HB 1289 - AS INTRODUCED
2000 SESSION
HOUSE BILL 1289
AN ACT relative to defining surface waters, relative to septage and sludge spreading, and relative to rulemaking by the commissioner of the department of environmental services.
COMMITTEE: Resources, Recreation and Development
This bill:
I. Clarifies the jurisdiction of the department of environmental services with respect to surface waters.
II. Limits the notice of septage and sludge spreading requirements to spreading within 500 feet of a residence.
III. Establishes certain requirements for rulemaking by the commissioner of the department of environmental services relative to water pollution and waste disposal.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
00-2208
03/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand
AN ACT relative to defining surface waters, relative to septage and sludge spreading, and relative to rulemaking by the commissioner of the department of environmental services.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Public Health; Oil Discharge or Spillage in Surface Water or Groundwater; Definitions; Surface Water; Streams. Amend RSA 146-A:2, VI-b to read as follows:
VI-b. "Surface water" means perennial and seasonal streams, lakes, ponds, and tidal waters within the jurisdiction of the state, including all streams, lakes, or ponds bordering on the state, marshes, watercourses, and other bodies of water, natural or artificial;
2 New Paragraphs; Public Health; Oil Discharge or Spillage in Surface Water or Groundwater; Definitions; Perennial and Seasonal Streams. Amend RSA 146-A:2 by inserting after paragraph XIII the following new paragraphs:
XIV. "Perennial stream" means a watercourse flowing at least 9 months of the year, in 6 out of 10 years. Perennial streams have a bed and are contained within banks.
XV. "Seasonal stream" means a stream that flows for sufficient time to remove vegetation and to develop and maintain a defined channel, with evidence of sediment transport; does not meet the definition of perennial stream; and is either:
(a) Connected downstream to another jurisdictional area; or
(b) Is greater than 75 feet in continuous length measured along the channel.
3 Public Health; Underground Storage Facilities; Definitions; Surface Water; Streams. Amend RSA 146-C:1, XVII to read as follows:
XVII. "Surface water" means perennial and seasonal streams, lakes, ponds, and tidal waters within the jurisdiction of the state, including all streams, lakes, or ponds bordering on the state, marshes, watercourses, and other bodies of water, natural or artificial.
4 New Paragraphs; Public Health; Underground Storage Facilities; Definitions; Perennial and Seasonal Streams. Amend RSA 146-C:1 by inserting after paragraph XVIII the following new paragraphs:
XIX. "Perennial stream" means a watercourse flowing at least 9 months of the year, in 6 out of 10 years. Perennial streams have a bed and are contained within banks.
XX. "Seasonal stream" means a stream that flows for sufficient time to remove vegetation and to develop and maintain a defined channel, with evidence of sediment transport; does not meet the definition of perennial stream; and is either:
(a) Connected downstream to another jurisdictional area; or
(b) Is greater than 75 feet in continuous length measured along the channel.
5 Water Management and Protection; Fill and Dredge in Wetlands; Definition; Bank or Shore. Amend RSA 482-A:4, II to read as follows:
II. Wherever fresh water flows or stands and in all areas above tidal waters not included in paragraph I of this section, it shall apply (in addition to great ponds or lakes of 10 acres or more in natural area as provided for in RSA 482-A:16-20 and RSA 482-A:21-25) to those portions of great ponds or lakes created by the raising of the water level of the same, whether by public or private structure, and to all surface waters of the state as defined in RSA 485-A:2 which contain fresh water, including the portion of any bank or shore which [borders] is within 20 feet of such surface waters, and to any swamp or bog subject to periodical flooding by fresh water including the surrounding shore.
6 Water Management and Protection; Water Pollution and Waste Disposal; Definitions; Surface Waters of the State; Streams. Amend RSA 485-A:2, XIV to read as follows:
XIV. "Surface waters of the state" means perennial and seasonal streams, lakes, ponds, and tidal waters within the jurisdiction of the state, including all streams, lakes, or ponds bordering on the state, marshes, water courses, and other bodies of water, natural or artificial.
7 New Paragraphs; Water Management and Protection; Water Pollution and Waste Disposal; Definitions; Perennial and Seasonal Streams. Amend RSA 485-A:2 by inserting after paragraph XXI the following new paragraphs:
XXII. "Perennial stream" means a watercourse flowing at least 9 months of the year, in 6 out of 10 years. Perennial streams have a bed and are contained within banks.
XXIII. "Seasonal stream" means a stream that flows for sufficient time to remove vegetation and to develop and maintain a defined channel, with evidence of sediment transport; does not meet the definition of perennial stream; and is either:
(a) Connected downstream to another jurisdictional area; or
(b) Is greater than 75 feet in continuous length measured along the channel.
8 Water Management and Protection; Water Pollution and Waste Disposal; Notice of Septage or Sludge Spreading; Limitation. Amend RSA 485-A:5-c, I to read as follows:
I. No person shall spread within 500 feet of a residence septage or sludge as defined in RSA 485-A:2 before providing all property owners abutting the spreading site with written notice of the intended date and location of the spreading. Such notice shall be provided by publishing a notice at least 14 days before the intended date of the first spreading of septage or sludge each year in a newspaper of general circulation in the town or city.
9 Water Management and Protection; Water Pollution and Waste Disposal; Rulemaking; Septage and Sludge Permits; Alternative Disposal. Amend RSA 485-A:6, X-a to read as follows:
X-a. The requirements for permits under RSA 485-A:4, XVI-a and XVI-b. Such rules shall include provisions for alternative disposal of septage and sludge.
10 New Section; Water Management and Protection; Water Pollution and Waste Disposal; Standards for Rules. Amend RSA 485-A by inserting after section 6 the following new section:
485-A:6-a Standards for Rules. Rules adopted under RSA 485-A:6 that involve a risk to health, safety, or the environment shall be consistent with current, peer-reviewed scientific literature.
11 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.