Did you know that there is an executive commission that was set by Gov. Lynch to talk about water? No big deal you say – yes it is. Many homes in NH, if not most, depend on the water on their land for wells – or to be more technically correct, under your land. Common law has been that what resides under your land belongs to you. Period. How do you think all those “shale millionaires” are now rich? Wildcatters and energy companies are paying big bucks to explore and to frack the natural gas that lays under their land – and because they own it.
This “Lynch’s Last Gift” (“LLG”) wishes to administratively change this. No House debate. No Senate debate. Just poorly noticed “listening session” (mostly during the day when ordinary people are working – but certainly attended by those that have NO problem in determining that your water belongs to them, er, all of us – the Collective. THEY may not own the water, but they, sure as shootin’, are going to be the ones that will make the rules on how you can (or cannot) use that water.
That is under your property. That you paid for when you bought your property (know it or not). Ken Eyring has been tracking this situation for a little while and saw that they are looking for comments, so this is what he wrote (emphasis mine):
My Reply to the NH Water Sustainability Commission’s Request For Public Comment
The Water Sustainability Commission is seeking input from the public regarding management of NH’s water over the next 25 years — but unfortunately, they are not consistent with their collection methods. They have published an online survey using Survey Monkey, and the questions are written in a way that can be easily skewed to support almost any conclusion. There is no way to ensure the integrity of the results, since anyone can log on and take the survey multiple times. In addition, from the beginning of July until July 19th, they accepted Public Comments without requiring identification.
Because of the importance of water to so many aspects of our lives, including life itself, my concerns were elevated as it became clear that the commission perceives all NH water as property of the state — disregarding our riparian water rights to the water in the wells on our personal property.
With all that in mind, I wanted to make sure I provided my concerns to the misguided direction the commission has taken since its inception — and to encourage everyone else to do the same by using this email address: watersustainabilitycommission@gmail.com, or via US Mail to the address below. The deadline to provide feedback is July 31st.
Here is the letter that I sent to them:
Water Sustainability Commission
c/o Synchrony Advisors, LLC
10 Myrtle Street
Exeter, NH 03833
July 18, 2012
Dear Commissioners,
You have asked for public comment regarding “managing the water challenges faced by New Hampshire over the next 25 years.”
I’ll begin by expressing my belief that everything you eventually propose to the Governor should be based upon respect for our Constitutional Rights. In one of your recent meetings, one of your commissioners raised a concern for Constitutionality… and I was stunned to hear another commissioner dismiss those concerns by stating they will let the courts decide. That is a reckless disregard of the responsibilities that you have been entrusted with.
Your commissioners have also made statements that disregard our riparian rights to the well water on our personal property. Some examples include: