Updated March 28, 2019

REMINDER TO MARK YOUR CALENDAR

APRIL 19, 2019

2019 Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRF) and Drinking Water Groundwater Trust Fund Workshop

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Paige Relf

The New Hampshire Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) Loan Programs will be hosting a workshop with the New Hampshire Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust (DWGT) Fund on April 19, 2019 at the Department of Environmental Services in Concord, NH. The workshop will provide program updates, past borrower experiences, and afternoon sessions geared towards drinking water and wastewater system operators, managers, engineers, decision makers, etc.

A preliminary agenda and registration information is available at: https://www.des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/water/dwgb/capacity/documents/srf-workshop.pdf

Love Money recently reported in 2019 that, "Fresh water only makes up 2.5% of the world's water, with the rest being undrinkable salt water. To add to the problem, 70% of fresh water is actually in the form of ice and permanent snow. It's not just drinking that we need fresh water for, but for washing and to produce food. High demand means we could soon run out.

According to the International Resource Panel, by 2030 half the world's population could be living in areas that don't have enough water to go around."

For over the past decade, private Wells have begun to go dry throughout the state of NH, while once again, the government of NH remains unknowledgeable or incapable to clarify why.  The same as for Breast Cancer and Pediatric Cancer rates now exceeding the rates of an entire nation, throughout the state for the past 5 years.  Finally in 2018, the NH government agreed to attempt once again, to thoroughly research only for the increase in Pediatric Cancer more thoroughly this time until they have clear defining answers.

Also keep in mind while even though New Hampshire has The Highest paid salaries ($258,670)for general practitioners in the country, NH hospitals through no fault of their own other than government, are now rated in 2019 with the 6th lowest mortality rate (12.3%) in the country, and have one of the highest (15.5%) rates of Hospital patients now requiring be to readmitted under 30 days.

"Water Sustainability in NH"

 Previously Already Reported By Citizens Count Editor:

"New Hampshire has a vast network of waterways, with 18 miles of coastline, nearly 1,000 lakes, and 17,000 miles of rivers. But with the population increasing and the integrity of our water system's infrastructure declining, the availability and sustainability of our state's water is at risk.

Aside from needing a potable water source for our daily lives, New Hampshire relies on quality water to sustain agriculture, wildlife, industries, and recreation. A balanced approach to water sustainability should protect the environment and public interest while at the same time managing property values, water fees, and our natural water supply.

Poor infrastructure

An aging system for water distribution means leakage of pipes, disruptions in availability, and potentially unsanitary conditions. According to a 2012 report from the New Hampshire Local Government Center,

many New Hampshire towns and cities have water infrastructure dating to the 1800s.

With the state acquiring new water users every day, and each user requiring upwards of 75 gallons per day, the system is also overloaded.

However, updating water infrastructure is expensive.  When she declared "Drinking Water Week" in May 2013, then-Gov. Maggie Hassan  noted that drinking water and wastewater infrastructure need roughly $3 billion in repairs and upgrades over the next decade.

Historically New Hampshire towns have often had assistance from state and federal government in paying for water infrastructure upgrades.  However, funds from the federal Clean Water Act are long gone, and since the 2008 recession the state government has cut back infrastructure grants. Municipalities still carry a large portion of costs.

Some towns also argue that the federal government should loosen clean water restrictions to lower the cost of water infrastructure upgrades.

In December 2015, New Hampshire was awarded $23 million from the Environmental Protection Agency to upgrade sewage plants and drinking water systems. 

It has been clarified that NH government reneges and never follows through because the state was  taking taxpayer's money and government grants that was suppose to go towards a specific need, to only play "tricks" with; that even required "unpredictable surplus revenue" from the state's "unpredictable previous budgets", making any attempt to balance an already continuous "unsustainable government spending;"  year after year, that is now causing "long-term operational obligations to become untenable."  This was simply reckless and dangerous stupidity of  "irresponsible practices", that caused the conditions and suffering in the state today. Who ever said NH isn't a gambling state was now clearly wrong, proven by the state's government itself. 

For decades, past NH governments have knowingly only been (and we do hope past tense) embezzling taxpayers money and government grants illegally by law.  Make no doubt, it is a premeditated crime that is performed methodically, with precautions that conceal the criminal conversion of the property or funds, which only occurs without the knowledge or the consent of the affected person or persons.)  

