New Hampshire
Merrimack Station faces scrutiny from regulators after almost a year since failed emissions test
New Hampshire environmental regulators are ordering the Merrimack Station in Bow – the last operating coal plant in New England – to demonstrate that they can comply with their emissions regulations by the end of March.
The last time the plant tested its emissions in February 2023, it exceeded one emissions limit by about 70%, according to state regulators. Since then, the state’s Department of Environmental Services says the plant has not yet been able to retake their emissions test, and it has operated for more than 500 hours in violation of its permit.
Merrimack Station has tried on four separate occasions to retake the emissions test, but has canceled each attempt due to issues including boiler leaks and an electrical breaker issue.
Local advocates say it’s been frustrating to see how long it’s been since the plant showed compliance with emissions regulations. Without a passed emissions test, they say it’s difficult to know if the air quality is safe for surrounding towns when the plant operates.
“It’s really hard to look at this and not get angry,” said Catherine Corkery, an organizer with the Sierra Club’s New Hampshire chapter who has been following the coal plant’s testing reports. “It’s shocking to know that this plant has run over 500 hours without guaranteeing to the public that it’s safe.”
Granite Shore Power, which owns Merrimack Station, responded to the first part of the state’s order on Wednesday, saying the company “disputes the findings and conclusions in the Order and takes issue with the unreasonable relief and deadlines.”
The company said it was aware of operational issues leading up to the emissions test Merrimack Station failed late last February, and undertook a “comprehensive investigation” to figure out the cause of the problems.
In a November statement to NHPR, Granite Shore Power asserted that their failed test had not resulted in “any excessive emissions.” State regulators in their Feb. 7 order maintained that the plant exceeded its emissions limit during its last stack test, and any operations are considered a violation of part of their permit until they pass the test.
Granite Shore Power says they’ve replaced some equipment that had a “pluggage,” which was causing particulate “presence” on testing filters. The replacement of that equipment, the company said, was expected to resolve the operational issues the plant was experiencing.
But still, the coal plant has not been able to retake their emissions test to show it can comply with the limits in its permit. Granite Shore Power says that’s due to “circumstances unrelated” to the emissions control equipment or other measures they’ve taken to fix the original issues.
Failed emissions test
Merrimack Station tested its emissions every three years because of its status as a “low emitting electric generating unit,” a status that it no longer meets the criteria for, according to regulators.
To complete the test, the plant has to run between 90 and 100% of its maximum capacity for power generation. Regulators test the emissions from a combined “stack,” which is part of the facility’s two generating units.
The February 2023 test showed Merrimack Station emitted particulate matter at a rate of 0.052 pounds per million British thermal units. The plant’s permitted limit is 0.030 lb/MMBtu.
Particulate matter is the term the Environmental Protection Agency uses for a mix of tiny solids and liquids like dust, soot, or smoke. The particles are so small that humans and animals can breathe them in – and they can cause major health problems, including lung and heart issues and premature death. They can also cause environmental issues, like acidifying lakes and streams, depleting soil nutrients, and damaging farm crops.
“It is troubling for people who have to breathe this air,” Corkery said, “to not know if it is running as it should.”
State regulators sent a letter to Granite Shore Power about the excess emissions. The company then ran the coal plant between July 4 and July 8, saying it was completing an audit for New England’s grid operator, which has been paying Merrimack Station to be available as needed when the grid requires extra power.
During that window of time, when the grid was experiencing a scarcity of power, one of the generating units experienced issues due to wet coal. That unit only ran on July 7.
In August, the Department of Environmental Services issued Granite Shore Power another notice telling the company they were out of compliance with their limit for particulate matter and requesting more information.
Granite Shore Power wrote back a month later, saying the failed stack test from February was not valid, and the data regulators had requested was not available. Regulators maintained that they considered the stack test valid.
Attempts to retake the emissions test
Merrimack Station has scheduled retests four times, and each time it has run the power plant for between 73 and 139 hours in preparation for it. But each retest was canceled.
An October test was canceled due to a boiler tube leak, according to a permit deviation report filed by Granite Shore Power. In November, a test was canceled for the same reason. In early December, one of the plant’s units experienced an electrical breaker issue that meant it could not safely connect to the electrical grid.
In January, another tube leak caused the plant to go offline before it completed the test.
