HB 0599

AN ACT relative to hazardous waste liability.

SPONSORS: Rep. Gilman, Graf 9; Rep. Ingbretson, Graf 13; Rep. Weyler, Rock 79; Rep. E. Blanchard, Merr 38; Rep. Sorg, Graf 11; Sen. Johnson, Dist 2

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.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 Paragraph; Limited Municipal Liability. Amend RSA 147-B:10-a by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraph:

IV. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no municipality or regional planning commission shall be liable for any release or threat of release of hazardous wastes or hazardous materials and resulting damages:

(a) Where the act occurred within the operational boundary of a department-permitted household hazardous waste aggregation depot or a transfer station operated in accordance with a state-approved management plan, and staffed by state certified employees or volunteers at the time of the release or threatened release, where no insurance is present to indemnify the municipality or regional planning commission, and where the municipality or regional planning commission took reasonable efforts to contain the release once known.

(b) Resulting from the transportation of small volumes of household hazardous waste to a household hazardous waste aggregation facility within New Hampshire by an employee or agent of a municipality or regional planning commission, or an independent contractor or independent third party, where such transportation was performed in accordance with all relevant state and federal law and rules, where there is no insurance available to indemnify claims of liability, and where the municipality or regional planning commission took reasonable efforts to contain the release once known.

The Department of Environmental Services has determined this bill may increase state expenditures and decrease local expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2004 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county expenditures or state, county and local revenues.

The Department of Environmental Services has stated this bill limits the liability for municipalities and regional planning commissions for any release or threat of release of hazardous wastes or hazardous materials and resulting damages. The Department assumes this bill will shift liability from the municipalities to the state, thereby potentially reducing local expenditures and increasing state expenditures. The Department cannot predict whether there will be any release or threat of release of hazardous wastes or hazardous materials at these facilities. However, the Department did provide the following analysis:

· There would be no environmental harm from a threat of a release, but there could be costs associated with emergency services to prevent such a release. For example, if a container of hazardous waste became damaged and threatened to leak, or started to leak within a secondary containment area, there would be no environmental harm but it would cost $2,000 to $3,000 to repackage the waste so as not to be a threat.

· The burden of an investigation to determine whether a facility was operating in accordance with a state-approved plan would fall on the Department and the Department of Justice, but that need can't be predicted.

· If there were a release of hazardous waste or material, there could be a significant cost to the State to remediate any environmental damages. The cost would be dependent on the type of material spilled and the level of environmental contamination, but can not be determined. For example, at a site where 55 gallons of hazardous waste leaked to the ground, the cost to fully remediate the spill might be $50,000.

· There could be an unlimited cost to the State from personal liability associated with the release of hazardous waste or hazardous materials.