"Weather and the environment"
Previously Already Reported By Citizens Count Editor:

A 2012 report from Environment New Hampshire found that the frequency of "extreme rain events" in New Hampshire has more than doubled in the past fifty years.  The sea level is also rising, although there is debate over how quickly the level is changing.

New Hampshire's aging water infrastructure is not equipped to deal with the extra water from these environmental changes.  The use of impervious surfaces in construction, notably pavement, has also decreased the natural ability of the land to re-absorb water.  During heavy storms, overflow and run-off leads to water pollution, not to mention flooding.

Municipalities must decide which is less costly: updating storm-water infrastructure, or managing flooding and water pollution after extreme weather.

Water rights

Water is also becoming a globalized commodity. Hampton Water Co. and Pennichuck Water Works in Nashua have each been purchased by international companies, clouding the issue of who actually owns the state's water.

Moreover, because water does not respect political or municipal boundaries, water issues have to be addressed at the watershed level.  A watershed is an area of land that shares a common water course, and often includes multiple towns and cities. Those towns and cities may have independent and even conflicting water interests.

Regardless of the town they live in, private property owners who want to use water face regulations at the local, state, and federal levels regarding the building and use of private water sources. Water becomes a property rights issue in this context.

The Shoreland Protection Act provides an example of the tension between waterfront property owners and environmentalists.  Passed in 2007, the Shoreland Protection Act applied strict rules to the use and development of the land located from the shoreline to 250 feet inland. Permits from the state were required for all construction, excavation and filling.  Supporters argued the Shoreland Protection Act's uniform standards were necessary to protect clean, potable water - and therefore property values - across the state.  Opponents argued that the regulations on paving, tree-trimmings, and even removing poison ivy were far too restrictive, and made shorefront land unappealing to buyers. The Legislature worked with property owners to significantly revise the Shoreland Protection Act (now named the Shoreland Water Quality Protection Act) in 2011 and 2013.

The Water Sustainability Commission

The Governor's Water Sustainability Commission was established on April 22, 2011, in order to "identify strategies and management measures for ensuring that the quality and quantity of New Hampshire's water resources in 25 years are as good as or better than they are today."  The Commission published their report in December 2012.

The final report of the commission uncovered the following observations, as reported by the Union Leader:

• New Hampshire's population of roughly 1.3 million is putting a lot of pressure on water resources
• New Hampshire needs to plan for a huge demographic shift. The "silver tsunami" of retiring baby-boomers wants to be near the lakes. This shift will increase human impact and run-off potential.
• The state's water-carrying infrastructure is nearing its expiration date. Most water systems were built in the early 1900s. 

"Repairs are estimated at $2.9 billion."

(Please also remember that in 2019, because of reckless NH government decisions, the state is now still struggling to dig it's way out from almost $900 million dollars in budget cuts from a decade ago because of NH's government taking taxpayer's money along with government grants illegally, to play these "tricks" that even required taking the previous years "unpredictable surplus revenues" from the state's already "unpredictable previous budgets" now from the state's "unpredictable spending", to balance a state's budget.   Therefore, clearly pointing out one fact that there never was or could ever be, a balanced state budget in NH to begin with.

The state was rated the third-worst rated economy among the 50 states and DC and this is why you are, or soon will be, affected or still suffering today. 

MoneyTalksNews reported another new fact in 2019.  NH currently remains with a negative -5.7 percent budget to be able to even maintain the state's financial demands, if and when a moderate recession were to occur in the economy.  

NH's economy might be improving at a snails pace but it still is a far cry remaining anything but, a "Booming" economy.  Let alone anything close to even becoming "nourishing again", as Governor Sanunu likes to claim and wants all to believe.  So Sorry governor, once again, it truly was a nice sell of a dream to come, but in the end there's still no cigars and celebrations to be handed out just yet.)

"Current Water Concerns"
Previously Already Reported By Citizens Count Editor:

"Pease well contamination

The city of Portsmouth is currently working with the Pease Development Authority and the United States Air Force to expedite the process of designing a water treatment system to remove contaminants in three drinking water supplies. Perfluorochemical compounds (PFCs) were discovered in the Smith, Harrison, and Haven wells at Pease International Tradeport (a former Air Force base) in 2014. The Air Force and the Environmental Protection Agency suspect the contaminants came from a firefighting foam once used on the base. People who work at Pease and children attending a day care there presented with elevated levels of contaminants in their blood in tests conducted after the discovery of the well contaminations.

