Piscataqua River advisory committee urges state review after businesses dump fluids near Bass Island

Jane Golure, chair of the Piscataqua River Local Advisory Committee, told the Manchester Conservation Commission that businesses along the Bass Island stretch of the Piscataqua River are discharging fluids and other material into the river and urged the commission to press state environmental regulators to investigate.

"Piscataqua River is a protected river, a designated protected river through the state," Golure said, describing years of work by local volunteers and college groups to clean the river and map problem areas. She repeated concerns that an auto‑repair business on Cleveland and South Main Street appears to allow fluids to run into the river and that a nearby salvage yard stores roughly 50 cars on an unpaved lot, sending storm runoff into the water.

The request matters because the committee says local zoning and long‑standing commercial uses have left potentially polluting operations adjacent to an otherwise improved reach of the river. Golure said parts of the river benefitted from a combined sewer overflow separation project in past years and are relatively clean, but stormwater and runoff from automotive shops, salvage yards and plowed snow are recurring sources of contamination.

Commissioners and staff discussed several follow‑up steps. Commissioners asked whether water testing above and below the Main–Second Street segment could demonstrate pollutant loads; Golure said the Piscataqua committee had conducted a flow and pollutant study about nine years ago with college help and offered to seek updated documentation and invite New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) shoreline protection staff to a future meeting. A staff member said a formal complaint to DES is required to prompt an enforcement site visit, though committee members said DES has visited the area over years.

Golure described other local issues that complicate enforcement: a privately run dog park on city land that requires an annual membership fee of roughly $60–$65; long‑standing business operations that are "grandfathered" and therefore remain allowed unless a use changes; and past situations in which filing complaints led to tense confrontations with property owners. She said the committee prefers coordination and outreach to immediate enforcement and will pursue DES participation and documentation to present to economic development and zoning officials.

No formal enforcement action was taken at the meeting. Commissioners and staff agreed to accept the committee's request as an item for further coordination: staff said they would seek DES participation and explore whether code‑enforcement or site‑plan review triggers apply to new or expanded automotive uses near the river.

The commission recorded the presentation in the meeting minutes and asked staff to include the Piscataqua committee's materials with the commission's records so planning and zoning staff could see the committee's concerns.

Questions and comments from commissioners and staff emphasized process limits: existing lawful uses are difficult to remove absent changes of use or proven regulatory violations; rezoning would generally require a willing landowner or a separate council process; and policeable remedies are often limited to new development or clear violations documented by DES.

A small number of volunteers and community groups, including students from Saint Anselm College, were cited as partners in past cleanup efforts; Golure offered to follow up with DES and provide the commission copies of prior study results and photographs documenting apparent violations.