By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

A state fueling facility proposed for Route 106 in Concord has local officials worried about a water supply feeding Pembroke and parts of Allenstown, Hooksett and the capital city.

“We’re going to need water for life,” said Pembroke Water Works Superintendent Paul Whittemore. “Once that facility is put there, there will always be a threat of contamination.”

The Department of Transportation intends to build a fleet fueling station that includes three 12,000-gallon tanks, two for gasoline and one for diesel. The facility, which would replace a current facility on Stickney Avenue, Concord, would be inside a Pembroke aquifer that feeds into the town’s water wells.

The fueling center would be 350 feet from Pembroke’s well head protection area, said Whittemore, and 3,500 feet from the town’s wells, according to reports from the Department of Environmental Services.

Whittemore suggested any type of large fueling facility represents a danger to the aquifer and the well head protection area within it, and town officials have repeatedly requested DOT officials find another location.

“It’s a serious concern for the long term,” said Whittemore. “It should be a cut-and-dry issue, but, unfortunately, it’s not.”

Pembroke Economic Development Committee Chairman Dana Carlucci said the water drawn from Pembroke’s wells is some of the best in the state.

“This is something that shouldn’t be as far as it is,” Carlucci said of the plan. “We need to protect this water for our businesses and our residents.”

The DOT has been considering building the facility since 2004, as it planned to move its mechanical services division from its Stickney Avenue location.

DOT spokesman Bill Boynton said the facility would likely be the largest of the state’s many fueling facilities, as it would serve fleets in Concord and be adjacent to the mechanical services division, where state vehicles go for repair work.

“That’s certainly our preferred location,” said Boynton.

Boynton said protective measures in the facility plan go well beyond state and DES requirements.

Most fuel tanks have two layers of lining, said Boynton, whereas the state facility would have two layers of fiberglass lining within a concrete vault.

“There are service stations all along Route 106 that have been there a long time,” he said. “This would be a lot more modern and up to date.”

According to a DES report to the governor’s office, other safety measures for the facility would include employee supervision of all fuel deliveries, quarterly maintenance and readily available spill response kits.

Whittemore suggested no amount of engineering can guarantee protection to the water supply, and said things like fuel drips can be transported by storm water or get moved as snow is plowed.

“We’ve become much smarter in our designs, but ultimately it comes down to human error,” he said.

Concord Assistant City Planner Stephen Henninger said city officials have aired some concerns about what problems the facility could pose to a Concord water well, but said state laws don’t give local officials much authority in halting such state proposals.

“DOT is exempt from our zoning,” he said, citing RSA 674:54.

Henninger said the Concord Planning Board held a public hearing about a year ago, and forwarded the comments to DOT for consideration.

Gov. John Lynch has instructed DOT officials to return to the city’s planning board for more input, said Henninger.

Whittemore said he’s hopeful all parties involved can find a reasonable solution.

“We just don’t think that’s the right facility for that location,” he said. “We’re working with DOT and trying to solve this.”