Over the past two years, it has been my privilege to represent District 11 in the New Hampshire Senate. These last months have been among the most trying times we have faced as a state. When the session began in 2019, no one could have predicted the complications, the devastating loss, and the economic upheaval that would result from the coronavirus pandemic. However, despite those complications, the Legislature had a job to do.
When I entered the Senate in 2019, I pledged to fight for clean, safe drinking water. Over the years, we have seen the negative impact that PFAS contamination has had on our drinking water. The Merrimack Water Warriors, Reps. Wendy Thomas, Nancy Murphy, and Kathy Stack, and Rep. Rosemarie Rung, have used their platform to educate New Hampshire voters about the dangers of PFAS contamination, particularly highlighting the health effects that can result from exposure. In Merrimack and surrounding towns, that exposure has been amplified by corporations releasing PFAS into the air for decades which, in turn, has contaminated the soil and drinking water.
In the Senate, we worked across the aisle to make lasting policy change that not only serves to remediate contamination, but to assist those individuals who have already been exposed and may face long-term health complications.
In 2020, that work culminated in the passage of House Bill 1264, a bipartisan omnibus clean-water bill addressing PFAS contamination and drinking water safety. The bill consisted of language from four pieces of legislation that had previously received bipartisan support.
Senate Bill 287, prime-sponsored by Sen. Tom Sherman and passed unanimously by the Senate, codified science-based maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for PFAS. SB 496, prime-sponsored by Sen. David Watters and passed unanimously by the Senate, set up a fund for municipalities to help finance remediation projects in response to PFAS contamination in both drinking water and wastewater treatment. My bill, SB 623, passed unanimously by the Senate, requires insurance coverage for perfluoroalkyls (PFAS) and perfluorinated compound (PFC) blood testing. Finally, HB 1264, prime-sponsored by Rep. David Meuse, extended the commission on the Seacoast cancer cluster investigation through June 2022. Through the dedicated work of the Legislature, HB 1264 was signed into law on July 23.
Despite this success, there is still work to be done. While remediation efforts are crucial to preventing further exposure to these harmful chemicals, we cannot ignore the fact that there are Granite Staters who have already been exposed to contamination and have developed the subsequent long-term health complications. In the House and Senate, we passed HB 1375, which would have given individuals who have been exposed to harmful chemicals due to the negligence of a third party, including PFAS or any other hazardous or toxic substance, the proper tools to monitor and address long-term health impacts. While this legislation was vetoed, we are already preparing to pick back up and find a solution in the next legislative session.
We know that the effects of PFAS contamination can be lifelong, resulting in serious health complications such as kidney and testicular cancer, pregnancy complications, loss of fertility, and more. It is critical that we do not stop working to clean up our drinking water, that we continue to advocate for those who are already suffering the effects of negligence by corporations, and that we do not rest until every Granite Stater is guaranteed safe drinking water. I am pleased with the work we have accomplished this session, and I am ready for the work that lies ahead.
(State Sen. Shannon Chandley represents Senate District 11, Amherst, Merrimack, Milford, and Wilton.)