FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Focus: Tamworth spokesperson:
Charles Greenhalgh
603 356-5439 x516
Cell: 603 321-6615
Home: 603 323-3908

If unavailable:
Kate Vachon, press coordinator
603 323 8224
focus@focustamworth.org

Focus: Tamworth will ask for restoration bond and protection of Bearcamp water quality at hearing October 6

Unusual hearing on private project will provide an opportunity for broad public comment

(TAMWORTH, NH, Sept 27)

At a hearing in Tamworth on October 6, Focus: Tamworth plans to raise a number of issues relevant to the Club Motorsports Inc (CMI) proposed private racetrack project on the north side of Mt. Whittier in Tamworth. Among them are a requirement that the developer post a bond to fund environmental restoration in case the project is abandoned, and protection of the water quality of the Bearcamp River.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACoE) and the NH Department of Environmental Services (DES) will jointly conduct the public hearing, which starts promptly at 7 PM at the K.A. Brett School on Route 113 in Tamworth. Speaker sign-up begins at 6. Comments from the public are invited on topics from water quality to economic impact. (More information on topic comment areas is at http://www.focustamworth.org/ACOE_comment_topics.htm).

At the hearing, the Focus: Tamworth citizen’s watchdog group plans to ask the Army Corps of Engineers to require that the developer post a restoration bond. The bond would provide enough funds to ensure that if the project is abandoned before completion, the cost of environmental restoration -- which could be very high -- would not fall on the state or the town of Tamworth.

“The massive size and extremely high cost of the project raises concerns about possible abandonment,” said Charles Greenhalgh, spokesperson for the citizens’ watchdog group. Engineering firm Haley & Aldrich of Manchester, NH has estimated that the most recent re-design of the private racetrack complex will cost approximately $50 million dollars to build, almost twice the $28 million figure that CMI has repeatedly quoted. Haley & Aldrich was hired by Focus: Tamworth to analyze the CMI permit applications.

Several of the conditions of the Site Specific permit that the NH Department of Environmental Services (DES) recently granted to CMI underscore concern about the potential for serious erosion. As one condition of the permit, CMI must provide detailed calculations and drawings for the geotextile reinforcements that it claims will stabilize the steeply sloping cuts the project requires. The information must be submitted to DES at least ten days before it begins construction.

CMI is also required to hire an independent environmental monitor, who must be a licensed professional engineer or environmental specialist. The monitor must visit the site at least weekly during the construction phase of the project to be sure that proper erosion control measures are in place. The monitor must file weekly reports to DES.

“Both these conditions show that DES has paid special attention to the threat of erosion and the potential damage to downstream water quality,” Greenhalgh said.

DES is attending the hearing to collect information for its ruling on CMI’s 401 Water Quality Certificate application under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. The 401 Certificate is an essential tool for water quality protection required for any project that gets a Federal permit.

According to DES literature, the New Hampshire Water Quality Standards include a strong component designed to prevent the degradation of high-quality water bodies. At the hearing, Focus: Tamworth will outline concerns about damage to the water quality of the Bearcamp River, which is located only 900 from the lower edge of the CMI property. Green Mountain Conservation Group of Effingham has monitored the water quality of the Bearcamp since 2002, at sites in Sandwich, South Tamworth and Tamworth, upstream of the CMI property, and Ossipee, downstream from the proposed development. Michelle Daly of the University of New Hampshire’s water resource department will explain that the data demonstrates the river’s currently excellent water quality. Focus Tamworth will outline how the CMI project, during both construction and operation, could degrade the river.

Focus: Tamworth has been tracking the lengthy permitting and regulatory process for CMI’s racetrack proposal for more than a year. This is the third public hearing on the state and federal permits that CMI needs. “It’s unusual for the Army Corps to hold a hearing on a private project like this,” Greenhalgh said.

There are likely to be several other hearings before CMI can begin construction. Focus: Tamworth has begun an appeal of the first DES permit issued, and hearings may be required during that process. Greenhalgh noted that CMI has not re-submitted its application to the Tamworth Planning Board for a Special Use Permit under Tamworth’s Wetlands Ordinance. That permit would require a hearing before the Tamworth Planning Board. “CMI must have that permit before construction starts,” Greenhalgh emphasized.

The Tamworth Racetrack Ordinance will also require a hearing before the racetrack receives an operating license from the town, if a bill recently submitted by representatives Harry Merrow and David Babson, repealing SB 458 (now RSA 287-G) passes in Concord. RSA 287-G defines developments like CMI’s as “private driving instruction and exhibition facilities” and exempts them from town control.

“Whatever it’s called, CMI’s proposed development is designed to let cars and motorcycles drive at high speed around its racecourse. It could have major impacts on water quality and on Tamworth and other towns in the area, and should be subject all state, federal and local regulations,” Greenhalgh stated.

Focus: Tamworth is a coalition of local residents who support careful and fair regulations that protect Tamworth’s economic and natural resources. More information on Focus: Tamworth, including areas for comment at the Army Corps hearing,  is available at www.focustamworth.org.

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