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New
Hampshire
USA
Springs fight brings attention to state water laws
Imagine that the water stored in bedrock beneath Nottingham is
a giant tub, holding many millions of gallons. Now imagine a garden
hose pouring water (from precipitation seeping down) nearly constantly
into one end of the tub, and the excess overflowing from the other
end.
Watershed
Management Bureau: Rivers Management and Protection Program
(Instream
flow rules Env-Ws 1900)
Instream flow is one of the key protection measures provided under
the Rivers Management and Protection Act (RSA 483). The Act gives
the Department of Environmental Services (DES) the authority and
responsibility to maintain flow to support instream public uses
in rivers that have been designated by the Legislature for special
protection under RSA 483. Instream public uses are defined as
including navigation, recreation, fishing, conservation, maintenance
and enhancement of aquatic life, fish and wildlife habitat, protection
of water quality and public health, pollution abatement, aesthetic
beauty, and hydropower production.
Political
hopefuls support more planning on water use
Candidates for state offices think the state must do more to protect
water, said Julien Olivier of Save Our Groundwater.
USA
Springs fight brings attention to state water laws
Nottingham residents and officials have been fending off the USA
Springs proposal for about two years as the company tries to get
state and local permits. Smith says opponents were behind the
arson that destroyed a company barn. The town is suing USA Springs,
whose countersuit charges bias.
Large
Groundwater Withdrawal Permitting
In 1998, two State laws, the Groundwater Protection Act and the
Safe Drinking Water Act, were amended to ensure that undesirable
impacts to water resources from new large groundwater withdrawals
are identified and addressed. Any groundwater withdrawal from
a new well having a maximum withdrawal of 57,600 gallons per day
or more is considered to be a large groundwater withdrawal.
Permitting
of Sources of Bottled Water
The State of New Hampshire regulates two aspects of bottled water:
at the source and the handling and labeling of the product. The
Department of Environmental Services is responsible for the permitting
of the source while the Department of Health and Human Services
(DHHS) is responsible for the regulation of the handling and labeling
of the bottled water under He-P 2100, "Bottled Water."
Save
Our Groundwater
Save Our Groundwater (S.O.G.) is a citizen action group dedicated
to advocating that water is a natural resource to be held in the
public trust and to be protected now and for the future. We formed
in 2001 in response to the request for a large groundwater withdrawal
permit by USA Springs, Inc.
Nottingham
Struggles to Find Water Compromise
More
lawyers in the room. That’s the answer to the question-
‘what has changed at the Nottingham planning board meetings
as talks resume between the water bottling company USA Springs
and area residents. As NHPR’s Dan Gorenstein reports, the
proposal to pump up to 439 thousand gallons of water daily continues
to challenge the limits of state law, and rile emotions.
Legislature
approves water regionalization measure
Governors could issue emergency orders to protect water supplies
under a bill that received its final legislative approval Thursday.
Protesters
take to the street over water bottling plant in Nottingham
Bottling
plant foes turn out in Nottingham
The Nottingham Town Hall was overflowing last night as more than
250 opponents of a controversial water bottling plan turned out
for a planning board hearing on the proposal. The only problem
was they weren't allowed to speak.
Water
company sparks controversy in Nottingham
Groundwater
group to rally
The bottling proposal has met strong resistance from area people
concerned that the large water withdrawal, much of it from a bedrock
aquifer, could empty their wells and destabilize known contaminated
areas.
House
Kills Governor's Water Bill
The New Hampshire House of Representatives has voted to study
a measure designed to change how the state regulates groundwater.
Senate Bill 410 proposes giving municipalities more voice in the
permitting process. It also grants the Department of Environmental
Services the authority to consider future use of the resource.
Groundwater
bill could get sidetracked
"The current drought gives us a glimpse of what life might
be like if we do not take steps now to protect our water. As New
Hampshire’s economy expands and our population grows, the
demand for water to meet the needs of our families, businesses
and farms will only increase," Shaheen said.
House
considers water conservation, regionalization measures
"We must do more to protect our water supplies and to
prepare for the possibility of natural or manmade disasters,"
Shaheen told the House Resources, Recreation and Development Committee.
Future
Policy: Senate Bill 410 Wades In
Water. It’s the natural resource Governor Jeanne Shaheen
has taken to calling the gold of the 21st century. And it’s
THE issue in at least four prominent bills.
Water
measures advance
Faced with a record drought that highlights the increasingly
fierce competition for New Hampshire's water, lawmakers yesterday
sided with conservationists on several key measures to protect
groundwater and rivers.
Communities
may not get water projects veto
"There’s no doubt that water has become the oil, the
gold of this century"...
