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Following a meeting she convened today with town officials from Merrimack, Litchfield, Bedford and Londonderry, as well as representatives of Merrimack Village District Water, US Senator Kelly Ayotte today renewed her call for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to expedite the release of a new health advisory standard for the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Ayotte also met this week with leadership from Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics to urge the company to work with state and local officials and other stakeholders in New Hampshire to address water contamination issues.

U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte today wrote to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy urging her to expedite the release of a new health advisory standard for the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) following reports of water contamination in several cities and towns across New Hampshire. Previously, the Haven well at Pease International Tradeport was closed after tests revealed high levels of perfluorochemicals (PFCs).

Senator Ayotte with Michelle Firmbach Nadeau, Senior Manager, Public Affairs; John LaRiviere, General Manager & Director Special Waste and Bill Roberts, Senior Vice President of Operations, Wheelabrator Technologies

New Hampshire-based nonprofits that are engaged in affordable housing activities may be eligible for grant funding through New Hampshire Housing’s Emerging Opportunities Program. The program encourages and supports innovative new initiatives related to affordable housing and is now accepting applications.

U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) released the following statement welcoming approval of a Wetlands Permit by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services for the Balsams Resort redevelopment project.

Continuing her efforts to ensure that the voices of affected communities are heard and that their questions and concerns are addressed, Governor Maggie Hassan today sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), reiterating the need for FERC and the company to address the concerns of local communities. If those concerns cannot be addressed, Governor Hassan wrote, then the project should not move forward as currently proposed.

Six developers across the state were recently awarded Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), a key federal funding source for creating and preserving affordable housing. The tax credits will provide almost $31 million in upfront cash equity to be used for building 170 affordable apartments and preserving 100 more

Continuing her efforts to ensure proper heating assistance for low-income families and seniors across New Hampshire, U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte is urging Senate appropriators to provide additional funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in final fiscal year (FY) 2016 government funding legislation

Manchester's former mayor, a current member of the House Financial Services Committee, explained that the STRR Act ends a series of short-term fixes that have caused delays and waste around the country. "Previous Congresses, Republican and Democrat, have failed to find a solution to our crumbling highways," said Rep. Guinta. "I'm proud this 114th Congress has accomplished our goal in a bipartisan manner."

New Hampshire Housing has welcomed its Homeownership Fellowship Class of 2016, and they quickly got to work by traveling to Washington, D.C., to speak with political leaders and key mortgage industry officials including Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Senator Kelly Ayotte, and representatives from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Rural Development, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and Ginnie Mae

U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) again called for the immediate passage of bipartisan legislation she helped introduce with Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Ayotte has been working to renew LWCF over the past year and a half, and gone to the Senate floor repeatedly in the past week to try to call up a vote on reauthorizing the program. Unfortunately, some senators continue to object to Ayotte's request.

U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) joined Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Angus King (I-ME), as well as several other senators in a bipartisan letter to Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter regarding long-term temporary duty (TDY) expenses for shipyard workers.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in consultation with New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES), is proposing additional connections to an existing water line for residents whose wells have been found to have contamination and whom live northeast section of the Tinkham Garage Superfund Site (Site). This proposal is included in a draft Explanation of Significant Differences, a document that provides details on the contamination and this proposal.

On the Senate floor this afternoon, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) called on Republicans in the Senate who support the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to encourage fellow Republicans to end their obstruction of the program’s reauthorization. The LWCF expired yesterday at midnight, despite bipartisan calls for its reauthorization. During her remarks, Shaheen made a motion for unanimous consent to pass legislation that would grant a 60-day extension of the fund, a request that was once again blocked by Republicans.

On Tuesday, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) presented a letter to the Federal Regulatory Commission (FERC) calling for FERC to consider assessing energy projects across the region in tandem with its review of the proposed Northeast Energy Direct pipeline. The letter was read at the final scoping meeting before FERC’s preliminary scoping period ends and Kinder Morgan officially files with FERC initiating the Environmental Impact Study process. Congresswoman Kuster has fought for a respectful, comprehensive, and transparent public review process for the pipeline.