Gov. Chris Sununu has vetoed a bill that the construction industry has said would hamstring new development projects.

“New Hampshire currently has sound and responsible protections for wetlands and our environment,” Sununu wrote in his veto message. “This bill adds unnecessary regulations to those laws and does not properly account for property owners who could be negatively affected by them.”

House Bill 326’s supporters said their measure, which expanded the definition of a “prime wetland” was intended at closing loopholes that left the borders and extensions of some wetlands open to development. Currently, prime wetlands must be at least 50 feet wide and at least 2 acres in size. The bill would have allowed municipalities to set narrower definitions for wetlands by including places that made a “significant contribution” to wetlands’ functions as habitats and flood control tools.

The House of Representatives had passed the bill in March, but by a margin significantly short of a veto-proof majority, the New Hampshire Business Journal reported.