Rebecca Beaulieu, a representative of the climate advocacy group 350 New Hampshire, said the issues Merrimack Station has been experiencing call into question the ability of the plant to continue providing power to the grid.
“I think this just proves that coal is not the reliable source anymore,” she said.
Granite Shore Power declined to respond to questions from NHPR about how the issues that have kept it from retesting its emissions have affected the plant’s ability to provide power to the electrical grid or meet its requirements from New England’s grid operator, which has been paying it to be able to commit to supplying power through the region’s forward capacity market. The plant generally provides electricity on very hot or very cold days.
Mary Cate Colapietro is a representative from ISO-New England, the region’s grid operator. She said the owners of power plants are responsible for keeping them informed of their operating status, but any permit violations are under the jurisdiction of state or federal regulators.
Power plants can face penalties if they cannot operate during times when the electric system is stressed, she said, but said her comments were not related to any particular facility.
What happens next?
Granite Shore Power has until the end of March to complete an emissions compliance test.
Regulators say the company must treat each day it operates as a day that results in excess emissions until the plant demonstrates it can comply with its permit, or stops operating altogether.
Craig Wright, the head of the Air Resources Division at the Department of Environmental Services, said the company could file an appeal of the order.
Beaulieu, with 350 New Hampshire, said she was surprised that state regulators had taken so long to issue an order, and was hoping for more serious action from regulators in the future.
“If I went and dumped a bunch of trash myself in the Merrimack River, I’d get a ticket at minimum, and would have actual serious consequences,” Beaulieu said. “They’ve gotten a whole bunch of warnings. So I think it’s time for Merrimack Station to face some real consequences for their permit violations.”
Wright, with the Department of Environmental Services, said regulators’ first priority is to get facilities to come into compliance, and they’ve followed the steps in their compliance assurance response policy.
“One of the things we obviously need to do is follow our due process,” he said. “We will deal with the noncompliance issue as we move forward in a manner the Department sees as appropriate.”
Wright said he wouldn’t speculate on the future for the state’s case regarding Merrimack Station. But, he said, his agency can pursue administrative fines or civil penalties in any enforcement case.
New Hampshire
Opinion: The farm bill passed the House. Western New Hampshire got the bill. – Concord Monitor
In 1794, George Washington wrote that he knew of “no pursuit in which more zeal and important service can be rendered to any Country than by improving its agriculture.” Two hundred and thirty years later, the House just passed a farm bill that proves his successors stopped believing it.
Drive Route 12 through Walpole. Take Route 10 up through Haverhill. Cut across to Littleton, past the diner that has been feeding the town since 1930. The farms are there. Lush land that produces. People who work till their sweat and blood soak the ground they nurture. A region with every ingredient to feed itself.
What is not there is the processing facility that makes it worth raising the animal. The cold storage that keeps the crop from spoiling before it finds a buyer. The regional market that pays a price worth planting for. I want to believe Washington did not forget to build those things. Regardless, it built something else instead — a system that works beautifully for an operation running 10,000 acres in the Midwest and leaves the farmer on Route 12 doing the math at the kitchen table at midnight wondering if this is the last season.
And the 2026 Farm Bill just made that system more expensive to survive. Large commodity operations received a $54 billion subsidy increase over the next 10 years, with individual payment caps that can exceed $900,000 per operation. Is the farmer at your farmers market in position for this kind of payout?
The bill guarantees money, codified by law, for the people who need it least. Local food programs were reauthorized with zero mandatory funding, but plenty of empty words. They exist on paper and nowhere else. It means a farmer in Plainfield cannot count on them. It means Coos County, where one in seven people cannot reliably put food on the table, keeps waiting for help that has been promised and deferred so many times the promise itself has become an insult. Especially when supermarkets and superstores — just 15% of SNAP-accepting establishments — vacuum up nearly 74% of every food assistance dollar, while the local farm stand sees almost none of it.
And that is before the input costs.
Local farmers know this better than most. You buy fuel and fertilizer on global markets you have no vote in and no say over. Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, causing record high prices for fertilizers globally, all because Russia is the world’s top exporter and suddenly it wasn’t exporting. And while that news cycle is long buried, remember that the Iran war has closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a third of the world’s seaborne fertilizer travels. Diesel recently crossed $5 a gallon, which large trucks that move food and tractors rely on. Fertilizer went from $500 a ton to $850. One tractor cost $350 more than it did last year. You did not start either of those wars, yet you pay for both of them. And that is not even accounting for the sharp sting of tariffs on the inputs you depend on to plant next season.
Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies rose 55% in 2024. Then another 46% in 2025, and those numbers only count the farms that qualified for Chapter 12, which requires the majority of family income to come from farming. The ones that don’t qualify quietly disappear, not even a balance sheet to mark the years of struggle, labor and community these farmers gave. They just stop. Since 2018, this country has lost more than 158,000 farms, with every size category shrinking except operations over a million dollars in annual revenue. Those are still growing, and will do so as long as the policy is written to grow them. Another example of an unlevel playing field where the rich get richer.
To be clear about something: large-scale agriculture feeds a lot of people and nobody sat in a room and decided to destroy the small farm. But does intent matter when these are the results? The system produces what it was designed to produce. That is exactly the problem. It was not designed with you in mind, and after enough years of that, the results look intentional even when they are not.
I got involved locally here because I believe western New Hampshire has everything it needs to feed itself and then some. Four thousand farms, nearly half a million acres, led by a direct-sales culture that leads the entire country. What is missing is not the land or the people or the will. What is missing is a representative who walks into bill negotiations fighting for the farmer on Route 12 instead of the operation collecting a $900,000 subsidy check in a state they have never visited, and pretending it actually helps their constituents.
I have a specific plan for how existing federal dollars already flowing into this district get redirected toward processing, storage and regional market access that actually serves the farms here. No new appropriations. No new programs. A full breakdown is at livefreenh02.com/food-independence.
Daniel Webster, born thirty miles from where I am writing this, put it in the Capitol: “The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization.” Washington and Webster were not just statesmen. They farmed. They understood what was at stake when the land stopped producing for the people who worked it. The authors of the 2026 farm bill apparently do not.
Robbie Mahrou is an independent candidate for U.S. Congress in New Hampshire’s Second District and a Walpole resident. She can be reached out robbie@livefreenh02.com.
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited Concord on Friday to discuss a new health initiative to prevent and combat Lyme disease.
The visit was part of the “Take Back Your Health” campaign tour, a multimillion dollar initiative to promote dietary changes and exercise as preventative measures for chronic illness. Kennedy has been traveling the country to outline projects, including changing federal dietary guidelines, gut microbiome research, and addiction recovery.
Kennedy said his goal was to reduce Lyme disease by 25% by 2035.
Kennedy announced that over $2 million of federal funding will be up for grabs for projects focused on the prevention and treatment of Lyme disease. The grants, through a program called LymeX, will be available to businesses, scientists, and the public.
At the press conference Friday, Kennedy said the grants will go to projects including education tools and public awareness campaigns, front-line solutions like medication, and AI technology.
“This initiative will harness artificial intelligence and open data to help patients with Lyme disease and other invisible illnesses. Get answers faster and connect to care sooner,” he said.
Lyme in NH
New Hampshire has long been one of the epicenters for Lyme disease. The state has the seventh highest rate of Lyme disease in the country, according to the most recent data from 2023.
Read more: It’s tick season in New England. Here’s how to stay safe.
Tick season is a well-established time of year in New England, with an increase in cases and hospital visits in April and May. Research from Dartmouth shows half of adult blacklegged ticks in the Northeast carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.
In a health advisory issued on Wednesday, State Epidemiologist Benjamin Chan pointed out that Lyme disease is one of the most common infections spread through tick bites. Other tick-borne infections include anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and Powassan virus.
Lyme is also the most common tick-borne illness in America, with an estimated 476,000 people getting the disease each year nationwide, according to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Service.
Kennedy’s record on Lyme disease
In the past, Kennedy has promoted a conspiracy theory that Lyme disease was bioengineered by the U.S. military. Late last year, he advocated for an investigation into a possible link between the military and the disease as part of a provision in a new defense bill, Scientific American and Politico reported.
Around that time, Kennedy said many patients’ claims were ignored, and he announced that “the gaslighting of Lyme patients is over.”
As an anti-vaccine activist, Kennedy launched a bid for the Democratic nomination for president in 2024. He then ran briefly as an independent before quitting and endorsing Donald Trump.
Trump later nominated him for health secretary, and he was confirmed by the Senate in early 2025 on a party-line vote.
