The transition from PSNH to Eversource has removed “public service” from more than their name.
To: The Site Evaluation Committee of New Hampshire
From: William D Felling on behalf of members of the Percy Summer Club of Stark, New Hampshire
Date: March 10, 2016
Members of the Site Evaluation Committee, and Concerned Citizens of the great State of New Hampshire. My name is Bill Felling.
I am here tonight to urge you to look very closely at the entire path of destruction Hydro-Quebec and its partner Eversource plan to wreak on our state, the great state of New Hampshire.
New Hampshire is famous for its mountain, its forests, and its natural beauty. Its citizenry, over the course of centuries, has been careful stewards of the lands across the state in order to ensure a quality of life unparalleled for generations to come. Whole swaths of forests have been preserved from development through easements. Pastures are protected. Entire mountain ranges cover our state with extraordinary majesty. Lakes, rivers and streams are enjoyed by people and wildlife existing together.
The Northern Pass project as proposed threatens what New Hampshire residents have prized for the sake of greed. Billions of dollars are projected to be realized by private companies at our expense. Our citizens will not have long term jobs. Our electric rates will not go down. We, the residents of New Hampshire, do not win. Anything.
I am here to speak for the members of the Percy Summer Club, whose properties are located on the western shore of Christine Lake in Stark. According to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, Christine Lake is the closest thing to a wilderness lake in the state. The lake is open to the public, is a trout fishery and hosts nesting loons. Ospreys and bald eagles are also often seen.
Almost 30 years ago, the members of the Percy Summer Club worked with the state of New Hampshire and the Forest Society to ensure that the water- and viewsheds of Christine Lake would be permanently protected, preserving this unique are for future generations. Easements on Percy Summer Club land combined with state management of the Nash Stream tract and longtime club member John Kauffmann’s donation of the nearly 2,000 acre Kauffmann Forest surrounding the lake have made that vision a reality. Until today, when Northern Pass proposes to erect a series of towers, over 100’ in height, using the existing PSNH Right of Way, which runs along the ridge on the entire southern shore line of the lake. Unlike the current towers in the ROW, these new towers will be visible from the lake itself as well as from the surrounding trails and mountains. Whether swimming, fishing, boating or hiking, the transmission towers will become a permanent part of the experience of Christine Lake. The ROW runs directly through the Kauffmann Forest, making a mockery of John’s lifelong efforts to secure the viewshed.
When the ROW was originally granted to Public Service of New Hampshire, there was in fact a public service involved - the need to provide reliable electricity to residents of Coӧs county. While no one is busy taking scenic sunset photos of the existing power lines, we all understand their purpose and the fact that they serve a legitimate local need. Not so with Northern Pass. While it can be argued that this project will benefit energy markets in southern New England, that should not be a license to permanently mar the precious landscape of northern New Hampshire. Especially when Northern Pass has already acknowledged that the technology exists to bury this new and intrusive power line - they are, after all, proposing to do exactly that on some few sections. Clearly, the transition from PSNH to Eversource has removed “public service” from more than their name.
I urge you to deny this project as presented. The SEC through RSA 162-H: 16 must find that this Project “will not have an unreasonable adverse effect on aesthetics, historic sites, air and water quality, the natural environment, and public health and safety”. There is nothing reasonable in any portion of the proposal by Northern Pass. There is nothing natural about the proposal running from Canada through our beautiful state. This project simply does not meet the tests of the Site Evaluation Committee, and importantly, the citizens of New Hampshire.
Do the right thing for the residents of New Hampshire. Deny this application.