General

Save Our Groundwater: Public Hearing

Tuesday, 28 December 2004
7:00 PM - 11:00 PM

Water is the Oil of the 21 Century

...let's do something to protect our water supply! On December 21, 2004, Save Our Groundwater recieved notification of a public hearing scheduled on December 28, 2004 regarding USA Springs' wetlands applications to build a water bottling plant in Nottingham and Barrington, NH. SOG vigorously protests the lack of notice for these hearings and contends that it is a continuation of DES’ attempts to subvert due process and public participation in this case.

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SOG received a copy of a letter on December 21, 2004, sent by the NH Department of Environmental Services (DES) to Francesco Rotondo, owner of USA Springs, Inc. notifying him that the agency has scheduled two public hearings regarding two wetlands applications by USA Springs, Inc. for December 28, 2004 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of the Health and Human Services Building located at 29 Hazen Drive, Concord.

SOG vigorously protests the lack of notice for these hearings and contends that it is a continuation of DES’ attempts to subvert due process and public participation in this case. DES generally holds public hearings in the communities involved; all past DES hearings in this case have been held in the towns of Nottingham or Barrington.

Please consider attending these important hearings:

When: Tuesday, December 28, 2004 at 7 p.m.
What: Wetland Application Hearing regarding USA Springs proposal to build a water bottling plant in Nottingham. The hearing is open to the public.
Where: Auditorium at the Health and Human Services Building located at 29 Hazen Drive in Concord, NH.

NH DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES PULLS A FAST ONE IN THE USA SPRINGS, INC. WETLANDS CASE; SCHEDULES HEARINGS FOR DEC. 28

BARRINGTON, NH—This year, Save Our Groundwater received an early Christmas “present” from the NH Department of Environmental Services (DES): a letter notifying the water advocacy group that the state intends to conduct two public hearings concerning wetlands applications filed by USA Springs, Inc. in Concord Dec. 28.

“We are astounded by DES’ latest travesty of due process in this case,” said Denise Hart, SOG board member. “To schedule public hearings in Concord, in the evening, three days after Christmas appears to be a deliberate attempt to bypass public participation in the process. The company wants to get bricks on the ground before court appeals have been heard and it appears that DES is working hand in glove to assist them.”

The two hearings are scheduled for Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of the Health and Human Services Building located at 29 Hazen Drive in Concord. The water company, through its consultant NH Soil Consultants, Inc., filed for two wetlands permits. The hearings relate to these applications by USA Springs, Inc./Garrison Place Real Estate Investment Trust for wetlands permits to:

1) retain 6 monitoring structures that have been installed in and adjacent to Barrington Prime Wetland #40;

and

2) to impact a total of 15,796 SF of wetlands to widen Route 4, install a waterline, and construct a road crossing and water bottling plant. The DES letter received by SOG was addressed to Francesco Rotondo, the owner of USA Springs, Inc. and the trustee of Garrison Place.

Location:
Auditorium, Health & Human Services Building, 29 Hazen Dr., Concord, NH

URL: http://www.saveourgroundwater.org