Op-Ed: NH Leaders Must Pull Together To Fight Climate Change

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ROGER STEPHENSON photo

The 75-year-old Neil R. Underwood Memorial Bridge crossing the inlet of Hampton Harbor to Seabrook is being replaced.

By ROGER STEPHENSON

These days anyone in New Hampshire who drives to Tripoli Pizza in Seabrook for their cannoli encounters a big construction project on Route 1A.  The 75-year-old Neil R. Underwood Memorial Bridge crossing the inlet of Hampton Harbor to Seabrook is being replaced. Because of various complexities and inflation the $107.5 million price tag for the new bridge is 40 percent higher than expected.

Governor Sununu and the Executive Council approved the $107 million contract last Spring, understanding the project design anticipates four feet of sea level rise.

Planning and designing a bridge for climate change is a good thing; the question for our elected officials is, Why Stop There?  Sea level rise won’t stop at the bridge. Businesses, schools, homes and local roads face the same risks (and at 4 feet there won’t be any).  Local officials in Seabrook are struggling to increase the resilience of their wastewater treatment plant because of higher tides and more frequent storm surge.  The tide regularly reaches beyond the chain link perimeter gate; salt water is eroding the metal posts. 

Roger W. Stephenson

By approving the Hampton Harbor bridge contract and knowing the design accounted for four feet of sea level rise, Governor Sununu and Council created a moral hazard, because while they acknowledged the risk of sea level rise to a new bridge, they ignore the risks elsewhere in New Hampshire. 

Indeed, four months after approving the bridge contract, Governor Sununu vetoed a bill to create a statewide council on resilience.  The intention of the council was to set the table for comprehensive planning for the incremental but necessary efforts in the public and private sectors to address the changes we are seeing statewide.

Politically, the new Governor and Council presiding in January 2025 will be identical to what we have had for the past two years: a Republican Governor and an Executive Council with a 4-to-1 Republican majority. They and our new legislature are inheriting the moral hazard created by the Hampton Harbor bridge contract. My Councilor, Janet Stevens, was re-elected. To her credit, Stevens in October pressed forward at the eleventh hour to secure additional federal funding to save a local flood mitigation project in Hampton.  Last year a coastal storm flooded the Portsmouth and New Castle causeway and triggered Stevens to see that resilience improvements to the causeway were included in the states 10 Year Transportation Plan “to avoid impacts to the Causeway due to sea level and storm surges.”  

All five Executive Councilors have constituents facing an environment that is rapidly changing and creating documented impacts and problems:

  • An increase in heavy precipitation since 1971 is largely responsible for the 12% increase in annual precipitation over the past 120 years. Flooding occurs statewide, repeatedly destroying crops, homes and roads.
  • Temperatures across New Hampshire increased by an average of 3 degrees F since 1901. Warmer slushy winters threaten local economies. Extreme heat interrupts essential outdoor work and compromises the old and young among us.

Piecemeal adaptation is taking place. Engineers are using science to recommend and install larger culverts to accommodate increased flooding.  Ski slopes are offering off season zip lines and bike trails to survive. Purchases of residential air conditioners have steadily increased in northern New Hampshire.  These adaptations come with a real cost, but many people have come to understand the cost of inaction is greater.  The impacts cannot be addressed by local efforts alone.

Governor-elect Ayotte understands the roles the federal government can play. As senator she listened to businesses and scientists as she developed her positions related to addressing a changing climate.  In 2015, in supporting the US EPA’s plan to reduce carbon pollution, Senator Ayotte explained “I have decided to support the Clean Power Plan to address climate change through clean energy solutions that will protect our environment.” 

Local, state and federal governments all have vital roles in addressing our changing climate.  Selectmen and city councils have developed vulnerability assessments. Homeowners, farmers , businesses and anyone depending on roads and bridges prone to flooding have and will continue to benefit from the federal government.  Governor Ayotte is in a strong position to see these roles are coordinated, based on planning, prioritize public safety and played out for the long term. 

Governor Kelly Ayotte can lead state efforts to address resilience and carbon pollution despite looming budget constraints; look critically at the emerging state climate plan for example, or form a statewide resilience and safety council.  All state agencies must pull together. I wrote in 2023 that three state agency commissioners crucial to addressing climate change have played undersized roles and shared troubling opinions.  And our Agriculture Commissioner says his department has “no role” in addressing climate.  Since then, Health and Human Services pulled down its website on climate and public health. The current appointments for Energy, Environmental Services and Insurance commissioners extend into Governor Ayotte’s first term.  Under Ayotte’s insistence they can offer and manage agency efforts, or they can leave.  

Relying as we have on eleventh hour rescues and piecemeal responses to flooding is financially unsustainable and unrealistic. The Inflation Reduction Act passed in the last Congress is a critical tool for sustained future resilience.  Using her U.S. Senate experience, Ayotte can lead a meaningful regional effort of all six New England Governors to sustain and protect the IRA.

The temperature in New Hampshire was 25 degrees above average the day after Election Day and serves as a starting gun for New Hampshire’s race to address climate impacts and emissions. Providing she has the will, Governor Ayotte has in hand the experience, science and local support to win.

Roger Stephenson lives in Stratham and is recently retired.  He holds a degree in Zoology and master’s in wildlife biology from the University of New Hampshire. In 2024 he was honored with a doctorate degree from UNH.

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