High school student Taylor Barry joined the voices of about 30 other young activists to protest the Newport Construction Corporation's plan to build an asphalt plant just one mile away from Nashua’s downtown.
Barry is part of 350 NH, an environmental justice youth group that organized the rally. She says the city should prioritize resident voices and balance economic growth with environmental preservation. She says she’s worried about impacts to the surrounding community, which includes many immigrant families and people of color.
“They may not have the resources necessary to raise their voices,” she said. “Newport Construction Corporation thinks they can get away with that.”
That plant proposal has been on the table since last year, and environmental studies against and in favor of the plan were presented to the planning board in April.
Mary Beth Raven is a Merrimack resident who joined the rally on Saturday. She says she's worried people in Nashua would have to deal with pollution issues, something her town has faced following the construction of a manufacturing facility.
“Any economic growth [the] Nashua government may think it’s going to get, it’s going to end up being a health detriment in the long run,” she said.
Nashua Rep. Will Darby says the city should consider the future of its downtown.
“It is just clearly inappropriate in a residential community,” he said.
City officials are scheduled to revisit the proposal on June 15.
