What do Styrofoam cups and containers, plastic grocery bags, paper coffee cups, most plastic food ware and straws have in common? None are recyclable, and they are costing the city of Portsmouth a lot of money. Furthermore, lots of them end up on our beaches and shores as ugly reminders of our throw-away lifestyle.
CLF argues the Army Corps of Engineers didn’t do its due diligence before issuing the permit for that project – which, the nonprofit says, will irreparably damage the already degraded estuary.
The new federal suit alleges construction activity will suspend 1,500 tons of sediment into the bay, causing high suspended-solid concentrations, will release pathogens, contaminants and nutrients into the estuary. It also disputes claims there would be no degradation of the waterway, as well as natural and commercial oyster beds in the area.
“Little Bay is a unique resource that is already threatened by water pollution and the climate crisis,” said Tom Irwin, Vice President and Director of CLF New Hampshire. “The project would severely disrupt this sensitive area and cause unacceptable and unnecessary harm to the bay. The Army Corps was required to fully assess the impacts of this project, and it has failed to fulfill that critical duty.”
“For many years we’ve been seeing a sort of downward spiral in the state of the health of this remarkable network of rivers and bays that we live near. The bottom line is that we still have a lot that’s getting into our water that’s making it hard for this to be a robust and healthy ecosystem.”
A group of Exeter activists turned a trip on the Great Bay-Piscataqua Waterkeeper boat into a town-wide call to better protect water resources, conserve energy, and be a more sustainable community. After their boat ride last fall, the four women worked to create Exeter’s Sustainability Advisory Committee, which recently for met for the first time.
The Great Bay estuary is special. It’s where we love to kayak, where our local oysters come from, where we can hike and see ospreys fishing and eagles soaring. To protect the estuary, CLF and several communities have been making progress on the most significant direct sources of water pollution – sewage treatment plants. But now that progress could be undermined. Eversource Energy wants to build a new transmission line through the estuary, plowing through Little Bay and putting the health of the estuary at risk. We’re concerned – as are countless Seacoast residents – and are fighting to ensure the estuary’s health.
As I prepare to launch CLF’s Waterkeeper boat this season, I’m reminded that the Great Bay–Piscataqua Estuary is at the heart of what makes the Seacoast region so special. But our estuary is at a tipping point, with too much nitrogen polluting the water. Learn how you can just us to fight for clean waterways on the Seacoast this summer.
Pollution is harming Great Bay’s health and habitats.
Nutrient pollution impacts waterways across New England, from Lake Champlain to Narragansett Bay. These waters all carry excess levels of nitrogen or phosphorous – a problem caused by fertilizer running off of farms and lawns and animal waste from confined animal feeding operations. Another major cause is human sewage improperly treated by septic systems or overflowed… Continue reading 10 Things You Can Do to Help Protect Our Waters
