SB 0406

AN ACT prohibiting the use of reformulated gasoline with watercraft on or in bodies of water that provide public water supplies.

SPONSORS: Sen. Wheeler, Dist 21; Sen. Cohen, Dist 24

This bill prohibits, as of January 1, 2002, the use of reformulated gasoline with any watercraft on or in any body of water that provides the domestic water supply of a city, town, or village. This bill also provides penalty provisions.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

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

1 New Section; Water Management and Protection; New Hampshire Safe Drinking Water Act; Water Pollution Control; Use of Reformulated Gasoline on Certain Water Bodies Prohibited. Amend RSA 485 by inserting after section 17 the following new section:

I. As of January 1, 2002, in Coos, Carroll, Grafton, Sullivan, Belknap, and Cheshire counties, reformulated gasoline shall not be used with any watercraft on or in any lake, pond, reservoir, or stream tributary thereto, from which the domestic water supply of a city, town, or village is taken.

II. As of January 1, 2002, in Strafford, Rockingham, Hillsborough, and Merrimack counties, reformulated gasoline shall not be used with any watercraft on or in any lake, pond, reservoir, or stream tributary thereto, from which the domestic water supply of a city, town, or village is taken if the waiver requested pursuant to 1999, 313:1; V(d) has been granted.

III. A person who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor if a natural person or guilty of a felony if any other person.

2 Contingent Repeal. RSA 485:17-a, III, relative to prohibiting the use of reformulated gasoline in certain counties, is repealed.

3 Applicability of Contingent Repeal. The repeal of RSA 485:17-a, III pursuant to section 2 of this act shall take effect on the date that the waiver requested pursuant to section 1 of this act from the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is denied; provided, however, that such repeal shall not take effect after January 1, 2002. The commissioner of environmental services shall certify to the secretary of state that the waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency has been denied.

I. Section 2 of this act shall take effect as provided in section 3 of this act.

The Department of Environmental Services has determined that this bill will have an indeterminable fiscal impact on state revenue in FY 2000 and each fiscal year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county, and local expenditures or county and local revenues.

The Department of Environmental Services has stated that this bill will specifically make the discharging of effluent from gasoline-powered engines on surface water supplies a violation of the State Safe Drinking Water Act, RSA 485. The Department estimates that since virtually all gasoline-powered machines inadvertently discharge some levels of gasoline, virtually all operations of these engines would result in violations. Therefore, in effect, this bill would prohibit gasoline-powered watercraft from all drinking water supply surfaces throughout New Hampshire. These waters include the Connecticut River, the Merrimack River, Lake Sunapee and Lake Winnipesaukee. The Department has stated that there are an undetermined number of motor boats that operate on these waters, over an undeterminable amount of hours per year. Since the State's lakes and rivers are a significant source of income to the state, eliminating the boating, fishing, water-skiing, and other recreational resources would have an indeterminable fiscal impact on recreation and tourism in New Hampshire. The Department has determined that losses could include, but would not be limited to:

· A decrease in the gasoline tax revenues since less people would be traveling to the state and less gasoline would be purchased for boating;

· A decrease in the rooms and meals tax since the hospitality industry would experience a decline in hotel/motel and rental unit reservations, and there would be fewer people patronizing restaurants in waterfront communities across the State; and

· A decrease in employment opportunities at the local and state level if fewer people recreate in New Hampshire, the demand for jobs would decline.

The Department of Environmental Services has stated that given the above variables, determining the economic impact of this legislation is not possible. The Department has stated that the number of violations, citations, and fines received are also indeterminable.