Editorial:
Dammed up
Once, New Hampshire was a state rich in water, but drought and
population growth have changed that. Today, parts of the fastest-growing
state in New England are going dry. Lakes and ponds are at their
lowest levels in a generation, and conflicts between water users
appear inevitable this summer.
Water
Bills Dominate Legislature
In what is becoming the year of water, senate and house committees
heard testimony on a number of water bills. Thanks in large part
to one of the worst droughts in the state’s history
New
Hampshire drought puts spotlight on
water rights, water bottler's plans
New Hampshire's worst drought in 37 years is spurring a debate
over who controls underground water — and an outcry over
a bottled water company's hopes to draw water from aquifers.
Senate
Committee Doesn't Agree with the Governor
With a severe drought and controversial water bottling plant proposal
as the backdrop, water legislation swirling around the statehouse
is becoming more impassioned. That debate includes a proposal,
with backing from the Governor, which would grant municipalities
more control over the permitting of large commercial groundwater
withdrawals.
Governor's
Statement On the Senate's Passage of SB 410, Protecting Groundwater
Governor's
Statement - On the Senate Environment Committee's vote on SB410
to replace the proposal with an amendment creating a study commission
Governor
Calls for Action to Protect New Hampshire's Water Supplies
Water-bottling
plant? Not in our back yard, residents say
In a fight over water rights that's making New Hampshire seem
more like parched New Mexico, sides are gearing up for what could
be the state's biggest showdown ever over drinking water.
Shaheen
offers water resources legislation
- Dec 19, 2001
Three proposed bills concerning ground water resources have been
hailed as a step in the right direction in terms of regional water
management.
Water
Rules the Day
- Dec 18, 2001
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
Proposes Three Bills to Protect New Hampshire's Water
- Dec 18, 2001
City
guards water
- Dec 11, 2001
City officials and members of Portsmouth's state legislative delegation
say they will aggressively defend the city's water resources.
Groundwater
group troubled by bottling plan
- Nov 12, 2001
Using an engineer's formula that factors in safety, Conklin said
the impact area extends beyond the 100 acres where the plant would
be located, to include 20 designated U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency contaminated sites. One contaminated site includes the
Lee Traffic Circle, which has bedrock MBTE contamination, Conklin
said, attributing DES sources.
Water
issue on tap at Seacoast forum
- Nov
5, 2001
One area of concern expressed by U.S. Geological Survey hydrologist
Tom Mack in a recent interview, revolves around the question of
how water supplies in bedrock aquifers replenish themselves with
rainfall or runoff. With this type of aquifer, water flows through
fractures in the bedrock, making it difficult to determine how
and from where the aquifer is being recharged with more water.
Water
Under Attack: Local group fights water bottling plant
- Nov 2, 2001
The permit is not just an issue for the adjacent towns of Nottingham,
Barrington and Northwood though. Because USA Springs wishes to
pump out such a colossal amount of groundwater, there could be
adverse effects on the Lamprey, Bellamy and Oyster River watersheds,
which supply potable water to the communities of Portsmouth, Dover,
Durham, Lee, Madbury, and Strafford. This means residents and
businesses of these towns could be impacted as well. Further research
is needed to determine the true area of impact of this permit.
Gov.
Shaheen Radio Address
- Aug 25, 2001
Group
wants Barrington bottling plant studied
- Aug 23, 2001
Governor
Opposes Nottingham Water Bottling Plant -
Aug 21, 2001
Governor Jeanne Shaheen announced her opposition to a proposed
water bottling plant that would draw 439,000 gallons of water
a day from a Nottingham well. Despite the company's following
guidelines, the Governor says the project is bad for New Hampshire.
New
Century - New Water Law
- Aug 9, 2001
Water is a finite resource. But it’s hard to remember that
when you water your lawn or fill up your pool. Water shortages
have been a fact of life for centuries in the Western United States.
Now Easterners are beginning to feel the pinch.
Conflict
Bubbles Up With Possible Bottling Plant
- July 7, 2001
A south eastern New Hampshire town is the site of a proposed water
bottling plant. USA Springs wants a permit from the state to pump
439,000 gallons of water a day from a 100-acre site in Nottingham.
Local residents and neighboring towns aren’t overly excited
with the plan. Fears of dry wells, contaminated water and environmental
impact abound.
Water
Bottling Company Wants to Pump Nottingham
- June 18, 2001
A company is looking to build a water bottling plant in Nottingham,
New Hampshire. Company officials are asking the state for a permit
to pump 439 thousand gallons of water daily. Tonight, the Department
of Environmental Services is scheduled to hold a meeting at the
Nottingham Elementary School. |