Policy Research Shop Testimony: April 3, 2013

PRS Students Testify Before the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services

On Wednesday, April 3, 2013, four PRS students, Michael Sanchez ’13, Michael Altamirano ’13, Peter Kim ’13, and William de Chatellus ’16 from the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center Policy Research Shop, made a presentation in Concord, NH to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES), including Commissioner Thomas Burack, Dartmouth Class of 1982, Craig Wright, Director of the Air Resources Division, and Michele Roberge, Administrator, Permitting and Environmental Health Bureau. The students presented findings from their paper “Maintaining Air Quality Monitoring Programs: Creating a Financially Sustainable Permit Fee Structure.”

Charged with regulating air pollutant emissions in New Hampshire through permits and fees, NHDES faces the challenges of declining emissions, reduced federal grants, and the need to generate revenue. This paper examines solutions from other states and how these solutions can be applied in New Hampshire. Following the presentation and questions from NHDES staff, the students and administrators discussed the implications of their research for decision making within NHDES over the next year, including how to adapt the current system of permits and fees to a changing environmental and policy context.