Governor Jeanne Shaheen, today (yesterday), proposed three bills aimed at improving state water law. NHPR's Dan Gorenstein reports, the package introduces incentives and more strict regulations to better manage the natural resource the governor calls the oil of the 21st century.
Governor Shaheen began the press conference by putting on her glasses so she could read from a report written in 1979.
1:11 providing adeqauate water supply, to a rapidly growing population is the predominante natural resource issue in the Piscataqua, New Hampshire coastal river basin.
The governor?s point was not lost that water, the resource that some are calling the oil of the 21st century, is increasingly becoming limited. In different ways, the three bills hope to improve the state?s role as steward of the resource.
At a moment in time, when the Granite state is experiencing its most severe drought in 50 years, 83% of public water suppliers have little to no conservation measures in place. State officials report that some of these systems are wasting water. Something that isn?t easy to stomach when wells across the state are low or dry.
The water conservation bill would have the Department of Environmental Services review and approve all new withdrawal proposals to ensure that conservation practices are a part of any permit.
The second piece of legislation is kind of like former President Eisenhower?s idea of interstate highways. Especially in the southeast, the state hopes to create interconnected water systems. Not only does the regional water supply bill address issues of safety, DES?s Harry Stewart says in the long term, understanding that the resource doesn?t respect town lines makes this the most significant piece of legislative package.
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:54 as the governor noted, the state would benefit from this kind of system b/c economies are going to be driven by the availability of water. By looking at the resource on a regional basis, we are better able to manage the affects on sensitive environments within a watershed.
The state and the Public Utility Commission will offer incentives in the form of 25% matching grants to water suppliers to interconnect water systems.
The third piece of legislation comes out of a case where a bottled water company applied for an application to draw over 400 thousand gallons of water daily. The towns of Nottingham, Barrington and North Wood voiced loud opposition to a plan that would have USA Springs making a profit from the water they were using.
The final bill the governor introduced gives cities and towns the authority to regulate commercial large groundwater withdrawals. Provided they have some master water plan ordinance. Currently, DES says no town has such a provision in place.
For those of you keeping score at home, a large groundwater withdrawal is anything that exceeds 57,600 gallons of water a day. Right now, DES estimates there are between 50-75 such water users.
Greg Smith, an environmental attorney with the McLane law firm says the legislation is timely, but wonders how New Hampshire?s water law system transitions from one of relatively little regulation to one with substantially more.
2:37 Some of the problems are to better understand the environment we are going to regulate. One of the limitations, in moving more rapidly is the lack of financial resources so we can?t understand the systems we regulate.
By proposing this legislation New Hampshire didn?t invent anything new like the Segway scooter. DES?s Sarah Pillsbury.
:58 everybody is going at water use in slightly different ways. But the whole concept is trying to manage the resource to protect the environment, and ensure there is adequate supply.
The legislature will begin discussing the three bills in January. For NHPR, I?m DG
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