Kennedy is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, and a son of Robert F. Kennedy, who was slain during his campaign for president in 1968. In his own bid for the White House, RFK Jr.’s name was never on the ballot in New Hampshire. In mid-2024, a UNH Survey Center poll found he mustered only 3% support among likely voters.
More resources
What to do if you’ve been bitten by a tick: Step one, don’t panic.
Tick season: How not to get bit
Editor’s Note: This is the latest installment in a series honoring Seacoast veterans’ military service and the organizations who support veterans sponsored by Service Credit Union. It appears each Friday. Nominate a veteran you know to be profiled by clicking on this link or using the form below. More than 85,000 veterans live in New Hampshire, according to the state’s Department of Military Affairs and Veterans Services. Here are some of the many services available to veterans, their families, caregivers and supporters in the state.
New Hampshire Division of Veterans Services
This is the state’s starting point for veterans’ assistance. It can be reached by phone at 603-624-9230 or 800-622-9230, and online at nhveterans.nh.gov/veterans-services. On this site, you can find an important guide to services for veterans and their families. The N.H. Guide to Veterans’ Services is a PDF that can be viewed online or downloaded and printed out, and contains a plethora of important information about all aspects of a veterans’ life. https://www.nhveterans.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt401/files/inline-documents/2021-07/nhes-031320-vets-dir-guide-final.pdf
N.H. Department of Military Affairs and Veterans Services
New Hampshire’s Department of Military Affairs and Veterans Services (DMAVS) has mission to oversee and support the Service Members of the New Hampshire National Guard (NHNG) and to provide quality services to the state’s veterans and their families, according to its website. Call 603-225-1200 or find it online at https://www.nhveterans.nh.gov. There is a list of the state’s regional Veterans Services Officers and how to reach them or make an appointment at nhveterans.nh.gov/veterans-services/vsos-and-sites
Veterans Count
Veterans Count, a program of Easterseals NH Vets Count, provides mental health counseling, care coordination, housing stabilization, substance use treatment coordination, benefits and resources connection, and emergency financial assistance to all who have served in the military regardless of service era, discharge status or VA eligibility. The program connects veterans and their families with the help and resources they need confidentially. Email intake@vetscount.org or call 603-315-4354 or learn more at vetscount.org. The statewide Veterans Count program has four regional chapters. You can reach the Seacoast chapter at vetscount.org/chapters/seacoast. Vets Count presents local events and fundraisers like the upcoming Veterans Count Pack & Boots 5K Road Race on Sunday, July 5 from 8 to 11 a.m. beginning on Pierce Island in Portsmouth and ending in Prescott Park. Service members, veterans and community members are invited to participate in the fitness event designed for all ages and abilities, which will include a Survival Run-All, where runners carry a pack equal to 10% of their body weight; a Kids Fun Run 100-Meter Dash, and a 5K Road Race. Register at https://vetscount.org/events/veterans-count-pack-boots-5k-road-race/
Veterans Inc.
Veterans Inc. is the largest provider of support services to veterans and their families in New England. Email info@vertansinc.org, call 800-482-2565, sign up for its electronic newsletter and visit veteransinc.org.
Veterans Benefits Administration
A good source of information for the federal government’s veterans’ benefits and where you can search to locate a variety of local offices for federal services. Visit benefits.va.gov/benefits.
Pease ANGB Retiree Activities Office
The Retiree Activities Office at Pease provides information, services and programs to military retirees — all ranks, all services. Its mission is to act as an interface between the active-duty and retired communities; keep retirees updated on various matters; provide information and services as necessary or appropriate; and to represent retired members at the base and Air Force level, according to its website 157arw.ang.af.mil/About-Us/Retiree-Activities-Office/ where you can sign up for a periodic newsletter. The office has limited weekly hours so check its website for when it’s open or call 603-430-2636 and email peaseangb.rao@gmail.com.
Community-based Military Programs
The mission of the state’s Division of Community Based Military Programs is to collaborate, coordinate, and communicate with military and civilian provider groups to promote the delivery of quality health care services to New Hampshire veterans, service members and their families. Visit nhveterans.nh.gov/community-based-military-programs.
