Fred Quimby

I have owned a home on Merrymeeting Lake since 1977 and since 2007 I have participated on New Durham's Water Quality Committee (NDWQC). We first detected the exotic plant variable milfoil in some New Durham waters (2007) and have worked annually to contain the spread of this plant through treatment of infested areas and by examination of all boats using the Public Boat ramp.We next discovered toxic cyanobacteria in the Merrymeeting River and have worked closely with the EPA and NHDES to remediate this problem. As a member of the Merrymeeting Lake Association (MMLA) I have attended their educational sessions including those conducted by the NHDES on responsible home ownership within the shore line. As a New Durham taxpayer I have seen an enormous increase in property taxes during the past 5 years, over 90% of this tax increase is based on the land and more specifically the shoreline. Having the State place another tax , based on the same shoreline, seems unjust and I encourage the lawmakers to find a more equitable solution to an extremely expensive potential problem.Perhaps one place to begin is to look at the actual safety criteria adopted by the NH DES regarding dams in NH. Dams must be able to withhold all the water associated with a 1000 year storm with no adjustments to dam operation by human intervention. It is my understanding that NH is alone,among all fifty states,in selecting this most conservative safety criterion. The previous criterion was based on water arising from a 100 year storm. While most dams in NH will likely withstand a 100 year storm it seems unlikely that many dams were constructed to a 1000 year storm standard, meaning most will need some type of adjustment. I suggest a more reasonable safety criteria ,modifying the remediation budget, and then developing a budget solution which is stable and matches the scale of the budget needed.