Every four years the American Society of Civil Engineers rates America’s infrastructure by issuing a report, Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. It covers many areas such as bridges, ports, roads, public parks, etc. In 2021 the Report Card gave infrastructure for public parks a score of D+. It noted, “In 2017, people spent $887 billion on outdoor recreation, directly supporting 7.6 million jobs. Despite their increased popularity, investment in parks is lagging, resulting in deteriorating bridges, trails, parking areas, drinking water systems, and more. State parks and local parks face a $5.6 billion and $60 billion deferred maintenance backlog, respectively.”

On top of this, with the veto of HB1454, Governor Sununu thinks it’s OK to site landfills next to state parks. Legislators worked diligently to craft a very good bipartisan bill based on science. HB1454 establishes a formula for determining the distance for which a new landfill shall be located from a perennial river, lake, or coastal water.

It states the following in part: (2) The 5-year distance-of-travel estimate shall be calculated by multiplying the maximum seepage velocity, in units of feet per year, by 5 years. (3) The setback from any perennial river, lake, or coastal water of New Hampshire shall be the greater of the five-year distance-of-travel estimate calculated in subparagraph (2) or 200 feet”. Sites will be monitored to ensure that water bodies are not polluted by landfill runoff.

Opponents of the bill, like Governor Sununu, say we need more landfills. Really? How about working on source reduction, less packaging, Extended Producer Responsibility whereby manufacturers are responsible for the trash they create, increased recycling rates, etc., etc. To say we need more landfills and to say it’s OK to pollute water bodies with them is like saying when you can’t fit into your clothes, just go out and buy a bigger size. Governor Sununu kicks the can down the road, fooling voters as he smiles and shuffles along. It’s so much easier then actually doing the hard work of problem-solving. Please call your representative and senator and ask them to override this veto on Sept. 15.