New Hampshire has ability to win struggle against Northern Pass

To the editor,

The Northern Pass Project is a well-funded, destructive, damaging project for New Hampshire. It will irreparably harm our environment, lower property values in the North Country, cause economic hardship to many citizens, put our tourism business at risk, and, most telling, provide no electric power to N.H.

The tax losses from lowered property values will put additional burdens on municipal budgets that are already stretched. This project will destroy New Hampshire's environment and natural beauty for all of us now and for future generations. In short, it is a weapon of economic terrorism being aimed at the citizens of New Hampshire.

Much good and selfless work has been done trying to stop this project, but it refuses to die. Why? Simply put, there are too many outside interests who will benefit from this project. Hydro Quebec and Northeast Utilities are public corporations whose shareholders will gain from this project at the expense of citizens of New Hampshire.

I applaud all the citizens, local groups, and communities who have succeeded in slowing this project down. They have worked tirelessly and much good has been accomplished. Reminding Hydro Quebec that we already have eminent domain laws on the books isn't going to stop them. The problem is that no one is yet comfortable that success has been achieved despite these best efforts. How much longer should we wait before we acknowledge that we need another strategy? In fact, Public Service of New Hampshire already proclaims on its website (http://www.psnh.com/EnergyProjects/The-Northern-Pass.aspx ) that the Northern Pass project will be completed by 2015.

We need new strategies to stop the Northern Pass. I propose that we take the following actions to ensure that New Hampshire's economic and environmental futures are not irreparably harmed.

First, to date, no state government body, including the Legislature, has taken a definitive position on the Northern Pass. We have not sent a clear, concise message to the Northern Pass proponents that we are unified in our opposition to the current design of this project.

The first piece of legislation I will sponsor as state senator will be a House-Senate Resolution declaring that the New Hampshire Legislature opposes the Northern Pass in its current design. It will outline our terms and conditions for permitting the Northern Pass corridor: 1. The lines must be buried along existing highway and rail beds; 2. The natural beauty of New Hampshire must not be jeopardized; 3. The rights and property values of land owners must be respected; and 4. The state of New Hampshire must receive sufficient tax revenues for the flow of power through its borders.

Second, the federal government has a major role to play in the final determination of the permitting process. We must take a group of elected state leaders to Washington to speak to members of the Energy Department to ensure that they know we will not accept the Northern Pass as it is currently designed. As a state senator, I will work to organize this group. I will invite the governor, members of the Executive Council, the leadership of the Senate and the House and New Hampshire's U.S. Senators and Congressional Representatives to join this delegation. Our message will be simple and clear. New Hampshire will determine its own economic future and energy policies.

Third, moving forward, we must focus our efforts, not on Hydro Quebec but on Northeast Utilities (NU). We have the ability to meet with their management team and board of directors. We have the ability to speak to federal and state regulators. We must bring pressure on them to change their thinking. Our offer should be simple. We will help NU achieve its business objectives as long as our state is not harmed and our state benefits financially from permitting buried power lines through the North Country. This should provide NU with an easier alternative to the one of fighting against the strong resistance which our citizens have assembled to date

New Hampshire has the ability to win this struggle against the current design of the Northern Pass. We can succeed by working together to implement this new strategy. It will protect citizen property rights, our environment and the natural beauty of the North Country, and create a new revenue source for the state.

Bob Lamb

Holderness