State Budget Stalls as Progress Finally Comes on PFAS and Coakley Landfill
Last week was one of the more eventful weeks of 2019 in Concord. A flurry of controversial legislation was sent on to the governor for signature, including the state budget and bills to establish a state minimum wage, change the Medicaid work requirement, clean up surface water contamination at Coakley Landfill, and ban carrying firearms onto public school property. While at this writing, the governor has yet to act on the Coakley bill or on most of the more controversial bills awaiting his signature, the logjam is beginning to break. He started his week by signing 21 bills and vetoing 8 others. He then ended his week by vetoing the biggest bill of them all—the $12.9 billion state budget.
What’s Next for the Budget
While the governor’s veto was cheered in some circles, the Editorial Board of the Portsmouth Herald, which endorsed him in both of his races for governor, labeled the veto “a mistake” and called on him to end the impasse with the legislature.
“In our view,” the June 30th editorial states, “vetoing the budget will not result in any improvements. In fact, a veto reopens the entire process and could result in Democrats reintroducing their top priorities of paid family medical leave and modifying the capital gains tax, which they removed after Sununu said he would veto the budget if those two items were included. Far more important, we believe delaying implementation of the many excellent measures contained in this budget, which Sununu agrees with almost entirely, hurts all the people of New Hampshire; its most vulnerable citizens struggling with physical and mental health challenges, families in crisis, property taxpayers begging for some relief, school districts starved of resources, even the very businesses Sununu said he is trying to help.”
As negotiators for the governor and the legislature meet to iron out a budget over the summer, what observers need to watch for is actual progress—not just compromise.
For too many years, elected representatives from both parties have been content to kick many of the state’s most challenging long-term problems down the road. This legislature was different. Rather than finding reasons to boot vexing issues like public school funding, transportation, and mental health down the line to future legislatures, we went to work. With the input of citizens from across the state, legislators in the House and the Senate found ways to creatively address these issues while at the same time delivering a budget that lowers the burden on local property taxpayers.
While the governor’s veto was not unexpected (he had been telegraphing an uncompromising “my way or the highway” approach for months), it was a crushing disappointment to school officials in many cities and towns who had been hoping for additional funding to forestall teacher layoffs, school closings, and other draconian measures. While passage of a continuing resolution by the House and Senate extending the current budget will keep state government operating, no additional money for schools will be available. In fact, the veto means another round of education funding cuts passed by a previous legislature will take effect. This not only means our public education funding crisis won’t be addressed, it will get even worse as property poor communities won’t be able to count on getting the additional education funding they desperately need.
The solution isn’t more hyper-partisan wrangling. What is needed is a genuine commitment from all parties—including the governor and Republican members of the legislature—to tackle the state’s toughest issues in a creative, impactful way that makes New Hampshire a better place to live for all of its people—especially our children—not just for investors and the well-to-do.
Progress at Coakley and Tough New Limits for PFAS
Members of the community who have been following the saga of Coakley Landfill and the discovery of other sites across the state contaminated with perfluorinated chemicals, last week not only featured the usual drama—but finally some genuine progress.
On Tuesday, EPA Coakley Landfill Manager Skip Hull told area residents at a public meeting at Bethany Church who have become frustrated with never-ending rounds of testing and monitoring at the site that the agency’s work is now aimed at laying the groundwork to pursue an “active remedy” (an actual cleanup) should one be ordered.
On Thursday, the legislature sent a bill onto Governor Sununu that does just that. If signed, it would direct the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services to propose a remedy to clean up contaminants polluting surface water in Berry’s Brook by January 1, 2020. The legislation further orders the agency to start the cleanup no later than September 1, 2020.
But as big as Thursday’s news was, Friday’s news was even bigger. Prompted by new research showing PFAS chemicals are harmful to developing infants, NH DES officials announced a series of rulemaking proposals that significantly tighten allowable levels of PFOA, PFAS, PFOS, PFNA, and PFHxS in drinking water. If approved by the legislature’s administrative rules committee on July 18, the changes mean New Hampshire’s standards will soon be among the toughest in the nation—and significantly tougher than the existing federal standards. A key impact of the new standards is that water previously judged to be “safe” because contaminants didn’t exceed looser federal standards may no longer be considered safe under tighter state standards. This could have a significant impact near Coakley Landfill and similar sites across the state.
As a legislative cosponsor of the Berry’s Brook cleanup bill and other related legislation, it feels satisfying to be at a point where the EPA, the legislature, and our state agencies are finally moving forward to protect public health. A recently announced lawsuit by the state against manufacturers of these chemicals will likely provide cost relief at some point in a way similar to earlier MBTE and tobacco lawsuits.
A situation that wasn’t created overnight won’t be remedied over night. But it’s important to acknowledge some of the people who got us here. Thanks to NH Safe Water Alliance founders Mindi Messmer and Andrea Amico, Senator Tom Sherman, and my fellow state reps Renny Cushing, Dennis Malloy, Tamara Le, Mike Edgar, Tom Loughlin, Debra Altschiller, Jane Beaulieu, and Pat Bushway for tirelessly advocating for people whose health has been put at risk. We also owe Portsmouth Herald reporter Jeff McNenemy a debt of thanks for his clear, insightful, and award-winning reporting on this issue. Finally, we owe thanks to every person who made time to attend and speak a public hearing, to testify on legislation, and to demand our agencies and our leaders protect people who never gave permission for their water to be contaminated or their health to be jeopardized.