National Social Work Program local representatives
There is a social work leader in every VA health care system to help veterans get the care they need, according to the VA website, and connect them to the appropriate VA employee to assist them. New Hampshire’s social work leader is Kristin Maxwell. Contact Kristin. Maxwell@va.gov or call 603-624-4366. Visit socialwork.va.gov/Social_Work_Leaders.asp#NewHampshire.
Veterans Crisis Line
Veterans in crisis or someone who is concerned a veteran is in crisis can reach immediate help by dialing 988, then press 1. This is the National Suicide Hotline and by pressing 1, you’ll reach those specifically trained in veterans’ needs and resources. Veterans don’t need to be enrolled in VA benefit or health care to access this help, and it’s completely confidential. Free and available 24/7 every day. The Crisis Line can also be reached at its previous number, 800-273-8255, by text at 838255 and through chat at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.
Veterans Councils
Many cities and towns in New Hampshire have a Veterans Council to assist its residents. An example is Rochester’s Veterans Council at rochesterveteranscouncil.com or
Veterans Groups and Meetings
Community meetings and socials are a great resource for veterans looking for information and help. The Rochester NH Veterans for Veterans (facebook.com/groups/1258228782144974) meets every Tuesday from 9 a.m. to noon at the Rochester Community Center and is sponsored by Rochester Recreation. All Veterans are welcome to attend the open discussions, which sometimes host a guest speaker from a veterans organizations to help members find resources. The Portsmouth Senior Activity Center hosts a Drop-In Veterans Social at 1 p.m. every Wednesday sponsored by the local Daughters of the American Revolution. All are welcome.
Assistance for veterans
There are many non-profits that provide a specific service to veterans. Some are:
Vouchers for Veterans
This non-profit, which was founded in Rochester, N.H., recognizes and thanks veterans for their service by providing voucher so they can purchase locally grown and prepared food directly from farmers and growers at local farmers markets. Visit vouchersforveterans.org or find them on Facebook at Vouchersforveterans.
Roofs For Veterans and Roof-A-Vet
Two non-profits will provide veterans with a new roof. Find more info at roofvets.com/roofs-for-veterans and roofavet.org. There are many organizations like these that will assist a veteran with home repairs or renovations.
Northeast Passage
Northeast Passage, based at the University of New Hampshire, provides adaptive sports and recreational opportunities for veteran and active-duty service members of all service eras and all ability levels. Many programs are free through funding from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, a partnership with Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Operation Hat Trick and local organizations, according to its website. It offers veteran-specific events, group outings and competitive teams in sled hockey, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair lacrosse or power soccer. Visit nepassage.org/veteran-recreation.
University of New Hampshire Military and Veteran Services
UNH provides service and support to student veterans, service members and other military-affiliated students such as dependents. Contact Kalyn Ryll, director of military and veteran services, at Kalyn.Ryll@unh.edu or 603-862-3480.
Local VFW and American Legion posts
Find a local American Legion post at mylegion.org/PersonifyEbusiness/Find-a-Post. Find a Veterans of Foreign Wars post at vfw.org/find-a-post.
Elks programs for veterans
Many local Elks lodges have events or programs for veterans. The Elks have made a pledge “So long as there are veterans, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks will never forget them.” Its Elks National Veterans Service Commission helps local lodges provide services locally. The Portsmouth lodge is very active in helping veterans. Find more information at elks.org/vets/default.cfm?m=programs.
Service Credit Union thanks veterans for their military service and remembers all those service members currently deployed around the world. R.E.D. Friday stands for Remember Everyone Deployed on Fridays when some wear red to honor service members deployed worldwide.
-
Business12 seconds agoVince McMahon and others are sanctioned for destroying evidence in WWE shareholder lawsuit
-
Entertainment3 minutes agoReview: Alicia Keys’ glorious music fuels blazing ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ at the Hollywood Pantages
-
Politics15 minutes agoCommentary: A second offering to Spencer Pratt, and 5 points about the L.A. mayor’s race
-
Sports23 minutes agoAlyssa and Gisele Thompson joined NWSL in high school. Their younger sister might be better
-
World33 minutes agoConfirmed Ebola cases nearly double in days as WHO chief visits DR Congo
-
News1 hour agoPride celebrations struggle as corporate sponsorships dry up
-
Los Angeles, Ca2 hours agoMan stabbed to death after violent dog attack on Hollywood Walk of Fame
-
Detroit, MI3 hours ago
Black Legacy Day to be celebrated May 30th in Detroit
