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To borrow from Mitch McDeere, the protagonist in John Grisham’s The Firm, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) ridiculous new water standards is a topic that’s “not sexy, but it’s got teeth.” Sharp enough to cost NH taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
Three of the four Democrats who stumbled into elected office in 2016 from Merrimack ran as water warriors. As an elective strategy, it was clever. Locals and the media have played up a PFAS/PFOA leak in town. And it worked. But what we got were Left-wing water carriers.
I have to keep dipping into this well because the disinformation campaign won’t let it go. Merrimack had a PFOA contamination problem. People are right to want more information. But the campaign has descended into a circus as “residents” demand unrealistic and unnecessary regulatory standards.
If we’ve said it once we’ve said it a thousand times. When it comes to Democrats and your money there is “no enough.” No matter what you make they can find a way to take it and spend it. Just look at California. It’s a regulatory nightmare. Complete with the unsustainable spending that goes with long … Read more
The latest bugbear in the environmental contamination business is PFOA’s. These are part of a family of chemicals called PFAS. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The EPA notes that, PFOA and PFOS have been the most extensively produced and studied of these chemicals. Both chemicals are very persistent in the environment and in the human body … Read more
(H/T: Popular Science)
SB 11 was widely embraced by the New Hampshire House, which means there will be plenty of blame to go around. While we wait, let us reminisce about an effort back in 2010 to do one of the things we suggested that SB11’s broad language might empowers new intermunicipal water districts to do. From CNHT.org … Read more
During an email conversation, I was emailed the NH Association of Regional Planning Commissions broad legislative support document – what the local RPCs want the towns and NH Legislature to do. Again, I looked at what SB11 was supposed to do, compared that to what SB11 will allow planners to do, and looked at the agenda of how the RPCs with to “Fundamentally Transform” NH’s lifestyle simple because they know a more “efficient” way to “guide us” – as though New Hampshire hasn’t figured out how to do this over the last 400 years by ourselves.
But, we aren’t trained Planners, are we? When I read over the bill again, I decided to compare what it was put up to be (to make it easier to allow Exeter and Stratham to do a water system together) with how expansive it seemed on the first read through it. And then I read the NHARPC legislative document. So, I just casually put down every disparate area down. Once again, I was floored:
On 5/7/2013 9:20 AM, Skip wrote:
Gee:
- Lakes
- recycling
- water
- energy
- agriculture
On May 22nd, the NH House of Representatives will vote on Senate Bill 11. It was written to enable Exeter and Stratham to jointly form a water/sewer district — but that capability already exists in State RSA Chapters 53-A, 33-B, 38, and 36. These RSAs enabled the creation of the Merrimack Valley Regional Water District (7 towns).
The Bill is unnecessary and should be killed. It contains broad, far reaching language, including this;
“Therefore, the general court declares and determines that the waters of New Hampshire constitute a limited and precious public resource to be protected, conserved, and managed in the interest of present and future generations.”
The “waters of New Hampshire” could be broadly interpreted to mean all water resources are defined as public resources regardless of location (Public or Private Property), and regardless of source (lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, wells…).
This would set a dangerous unconstitutional precedent, severing ownership of water from private property. It could also lead to private wells and septic systems being taxed and “protected, conserved and managed” by newly created, powerful government bodies – whether or not you wish to participate in a water/sewer district.
New Hampshire Senate Bill 11 will get a formal vote in the House this week, according to a post at CNHT.org. The post states the full vote is May 22, but was sent to me with an update: the vote will be held this Wednesday, May 15th.
(Note: We received confirmation. The vote is Wednesday May 22nd)
The date hardly matters, except as relates to our need to act against it. To the best of my knowledge this is the same exact bill that was set aside last week. No effort has been made to deal with the broad language that set off red flags last week. It is still a bad bill.
There is also the question of why this bill is even needed…
CNHT asks…
“…why do Exeter and Stratham need this legislation which “permits municipalities to establish water and/or sewer utility districts and to enter into intermunicipal agreements for the establishment of such districts” considering that the Merrimack Valley Water District has been in existence since 2004 by virtue of RSA Statutes: Chapter 53-A, Chapter 33-B, Chapter 38, and Chapter 362.”
If statutory authority already exists, why introduce a bill like SB 11, with such broad language, unless you are after something more?
Senate Bill 11 made its way to the House consent Calendar without resistance. It was there that it the bill was then pulled from consent and briefly debated the following day, and put on probation for two weeks. It will be back. But how did it get as far as it did given language so … Read more
As an after-thought to my post on SB 11 yesterday–which has stirred up some interest around the Grokosphere and well beyond–I went looking for some details about the environmentalist/regionalist motivations with regard to water and sewer. It is a huge subject many parts of which we’ve touched on at the Grok already; you might say the socialist/central planner/ enviro-crowd is all-in on controlling water as the next best means to controlling us; so I’ll focus on the one thing that caught my eye while surfing (ha!) for details on the latest progressive New Hampshire-bureaucratic water grab.
“I don’t always respond to the president but, when I do, I drink water. Stay thirsty my friends.” –Senator Marco Rubio
My second thought after hearing about Prince Charles’s remarks on US beef consumption–I won’t share the first, it’s not proper–was “where is the nearest cheeseburger?” The cheeseburger is perhaps the most perfect culinary delight ever conceived.