I had the opportunity to join Casella’s growing legal department in 2020, I jumped at it. I knew the culture here was the right fit for me.
One of the things I enjoy most about my role is the variety. I support the company’s energy initiatives, play a significant role in government affairs across New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, and provide legal support to our landfill and hauling operations in those areas. I also handle a substantial amount of transactional work, including contract review, real estate transactions, and more recently, mergers and acquisitions. One of the most rewarding parts of my job is providing training. It gives me a chance to get to know our new employees and help empower them in a meaningful way.
Our legal team works closely with business leaders and employees across our operating footprint to help them accomplish their goals. That may involve supporting the permitting of a facility or expansion, contracting with a critical vendor, or helping acquire a business. We're planners by nature, so we're always looking ahead at what's in the pipeline and making sure we're ready to provide practical guidance when it's needed. Our goal is to help teams make informed decisions and keep projects moving.
I measure success by how well we support our internal clients—Casella employees. If they feel supported, receive timely guidance, and are able to achieve their objectives with our help, then we are doing our job well. For the legal team, success means being a trusted, reliable partner to the business.
Our team is involved in so many important initiatives across all lines of business. One of the things I'm most proud of is becoming a trusted advisor to colleagues across the company. Those relationships have also allowed me to contribute to exciting projects like our partnership with Waga to develop RNG facilities at our Hyland, McKean, and Chemung landfills. These projects create an additional long-term revenue stream from landfill gas that would otherwise be flared while also helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions and supporting Casella's sustainability goals.
The laws and regulations addressing emerging contaminants, including PFAS and PFOA, have had a significant impact on my work in recent years. These substances are present in many everyday products, which means they ultimately enter the waste streams managed at our facilities. While Casella doesn't generate these materials, we provide secure disposal solutions to help safely sequester them. There is now significant legislative and regulatory focus on how PFAS and PFOA are managed in waste materials, including leachate and sludge. That focus continues to shape how these materials are handled.
When I joined Casella in 2020, people often said, “It’s a good time to be at Casella,” in reference to the company’s growth and the opportunities that came with it. That feels even more true today. I'm excited to continue growing alongside the company and to help navigate the opportunities and challenges ahead for our industry.
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.
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