Susan Wiley: Follow all environmental laws in placement of gas station in Effingham

To The Daily Sun,

With hundreds of lakes, ponds, and thousands of miles of streams and rivers, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services is charged with protecting our water and other natural resources. It shocks me that a current NH legislator, Rep. Mark McConkey, is actively working to find an avenue to waive NH and local laws protecting water and wetlands in order to place a gasoline station in Effingham on an aquifer, an aquifer serving 14 area communities. It was 50 years ago, President Richard Nixon’s era, the Clean Water Act was signed into law. This act was established not only to protect our drinking water and human health, but also to protect aquatic life, and our natural and recreational resources. The NH House Fish and Game and Marine Resources Committee, the State Environment and Agriculture Committee, and many state representatives, planning boards' members, and elected town officials have spent decades working on appropriate regulation to protect our natural resources. I am told the gasoline project began work to install underground storage tanks without following the established guidelines and laws. How can this happen?

I suggest citizens take advantage of the invitation to hear more about this project. A public hearing will take place on Monday, Aug. 22, at 6:30 p.m. at the Effingham Town Hall. A zoom link option will be posted on the Town of Effingham website, effinghamnh.net.

Susan Wiley

Sandwich