Sununu Blasts DES On Cyanobacteria Messaging Saying It ‘Does Not Kill People’

WAKEFIELD – Saying “this is not (the movie) ‘Jaws,’” Gov. Chris Sununu ripped into the state Environmental Services Commissioner Friday for the department’s messaging on cyanobacteria as a number of blooms have appeared on Lake Winnipesaukee in time for the busy Labor Day holiday weekend.

This is the second time this season the state’s largest lake has had multiple reports of the blue-green algae, but the first was earlier in the season in mid-June.

“This is not toxic. This does not kill people….so please, work with your department, get the messaging straight, work with the legislature, make sure some of these solutions are there, but please make sure that people understand, this is not some deadly bacterial bloom that should shut down beaches or anything like that,” Sununu told DES Commissioner Bob Scott at the Executive Council meeting Friday.

After Sununu’s remarks, state Rep. Rosemarie Rung, D-Merrimack, called Sununu’s downplaying cyanobacteria’s health effects “incredibly irresponsible.”

Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington, a Concord Democrat who is running for governor, asked DES Commissioner Scott what the state is doing about the unprecedented number of cyanobacteria reports on the Big Lake at the Council meeting, which was held at Wakefield Town Hall as part of the council’s summer “road show” to various locations around the state.

Sununu stressed that there are no beaches closed because of cyanobacteria and told reporters after the meeting that this was not a case like in the movie “Jaws” where everybody was ordered to get out of the water for safety reasons because of the threat of a great white shark to the fictional seaside town Amity.

After Scott explained the efforts to work with local lake associations and said the problem was exacerbated this year by a warm winter, Sununu told Scott his department is doing a terrible job of messaging on cyanobacteria by scaring people needlessly.

The department issues warnings and watches for various lakes and locations on Lake Winnipesaukee when a potentially toxic bloom is found, but has no authority to close beaches.

On its website, DES warns the public against swimming in locations where there is a bloom and also says it is OK to boat or otherwise recreate without contact.

“I read those statements. I know exactly what cyanobacteria is, what the concerns are and should be and it doesn’t come through in the messaging,” Sununu said.

Sununu said DES has millions of dollars for more projects and was told they do not have any projects that are ready.

“We have funded every project that could be funded to date,” Sununu said.

Warmington brought the issue up at the meeting as an “off topic” matter which was not on the agenda noting that Lake Winnipesaukee is besieged by cyanobacteria blooms right now.

A link to the current DES cyanobacteria warnings and watches is here https://www.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/8d84a6b03acb4efaab571b222c78447b

The state DES website on the subject reads:

“Cyanobacteria blooms can be harmful to pets, livestock, wildlife and people. Cyanobacteria can cause both acute and chronic illnesses. Acute effects, such as skin and mucous membrane irritation, can occur after short-term exposure. Chronic effects such as liver, kidney and central nervous system damage can occur from ingesting impacted water over a long period of time.”

Warmington said the state needs to look at the root causes of this matter on all of the lakes.

“These are obviously real threats to the lake and to public safety and to our economy. So I guess my question is what are we doing to identify the root causes, to educate the public about what the causes are so that they can take action and what treatment or remedial action we can take,” Warmington said.

Scott said this is the second bloom this year on Lake Winnipesaukee and the underlying reasons are really watershed specific but typically storm runoff is a main cause and a mild winter.

“There is no quick solution,” Scott said, though he noted that an alum treatment of the much smaller Lake Kanasatka was successful. However, that lake in Moultonborough is now facing its first cyanobacteria blooms of the season.

Warmington noted this is not just isolated blooms in coves or stagnant areas, “this is The Broads, this is widespread…this could have a serious impact on our economy and on public safety.”

Scott said his staff is working with lake associations and the communities.

“We are worried about Lake Winnipesaukee, obviously, it is a huge income generator for the state, understandably with tourism and other things….this should not be a consolation but if you look all the way from Massachusetts down to Florida, this is not a unique thing, unfortunately,” Scott said.

He said The Broads on Winnipesaukee, which is over 100 feet deep and there is a lot of movement, is not where the state usually finds this problem.

“It’s a learning thing for us as well,” Scott said.

Warmington said she thinks there needs to be a more coordinated effort.

Scott said he expects a lot of political action on the subject when the legislature returns.

Then Sununu chimed in.

“Let’s be very clear. Am I wrong, is there any part of Lake Winnipesaukee that is closed or needs to be closed right now?” Sununu said.

“No, again…” Scott said.

Sununu cut the commissioner off and said “you got to get this message correct. I know cyanobacteria is a yucky, slimy thing but the messaging out of your department I think is terrible. And I have to be very clear about that. There is no part of Lake Winnipesaukee that is closed. There is no message that the economy should be affected in any way. Everyone should come up. So yes, there is cyanobacteria. There is a coordinated effort is there not?”