The city and the Pease Development Authority reached an agreement with the Air Force in April 2016 to install a carbon filter system to treat the wells; the Air Force will reimburse the city up to $58,700 for the carbon filter pilot system and $831,000 for the installation and demonstration project. In 2017, the Air Force announced that it had already spent $25 million addressing the contamination but planned to spend an additional $30 million during the year.

PFOA contamination

In March 2016, the chemical PFOA was detected in private wells in several towns in New Hampshire. One source of the chemical has been traced to the Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics facility in Merrimack; the state Department of Environmental Services took water samples from within a one-mile radius of the facility and found PFOA of various concentrations.

The EPA subsequently announced a lifetime health advisory level of 70 parts per trillion of the chemicals PFOA or PFOS in drinking water; previous provisional levels were 400 parts per trillion for PFOA and 200 parts per trillion for PFOS.

In 2018, Gov. Chris Sununu signed a bill that requires the state Department of Environmental Services to reevaluate groundwater standards previously set for PFOA contamination. The law also created a state toxicologist position and requires DES to set standards for toxic chemicals detected at the Coakley landfill and the former Pease Air Force Base."

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The Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund (Trust Fund)

The Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund, established under NH RSA 485-F, was suppose to be intended to provide the protection, preservation, and enhancement of the drinking water and groundwater resources of the entire state.  So What happened?  The NH government happened.

"As part of the establishment of the Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund (Trust Fund), the legislature formed the Drinking Water and Groundwater Advisory Commission.  The Commission was (suppose to be so we thought) established to consult with and advise the Department of Environmental Services in the proper administration and management of the Fund.  The Commission consists of nineteen members, including representatives of five State agencies, members of the House of Representatives and Senate, municipal officials, and members of the public."

NH RSA 485-F requires that the Commission meets at least quarterly and provides an annual report to the General Court with information on the progress of the MtBE efforts, expenditures for the year, projects begun or completed during the previous year, the balance of the Trust Fund, and any other information the Commission deems appropriate.

The Commission awards grants, revolving loan funds and matching funds to projects on a competitive basis from the Trust Fund in a manner consistent with RSA 485-F.  All disbursements or grants shall require approval of the Governor and Council.  Funds may be awarded if the project meets one of the following criteria:

• “Emergency remediation is necessary where contamination of drinking water or groundwater is prevalent;
• Planning, design and building of aging infrastructure is involved;
• The project protects against future contamination or impacted drinking water sources through measures including, but not limited to, the expansion of drinking water infrastructure or drinking water source protection;
• The project assists local and regional entities in the development and administration of local wellhead protection programs, including delineation of wellhead protection areas and the inventory and management of activities which have a potential effect on groundwater quality; and
• The project provides funding though cost-sharing grants to municipalities, municipally-owned water utilities and water utilities regulated by the Public Utilities Commission for the design, construction and extension of public water systems, and the establishment and expansion of wellhead protection areas where they provide the most cost effective method for providing safe and clean drinking water.” (RSA 485-F,VII)

The Commission shall take land preservation into consideration and encourage all applicants to provide matching funds beyond the minimum established by the Commission.  Information on grant application forms and deadlines can be found at the following link.

In addition, for the grant program application requirements, the Commission develops criteria for selection, approval processes, and matching requirements for each applicant.  Similarly, the Commission also develops criteria selection, approval processes and funding qualifications for the revolving loan fund application requirements.

Also, RSA 485-F requires that the Commission, at least annually, review the work and projects funded by the Trust Fund during the previous year.  As part of the annual review, the Commission consults with the Department regarding these activities and provides advice and counsel to the Department regarding future work and project priorities.

At least every five years, the Commission prepares and files a report with the General Court evaluating the progress made relative to MtBE contamination, the efficiency of the program and whether the program continues to provide the maximum benefit to New Hampshire citizens.  The report shall provide any recommendations for additional tasks for which the Trust Fund could be used to improve access to safe and clean drinking water." 

“Of all the questions which can come before this nation, short of the actual preservation of its existence in a great war, there is none which compares in importance with the great central task of leaving this land even a better land for our descendants than it is for us." 

                             President Theodore Roosevelt