Around New England

Democratic Candidate for Governor Supports Natural Gas Pipeline in New Hampshire

July 18, 2020

A prominent Democrat running for governor of New Hampshire supports a proposed pipeline for natural gas that would run from the town of Exeter in the Seacoast area of the state to its largest city, Manchester.

The 16-inch underground pipeline, called Granite Bridge, would run along Route 101, an important east-west highway in southern New Hampshire. It would connect existing pipelines and allow greater access to natural gas from Dawn, Ontario and liquefied natural gas from Saint John, New Brunswick, according to Liberty Utilities, which is planning to build the new pipeline.

Dan Feltes, a state senator from Concord and the majority leader of the New Hampshire Senate, told SeacoastOnline.com that he gives the proposed Granite Bridge pipeline “preliminary support based on the need of meeting the home heating need in the state” and that “the Public Utilities Commission is going through that process and we should allow that process to continue.”

His opponent in the September 8 Democratic state primary, Andru Volinsky, opposes the pipeline because the natural gas it would accommodate comes from fracking, which Volinsky’s campaign web site says “produces methane gas which causes climate change 80 times the rate of carbon dioxide.”

Volinsky is a member of the New Hampshire Executive Council, which advises the governor and has veto power over the governor’s nominations to judgeships and the state attorney general, pardons, and contracts and budget transfers of more than $10,000.

The winner of the Democratic nomination is expected to take on Governor Chris Sununu, a Republican, in the November general election. Sununu is seen as a supporter of the pipeline.


Read More