HR 28 - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE 15Feb2024...

0242h SESSION 24-2005 08/05 HOUSE RESOLUTION 28 A RESOLUTION urging for the compensation for injuries from PFAS and for the closure and cleaning of sites affected by PFAS.

SPONSORS:

W.Seibert, Hills.

Thomas,21 Hills.January 23, 2024 2024-0242h 08/05 Amendment to HR 28 Amend the resolution by replacing the nineteenth paragraph after the title with the following:

12;3 Whereas, Saint-Gobain did not notify our department of environmental services that they had installed a bypass system on their filtration stacks which was recently used when the stacks failed which resulted in 2 pounds of PFAS chemicals being released directly into our air;

Rep.and 7 Amend the resolution by replacing all after the resolving clause with the following:

M.9 That those who have been injured by PFAS exposure are monitored and compensated by Saint Gobain for treatment to address PFAS related injuries;

Perez, Hills.

43;

Rep.

Renzullo, Hills.

13 COMMITTEE:

State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ANALYSIS This resolution urges for the compensation for injuries from PFAS and for the closure and cleaning of sites affected by PFAS.

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0242h 24-2005 08/05 STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four A RESOLUTION urging for the compensation for injuries from PFAS and for the closure and cleaning of sites affected by PFAS.

Whereas, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a class of chemicals known as “PFAS,” are highly toxic and highly persistent in the environment;

and Whereas, PFAS have been linked by scientific, peer-reviewed research to severe health problems, including kidney and liver damage, developmental harm, and immune system disruption;

and Whereas, Saint-Gobain is a company whose headquarters are in Paris, France;

and Whereas, Saint-Gobain acquired the Chemfab facility in the town of Merrimack, New Hampshire, in 2002;

and Whereas;

Saint-Gobain also has locations in Hoosick Falls, New York, and Bennington, Vermont;

and Whereas, Saint-Gobain acquired the Merrimack Chemfab facility to expand capabilities here when Vermont refused to permit them unless they filtered air stacks;

and Whereas, because of PFAS chemical contamination there is a high incidence of cancer, medical monitoring costs, and water and environmental damage in Bennington, Vermont;

and Whereas, Saint-Gobain located in and contaminated Hoosick, Falls, where they have high concentrations of PFAS in their public water and private wells;

and Whereas, there is a high incidence of cancer, medical monitoring costs, and water and environmental damage in Hoosick Falls, New York;

and Whereas, PFAS was detected in Merrimack in a tap water sample that Saint-Gobain collected inside their facility in 2016;

and Whereas, the tap water at Saint-Gobain was from the public water system which draws water from 6 wells;

and Whereas, this detection of PFAS in the public water system prompted the department of environmental services to immediately initiate an investigation into the source and extent of PFAS chemical contamination;

and Whereas, the investigation, conducted by the department of environmental services and Saint- Gobain’s environmental consultants, involved sampling various media, including groundwater, surface water, stormwater, soil and facility emissions;

and Whereas, early in the investigation it became apparent that airborne transport of PFAS from the Saint-Gobain facility in Merrimack was an important pathway for regional groundwater contamination in several of the surrounding towns;

and HR 28 - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE - Page 2 - Whereas, a major effort to sample water supply wells, both public and private, expanded outward from the facility into the surrounding communities;

and Whereas, this effort showed that PFAS chemicals were in those communities’ drinking water (public and private) and on their lands;

and Whereas, Saint-Gobain has a history of lying about their PFAS chemical usage;

and Whereas, Saint-Gobain admits it used far more PFAS than regulators previously knew, and officials fear thousands more residents outside the contamination zone’s boundaries may be drinking tainted water in a region plagued by cancer clusters and other health problems thought to stem from PFAS pollution;

and Whereas, Saint-Gobain has also misled the state of New Hampshire about air emissions;

and Whereas, Saint-Gobain did not notify our department of environmental services that they had installed a bypass system on their filtration stacks which was recently used when the stacks failed which resulted in 2 pounds of PFAS chemicals being released directly into our air;

and Whereas, knowingly underfunded and inadequately presented the range of chemicals in Merrimack town water, Saint-Gobain paid for filtration for 5 years on only 2 of the 6 town public wells knowing that this was a forever chemical and that the costs would never end;

and Whereas, Saint-Gobain knowingly minimized the environmental impact and denied the ongoing harm;

and Whereas, Saint-Gobain continues to contaminate Merrimack and surround towns to this day through air emissions;