New Hampshire HB 707: relative to settlement money from actions pertaining to the contamination of groundwater or drinking water.

Bill Text

HB 707-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

26Mar2025... 1041h

01/07/2026 3050s

05/14/2026 1932s

2025 SESSION

 25-0579

 08/09

HOUSE BILL 707

AN ACT establishing a solid waste site evaluation committee.

SPONSORS: Rep. Potenza, Straf. 19; Rep. B. Boyd, Hills. 12; Rep. N. Germana, Ches. 15; Rep. Haskins, Rock. 11; Rep. S. King, Coos 4; Rep. J. Aron, Sull. 4; Rep. Noble, Hills. 2; Rep. Burroughs, Carr. 2; Rep. Gruber, Ches. 16; Rep. Schmidt, Straf. 14; Sen. Fenton, Dist 10; Sen. Ricciardi, Dist 9; Sen. Rochefort, Dist 1

COMMITTEE: Environment and Agriculture

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AMENDED ANALYSIS

 This bill establishes a solid waste site evaluation committee.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

 Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

 Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

26Mar2025... 1041h

01/07/2026 3050s

05/14/2026 1932s 25-0579

 08/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Five

AN ACT establishing a solid waste site evaluation committee.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 1 New Subdivision; Solid Waste Site Evaluation Committee. Amend RSA 149-M by inserting after section 64 the following new subdivision:

Solid Waste Site Evaluation Committee

 149-M:65 Declaration of Purpose.

 I. The legislature and the executive branch recognize that the selection of sites for major solid waste disposal facilities may have significant statewide, regional, and local impacts that are not fully evaluated through existing regulatory review.

 II. Accordingly, the general court finds that it is in the public interest to establish a procedure to evaluate the local, regional, and statewide benefits and burdens of a new major solid waste facility that are not captured by existing regulatory reviews, including public health and safety, noise, odor, aesthetics, local and regional economic impacts, property value impacts, nature and source of waste, need, impacts on tourism, recreation and traffic, and other similar impacts.

 III. Furthermore, the general court recognizes there is a compelling state interest in maintaining adequate, reasonably priced, and environmentally protective disposal capacity for solid waste generated in New Hampshire.

 IV. The general court prefers that new landfill capacity be developed in expansions of existing permitted landfills or brownfield sites instead of on greenfield sites.

 149-M:66 Definitions. In this subdivision:

 I. “Acceptance” means a determination by the committee that it finds that the application is complete and ready for consideration. 

 II. “Administrator” means the administrator of the site evaluation committee established pursuant to RSA 162-H:3-a.

 III. “Affected municipality” means any municipality or unincorporated place in which any part of a major solid waste disposal facility is proposed to be located and any municipality or unincorporated place from which any part of the proposed major solid waste disposal facility will be visible or audible, including off-site traffic impacts.

 IV. “Certificate” means the document issued by the committee, containing such terms and conditions as the committee deems appropriate, that authorizes the applicant to proceed with the proposed site and facility.

 V. “Commence construction” means any clearing of the land, excavation or other substantial action that would result in long-term impacts to the site of the proposed facility, but does not include land surveying, optioning or acquiring land or rights in land, changes desirable for temporary use of the land for public recreational uses, necessary subsurface explorations to determine hydrogeologic and soil conditions, work required as part of an application to any federal, state, or local authority, or other preconstruction monitoring or testing to establish background information related to the suitability of the site for the proposed use.

 VI. “Committee” means the solid waste evaluation committee established by this subdivision.

 VII. “Department” means the department of environmental services.

 VIII. “Filing” means the date on which the application is first submitted to the committee.

 IX. "Human health" is defined to be consistent with "public health and safety" as that term is utilized in RSA 162-H.

 X. "Landfill expansion" means an addition to the permitted capacity of an existing facility as defined in RSA 149-M:4, IX.

 XI. “Major solid waste disposal facility” means a location, system, or physical structure for the collection, separation, storage, transfer, processin