01-0533

03/10

HOUSE BILL 414

COMMITTEE: Resources, Recreation and Development

ANALYSIS

This bill requires the department of environmental services to develop a statewide management plan for the control of the flows of rivers throughout the state. Administrative rules adopted for the establishment and enforcement of protected instream flow levels for designated rivers and segments shall not take effect until after the department has completed the plan.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

01-0533

03/10

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand One

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

1 Rivers Management and Protection; Establishment of Protected Instream Flows; Rules. Amend RSA 483:9-c, I to read as follows:

I. The commissioner, in consultation with the advisory committee, shall adopt rules under RSA 541-A specifying the standards, criteria, and procedures by which a protected instream flow shall be established and enforced for each designated river or segment. Rules adopted under this paragraph shall not become effective until after the department has completed the statewide management plan required by RSA 483:10-c. Each protected instream flow shall be established and enforced to maintain water for instream public uses and to protect the resources for which the river or segment is designated. Instream public uses shall include the state's interests in surface waters, including, but not limited to, navigation; recreation; fishing; storage; conservation; maintenance and enhancement of aquatic and fish life; fish and wildlife habitat; wildlife; the protection of water quality and public health; pollution abatement; aesthetic beauty; and hydroelectric energy production.

2 New Section; Rivers Management and Protection; Statewide Management Plan. Amend RSA 483 by inserting after section 10-b the following new section:

483:10-c Statewide Management Plan. The department shall develop a statewide management plan for the control of the flows of rivers throughout the state. The plan shall include provisions for the control of dams to minimize artificial low flows, a method for determining flood control releases from dams that minimizes water fluctuation in the rivers, and provisions for a drawdown of the level of water of Lake Winnipesaukee by one inch to 2 inches during low-flow periods.

3 Rivers Management and Protection; Rulemaking; Instream Flow Levels. Amend RSA 483:11, IV to read as follows:

IV. Development of standards, criteria, and procedures for establishment and enforcement of protected instream flow levels for designated rivers and segments under RSA 483:9-c. Rules adopted under this paragraph shall not become effective until after the department has completed the statewide management plan required by RSA 483:10-c.

4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.