A federal court judge will soon decide whether a lawsuit should go forward that the Sierra Club and Conservation Law Foundation has filed over alleged violations of water-discharge permits for the Merrimack Station coal-burning power plant in Bow.
“By the EPA’s own estimates, the new rule will result in the deaths of thousands of Americans,” Conservation Law Foundation attorney James Crowley said in a statement. “The Trump administration’s pathetic rule is nothing more than a lifeline for dying coal plants, and we will continue to fight it.”
“Iconic species like the North Atlantic right whale are part of our heritage and deserve all possible protections in the face of the many threats to their continued existence,” said Erica Fuller, a senior staff attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation in Boston. “Any attempt to gut one of the public’s most revered statutes, especially in the face of the most recent UN report, demonstrates a lack of respect for both past and future generations.”
“This proposed rule change would hobble the most important tool that states have to protect significant waters, from prized trout streams to essential drinking water sources,” said Bradley Campbell, president of the Conservation Law Foundation.
“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.”
Chris Kilian, vice president of strategic litigation at CLF, said in a statement that the terminal is “poised for disaster.” “It will take only one significant storm to inundate this facility and release toxic chemicals into surrounding waters and neighborhoods,” he said
“Given that every resident contributed to the billions of dollars it took to clean up the harbor, we think it’s important that everyone have access to the use of and enjoyment of it,” CLF president Brad Campbell said.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision is the right one for New Hampshire,” said Tom Irwin, vice president and director of Conservation Law Foundation New Hampshire. “Eversource has been nothing but dismissive of community concerns throughout this process and that alone is enough to reject Northern Pass for good.”
“It is really important for people to understand that this is not just isolated to Bennington,” said Jen Duggan, director of Conservation Law Foundation Vermont. “This has the potential to impact a large portion of the state.
Advocates have been calling for additional transportation funding for years, and those in power have finally taken note. While this funding is much-needed and comes not a moment too soon, it’s time we step up and treat all riders equally, whether they take the bus or the train.
