P.S.N.H. needs to scrub up.

How many of you commute South on I93 for work every morning? I do that, too. Every morning as I drive past the vacinity of Exit 11 I can't help but notice the sickening yellow cloud that permiates the horizon, belted out by the tall smoke stacks of PSNH in Bow. I'm all too familiar with the local power plant. They pay for a bulk of Bow's property taxes and they're half the reason Bow High School could be built ... there's a lot of revenue that can come from a power facility in a small town.

Portions of PSNH's power comes from a coal burning unit, which is where that yellow discharge in the sky comes from. Burning coal for fuel can dump mercury, sulfur dioxides and other dangerous toxins with in a 40+ mile radius from the burning site. Last year an emissions regulator (also known as a "scrubber") was proposed for the site. The cost of that scrubber has more than doubled in the past year, what with the economy the way it is and all. PSNH highly recommends going ahead with buying the scrubber anyway, since it will remove a majority of the noxious chemicals dumped into our atmosphere, drinking water and soil.

And yet, some people still have a problem with the whole thing.

I have trouble with beurocracy. It may stand for a reason, but the process of debate involved takes up too much time. Lots of folks want to be sure that the move is as economical as possible, so more debate needs to take place ... more waiting, more arguing, all while the coal plant continues to function as usual, dumping mercury into our ground water and putting pregnant mothers, children and the elderly at risk. Why is this situation not being seen as urgent by the surrounding communities? Shouldn't people be concerned?

This is a link to a WMUR post about the proposed scrubber.

Now, the numbers listed are huge and the price has definitely gone up a considerable amount. I definitely think the matter should be reviewed, but in a timely manner. This is a matter of public health and safety, not just a matter of dollars and cents.

Here's a much better report on the issue from the Union Leader.

This isn't the last we've heard of this issue. I'm sure it will rear it's ugly head again in no time. Hopefully by then the public will be notified of the urgency of this issue and some action will have taken place.

But then again, we may be at the same stand-still. Cross your fingers, everyone.