Story Archives of 'Department of Environmental Services'

Researchers have discovered what they believe to be a cluster of patients with ALS or what’s popularly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. They live around Mascoma Lake in Enfield.

Scientists from Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center want to find out if ALS could be linked to cyanobacteria, a blue-green algae found in lakes across New Hampshire.

The study has only just begun and those links may be quite difficult to establish. But as New Hampshire Public Radio’s Amy Quinton reports, the publicity surrounding the Mascoma Lake study is having unintended consequences.

Almost three years have passed since the flood-swollen Suncook River jumped its banks and formed a new channel. Since then, the river’s path continues to move east, eroding land and threatening roads and homes.

The Department of Environmental Services planned to stabilize the river to prevent future damage and flooding. But as New Hampshire Public Radio’s Amy Quinton reports, the Department now has no money to pay for the project.

The federal stimulus money heading to New Hampshire includes more than 56 million dollars to improve the state's drinking water and wastewater treatment.

The Department of Environmental Services recently ranked 565 applications for water projects coming from more than 125 communities.

The public can now weigh in on the projects before a final decision on stimulus funding is made.

As New Hampshire Public Radio's Amy Quinton reports, the situation puts communities in stiff competition with each other.

And substantial environmental problems are at stake.

In November of 2006 Tom Burack took over the top job managing New Hampshire’s environment, and since then he’s had to face a number of challenges including landfills, storm water runoff, RGGI, and invasive species. We’ll talk with Commissioner Burack about his plans for the Granite State and we’ll take your questions as well.

Guest

• Tom Burack, Commissioner of New Hampshire's Department of Environmental Services