hb 0517

CHAPTER 174

HB 517-LOCAL - FINAL VERSION

AN ACT relative to supply of water by village districts, and authorizing Carroll county to operate a public water system.

SPONSORS: Rep. Chandler, Carr 1

This bill provides that the public utilities commission shall hold public hearings concerning expansions of water district franchise areas, and that any change of boundaries be ratified in the same manner as the initial establishment of the district. This bill allows a property owner to connect to municipal water supplies at his or her discretion.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

AN ACT relative to supply of water by village districts, and authorizing Carroll county to operate a public water system.

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

174:1 New Section; Village District Water Systems. Amend RSA 38 by inserting after section 25 the following new section:

38:25-a Village District Hearings. Prior to authorizing the expansion of a franchise area of a water company owned or operated by a water village district, the public utilities commission shall, after notice, hold a public hearing in each town or city in which the village district is located, at which it shall hear testimony and receive evidence from any interested party.

I. The selectmen of towns in which any such district has been established upon petition, after notice to parties interested and a hearing, may change the boundaries thereof; and the district shall cause the petition and the return of the selectmen's proceedings and decision thereon to be recorded in the records of the district, and of the towns in which it is situated, within 60 days after the decision.

II. In the case of any district formed for the purpose of impoundment of water, any such change of boundaries shall be ratified before taking effect by the voters residing in the district and in any area proposed to be added to the district in the same manner as is required for the initial establishment of the district.

III. In the case of any district formed for the purpose of the supply of water for domestic and fire purposes, which may include the protection of sources of supply, any such change of boundaries shall be ratified before taking effect by the voters residing in the district and in any area proposed to be added to the district in the same manner as is required for the initial establishment of the district.

174:3 New Paragraph; Water Companies, When Public Utilities. Amend RSA 362:4 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:

V. No property owner shall be required to connect to a municipal corporation furnishing water, provided such property owner can demonstrate the ability to comply with the requirements of RSA 485-A:29 and RSA 485-A:30-b.

174:4 New Paragraph; Jurisdiction. Amend RSA 23:1-a by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph:

III. In addition to the powers conferred by paragraphs I and II, the county of Carroll is further empowered to exercise jurisdiction over, to operate, and maintain a public water system within the borders of the town of Ossipee, notwithstanding that such areas are not adjacent to county buildings.

174:5 Authority for the County of Carroll to Operate and Maintain a Public Water System.

I. The county of Carroll is hereby empowered to exercise jurisdiction over, operate, and maintain a public water system within the borders of the town of Ossipee.

II. In addition to the jurisdiction, authority, and powers conferred by paragraph I, the county of Carroll and the Carroll county commissioners are hereby vested with the like powers and duties held by municipalities of the state of New Hampshire, to the extent not inconsistent with state law relative to the authority of county governments.

III. The county of Carroll and the Carroll county commissioners are authorized and empowered to enter upon, take and appropriate any springs, streams, or ponds, not belonging to the county, to construct reservoirs, to make excavations through, over, in, or upon any land or enclosure, street, highway, way, or lane through which it may be necessary to pass or lay its pipes, to construct reservoirs and water works, and to repair and maintain them.

IV. The county of Carroll and the Carroll county commissioners are authorized and empowered to contract with individuals or corporations for supplying said county with water, to make such other contracts, to establish such regulations, tolls, rates, and charges for the use of water systems and facilities, and to collect charges and create liens upon the real estate where such services are furnished, as may from time to time be deemed proper.

V. All acts taken prior to the effective date of this act by the county of Carroll, the Carroll county commissioners, and the officers and agents of said county, in constructing, maintaining, and operating a public water system within the town of Ossipee are hereby legalized, ratified, and affirmed.