A newly formed environmental voters' group has released a report card on Governor Craig Benson's handling of the state's environment. The "Granite State Conservation Voter's Alliance" highlights areas of accomplishment, but finds many areas where the group says Governor Benson's performance falls short.
New Hampshire Public Radio Correspondent Doug MacPherson reports.
RICK RUSSMAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE BIPARTISAN "GRANITE STATE CONSERVATION VOTERS ALLIANCE," SAYS THE END OF THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION IS AN APPROPRIATE TIME TO DISCUSS WHAT'S GOOD AND NOT GOOD ABOUT THE GOVERNOR'S HANDLING OF THE ENVIRONMENT.
TAPE RUSSMAN 035 we felt that it was important as an educational tool, not just for the people of new Hampshire// but certainly for the governor himself, to see how he’s perceived in the environmental community, and where those areas are that we think he’s made some progress and the large areas of concern that exist. :19
RUSSMAN'S GROUP COMPILED THE REPORT CARD WITH INPUT FROM LEADERS OF STATE AGENCIES AND CONSERVATION ADVOCATES THROUGHOUT THE STATE.
IT GRADES GOVERNOR BENSON IN EIGHT AREAS. BENSON RECEIVED HIS HIGHEST GRADE, A “Câ€, FOR HIS EFFORTS TO PROTECT WILDLIFE. THE REPORT CITES BENSON'S APPOINTMENT OF LEE PERRY AS THE NEW DIRECTOR OF "FISH AND GAME" AS A MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT, AND DEPARTMENT'S EFFORTS TO DEVELOP A STATE WILDLIFE PLAN.
BUT BENSON RECEIVED “C-MINUSES†FOR HIS HANDLING OF DRINKING WATER; SMART GROWTH; ENERGY AND CLEAN AIR; AND PROTECTION OF LAKES, RIVERS, AND WETLANDS. AND THE GOVERNOR RECEIVED “D†GRADES FOR LAND PROTECTION, TRANSPORTATION, AND GLOBAL WARMING.
THE OVERALL GRADE: A "C MINUS."
RUSSMAN SAYS THE "D" IN LAND PROTECTION REFLECTS THE LEGISLATURE'S 87-PERCENT CUT IN FUNDING FOR L-CHIP -- THE LAND AND COMMUNITY HERITAGE INVESTMENT PROGRAM.
TAPE RUSSMAN 121 the governor, frankly, did not really stand up to those cuts and did not go out and work for the opportunity to have more money to be set aside for open space. And obviously, that's one of the things that people like about nh, nh is nh, and part of that is having lots of open space. :17
L-CHIP ENDED UP WITH A 2-YEAR BUDGET OF 1.5 MILLION DOLLARS -- GOVERNOR BENSON NOTES THAT HIS BUDGET CALLED FOR 8-MILLION DOLLARS.
TAPE BENSON 035 there was a lot of things that were cut out of the budget by the legislature that i felt fondly about. /// 041 and my funding for lchip was significantly much more than what the legislature ended up putting in, and i fought tooth and nail to keep a lot of these programs alive. :13
THE ADMINISTRATION GETS CREDIT FOR LAUNCHING A LAWSUIT -- THE FIRST BY A STATE GOVERNMENT -- THAT SEEKS DAMAGES FROM THE MAKERS OF M-T-B-E, THE GASOLINE ADDITIVE THAT HAS POLLUTED WATER SOURCES IN THE STATE. BUT RUSSMAN SAYS THE GOVERNOR FAILED TO MOVE AGAINST M-T-B-E IN OTHER AREAS.
TAPE RUSSMAN 127 in terms of drinking water, the governor did not choose to sign the new law banning the use of MTBE in NH. And that's something that we felt was kind of a no-brainer, that the governor would certainly jump at the chance to sign that. :17
THE BILL, WHICH BANS THE USE OF THE ADDITIVE IN 2007, BECAME LAW WITHOUT THE GOVERNOR'S SIGNATURE.
TAPE BENSON 055 i felt that waiting until 2007 to ban MTBE was too long [LAUGHS]. So while it at least put an end date in it, i didn't think waiting that long was so good for the people of the state of nh. I am hoping that we can get it done sooner than that. So that's why i didn't sign the bill. :14
THE PREFACE TO THE REPORT CARD CITES WHAT IT CALLS A "LEADERSHIP VACUUM," AND FAULTS BENSON FOR NOT USING HIS OFFICE TO COMMUNICATE TO THE PUBLIC AND TO INITIATE LEGISLATION TO PROTECT THE STATE'S ENVIRONMENT. AGAIN, G-S-C-V-A CHAIRMAN RICK RUSSMAN.
TAPE RUSSMAN 233 it’s one thing to just say, I have eight million dollars in my budget for lchip. It’s another thing to go to the hearings and press the senate and the house to see that that money is protected and to see that that money stays in there, and it gets passed. And the governor, for example on that particular issue, really didn’t do anything. And unfortunately, that leadership has been missing in a number of environmental areas. :27
GOVERNOR BENSON, HOWEVER, PORTRAYS HIS AS AN ADMINISTRATION THAT, ESPECIALLY THROUGH THE STATE'S ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE, IS ACTIVELY PURSUING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.
TAPE BENSON 133 we've taken on some pretty big challenges, whether it's mtbe or the clean air act, in washington. Here we are in nh, standing up and fighting the federal government on the rollback of the clean air act. And here we are fighting big oil companies on the inclusion of mtbe in gasoline, i think those are two huge fights. :16
ONE THING BOTH THE CONSERVATION VOTERS ALLIANCE AND THE GOVERNOR AGREE ON: NEW HAMPSHIRE'S ENVIRONMENT IS INEXTRICABLY LINKED WITH ITS ECONOMY, AND PROTECTION OF THE FORMER IS CRITICAL TO THE SUCCESS OF THE LATTER. FOR N-H-P-R NEWS, I'M DOUG MACPHERSON.
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