Water Commission “Report” is MUST READ
Governor John Lynch created a Water Sustainability Commission in 2011 by executive order. When we called his office to ask why he did this — by what authority and by whose request — no one could answer our question.
Predictably, the agenda of the WSC, who admittedly are advisory only and do not have the authority to pass new laws, will be pushed regardless of the widespread opposition to their existence that was evident during the public comment period.
Here is the WSC report that was given to Lynch on the 17th of December as he requested after they supposedly ‘surveyed’ the public. Pay special attention to the 7 goals. Some of them say you ‘will’ do this or that, but how would they enforce these items?
One the most disturbing statements gleaned from the report was..
“Some of the state’s water management laws, policies and regulations should be reviewed and updated as necessary, to ensure that they reflect current scientific understanding and economic realities that best position us to comprehensively manage water in an increasingly global marketplace.”
Translation: The state must take over the management of all water.
Another reads…
“If clean water is a potentially finite resource, what is its value? Is that value, and the systems required to treat and deliver our water, reflected in the price that I pay for the water I use?”
Also, some of their ‘findings’ included the fact that “…the typically low price of water services does not reflect the true cost or the true value of those services.”
Translation: If you own your own well, you get water FAR too cheaply and must be charged for it.
Among WSC’s recommendations? Review and revise zoning and permitting laws, enable legislation for regional cooperation and cost sharing, involve the federal government, and consider “international” trade agreements.
And look at this section on Storm Water Utilities – do you smell new taxes here?
A storm water utility generates funding through user fees that are typically based on the impervious surfaces (e.g., roofs, roads, driveways, parking lots) of each property within the storm water utility district. Storm water utilities are similar to the dedicated municipal funds for public water and sewer utilities. The funding from storm water utilities can be used for catch basin cleaning, street sweeping, storm water infrastructure upgrades, and a variety of other storm water management activities, in addition to the administrative costs of running a storm water program.
Additional information is available at: http://des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/water/stormwater/utilities.htm
And this, which smells of redistributionism: “Establish mechanisms for developing funding in a manner that shares responsibility across different economic and government sectors and scales.”
Their Conclusion:
“If we look back in our state’s history, it is clear that we did not always understand our relationship to the state’s lands and waters. This led to clear-cutting of our forests in the 1800s and growth without planning. Today, we have regional planning commissions and local planning boards with many tools at their disposal to guide land use. Yet somehow water is typically overlooked, perhaps because it has not reached a crisis in our state. Because of our population, human actions can have a substantial impact on natural systems. If we do not learn to take note of what we are using and how, and if we do not take the time to understand the natural systems we rely on, our cumulative impact may result in there not being enough good quality water where and when it is needed to meet human demands and ecosystem needs.
The Commission is calling on New Hampshire residents to learn about and understand water because New Hampshire lives on water. Our families, our communities and our manufacturing and tourism-based economy absolutely depend on water. We need a shared water ethic to guide us into the future so that our children and their children, on through the generations, will have the same or better quality of life as we have today.”
If you don’t believe the ‘state’ should own the water under your land, you should be very concerned. You may come to your own conclusions about the goals and objectives of this commission’s report, but our warning stands… the WSC must be exposed.