“Yes,” said Scott.

Sununu asked: “How much money have we spent to date attacking this problem?”

Scott said: “Millions…”

Sununu: “Millions. Millions…I think (Warmington’s) questions are very valid because I think the messaging out of your department is terrible, frankly. The lake is not closed. We spent millions of dollars addressing this issue. This is not toxic. This does not kill people….so please, work with your department, get the messaging straight, work with the legislature, make sure some of these solutions are there, but please make sure that people understand, this is not some deadly bacterial bloom that should shut down beaches or anything like that. That’s not happening. Is that correct?”

Scott said: “Our messaging, as I think I just stated is you should be cognizant, use your eyes. When you see the blooms we recommend you avoid direct contact with them. But it does not mean don’t recreate in the water.”

After the Council meeting, state Rep. Rosemarie Rung, D-Merrimack, called Sununu’s statements “incredibly irresponsible.”

“That flies in the face of research that’s been conducted around the world.

“He’s the bumbling mayor of Amity in the movie ‘Jaws’ trying to deny the risk,” Rung said of Sununu. Cyanobacteria can cause people to suffer serious diseases and ultimately cost them their lives, she said.

“Chronic exposure is a risk factor to serious diseases like ALS,” Rung said. “In fact New Hampshire is the only state in Northern New England without an ALS registry. Vermont, Maine and Massachusetts have ALS registries.”

Rung said she will bring forward a bill to create one in New Hampshire.

She pointed to research being done on a possible link between cyanobacteria and ALS by Elijah Stommel, MD, PhD, a professor of neurology at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and a neurologist at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

Rung said people need to be educated about how to recognize cyanobacteria, how communities can protect from it.

“Serious health risks have been documented since the 1940s, documented in New Hampshire around Mascoma Lake,” Rung said.

She said people may swim in a bloom and come out with a skin rash or gastrointestinal issue, but think it’s caused by something they ate.

“You don’t need skin contact, just breathing water vapors the aerosol in the air can contain toxins,” Rung said.

“When DES issues a warning, they have documented cyanobacteria at a level that has been shown to have adverse health effects,” Rung said.

DES’ Cyanobacteria Plan states: “On average, blooms have lasted 25 days in New Hampshire in recent years and interfere with recreation, present risks to human, pet, or livestock health and threaten drinking water supplies. Health risks associated with cyanobacteria are a result of the toxins (cyanotoxins) which they can produce. The toxins are known to cause a range of symptoms including, but not limited to, mild gastrointestinal illness or skin rashes to severe acute neurological system failures.”

Referring to Sununu, Rung said, “I’m sure he’s getting a lot of calls. People are really upset. They’re frustrated when the water is unhealthy and it’s state regulated water.”

Rung has a summer home on Lake Kanasatka that has had a lot of trouble with cyanobacteria over the years and worked hard to ameliorate the problem.

“People have to be educated about when the water poses the risk,” Rung said.

She said DES is doing as good a job as possible with only one person working on the cyanobacteria issue. Fertilizer runoff and septic system failures contribute to the problem as does climate warming, she said.

Editor’s Note: Read Paula Tracy’s summer series about lake health here: https://indepthnh.org/series/lake-health-nh/

FIRST FEMALE FISH AND GAME DIRECTOR CONFIRMED

At the meeting, the council also confirmed the nomination of Stephanie Simek of Olympia, Wash., to be the first female Executive Director of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, succeeding Scott R. Mason of Stratford who did not seek reappointment.

Simek will begin her work on Oct. 4 and will be paid $126,384 annually.

She was the unanimous choice of the Fish and Game Commission.

NOMINATIONS/CONFIRMATIONS

Also, the council approved Brad T. Collins of Amherst as a justice of the New Hampshire Circuit Court and Rudolph W. Ogden III of Hooksett to the New Hampshire Superior Court.

The governor also nominated former NH House Speaker Gene Chandler of Bartlett to be the Carroll County member of the Fish and Game Commission.

If confirmed, he will be replacing Susan G. Price of Moultonborough who resigned under pressure following charges she violated state law by allegedly discussing a personnel issue with the department’s human resources director, an allegation she denied.

The governor also nominated for reappointment Albert J. DeRosa of New Durham as the Strafford County representative to the Fish and Game Commission and David R. Poole Jr. of Rumney to replace Paul DeBow of Plymouth as the Grafton County Fish and Game Commissioner.

Sununu also has nominated Michael Panebianco of Concord as justice for the New Hampshire Circuit Court and James Reis of Portsmouth also to the New Hampshire Circuit Court as a justice.

Reporter Nancy West contributed to this report.