The EPA has
recently placed Hackett Hill on its official list of I-93 widening
"mitigation areas"! The EPA selected possible sites within each of
the 5 towns along the I-93 corridor - Salem, Windham, Londonderry,
Derry and Manchester - which it felt were in need of protection from
development. It suggested that 100 acres of conservation land on
Hackett Hill be purchased with DOT funds. This land would be adjacent
to The Nature Conservancy's ecological preserve and serve as a
"buffer" for the protected area.
The site selection was part of a comprehensive "mitigation package" proposed in a September 5 letter to Carol A. Murray, Commissioner of the DOT. The letter, written by EPA administrator Robert W. Varney, urged Murray to include the EPA's recommendations in a draft EIS (Environmental Impact Statement), and to present the information to the public as soon as possible. The letter was released to heads of various state agencies and environmental groups. Among them was Jon Barrows, Chair of the NH Sierra Club.
Varney noted that 41,00 new residents will move into the area near I-93 in the next 20 years, and that there will therefore be a need to prevent wildlife habitat fragmentation and protect drinking water supplies. The parcels selected by the EPA had these goals in mind, regardless of whether they were located in close proximity to the actual impact areas (primary impact sites) or further away (secondary impact sites.)
In addition to the
proposed purchase of land on Hackett Hill, the list contained three
other sites of concern to Manchester. Two of these sites are actually
located in Auburn. They are 200 acres which connect Lake Massabesic
(Manchester's drinking water supply) and 300 acres which connect
Little Lake Massabesic Spruce Swamp and Little Lake Massabesic. In
addition it was recommended that an easement be placed on lands
currently protected by the Manchester Water Works - thus ensuring
future protection for drinking water and wildlife habitat in this
region.
Varney noted that many of the sites on the EPA's list were identified by a NH Audubon study - "The NH Resource Protection Project" (February, 2002). The EPA then worked with this information and staff from the NH DES, NH Fish and Game, NH Office of State Planning and US Fish and Wildlife to produce a five point "mitigation package".
The points in the package are as follows:1. Parcels the DOT has already selected for mitigation may be important to the towns, but do not have high ecological value.The DOT should seek additional land in each town which falls in this category: 2. The parcels selected for ecological or drinking water protection reasons should be parcels where significant growth will arise as a result of the highway widening: 3. The DOT should set up a 5-10 year program similar to New Hampshire's LCHIP program. The program, via competitive "matching" funding, would protect key land parcels in any town which experienced growth as a result of the highway widening: and 4. A technical assistance program should be set up to promote local land use planning in these communities via master plan updates, help with grant applications and plans for open space protection.
The EPA also expressed interest in learning about plans the DOT has for mass transit options in the I-93 corridor.
Subsequent to the release of the EPA letter, several NH newspapers published articles which concerned a letter of response sent by DOT Commissioner Murray to Varney. Murray noted that the EPA's proposal would cost substantially more than the DOT's anticipated funding. Her letter stated that a draft EIS would be released shortly and that a public hearing would be held in October.