HB266 (2011) Detail

Relative to the submission of plans for sewage and waste disposal systems.


HB 266-FN – AS INTRODUCED

2011 SESSION

11-0383

06/03

HOUSE BILL 266-FN

AN ACT relative to the submission of plans for sewage and waste disposal systems.

SPONSORS: Rep. Hunt, Ches 7

COMMITTEE: Resources, Recreation and Development

ANALYSIS

This bill establishes a waiver for the submission of plans for sewage and waste disposal systems.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

11-0383

06/03

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven

AN ACT relative to the submission of plans for sewage and waste disposal systems.

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

1 Sewage Disposal Systems; Rulemaking. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 485-A:41, IV to read as follows:

IV. Adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A and after public hearing, relative to the implementation of this subdivision. The commissioner shall adopt rules relative to the circumstances under which the commissioner may grant a waiver of any rule, except that no waivers of rules relating to site loading or set-back distances to ground or surface waters shall be allowed for sewage or waste disposal systems on lots in subdivisions created after September 1, 1989. For any person proposing to construct a sewage or waste disposal system for any residence constructed prior to 1989, the department shall provide a waiver from any requirement that the number of bedrooms in such residence be submitted as part of the application process. A waiver [must] shall be consistent with the intent of this subdivision and have a just result. In particular, an encroachment waiver shall meet the following criteria:

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

LBAO

11-0383

Revised 01/31/11

HB 266 FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT relative to the submission of plans for sewage and waste disposal systems.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Department of Environmental Services states this bill will have an indeterminable fiscal impact on state and local revenues, and local expenditures. This bill will have no fiscal impact on county revenues or expenditures.

METHODOLOGY:

    The Department of Environmental Services states this bill establishes a waiver regarding the requirement to submit the number of bedrooms in a residence as part of the application process for sewage and waste disposal systems. The Department states septic system approvals are based upon the amount of wastewater flow a lot can support, which is determined by the number of bedrooms in the house. Currently, the load structure will be grandfathered if an applicant can document (typically through municipal records) that the loading existed prior to 1967. If documentation does not exist, and the lot is substandard based on contemporary standards, the lot will be granted approval for only a two bedroom system or for the number of bedrooms the lot can support. The Department states this bill could increase state revenues by an indeterminable amount in FY 2011 through FY 2015 if property owners who could not document the pre-1967 lot loading in a previous application resubmit for reconsideration and pay the application fee. Additionally, to the extent municipalities do site inspections for which they may charge a fee, local revenues and expenditures may increase by an indeterminable amount in FY 2011 through FY 2015. As the number of property owners likely to resubmit is unknown the fiscal impact cannot be determined at this time. Finally, the Department states this bill may reduce state revenues of federal funds if the state is not in compliance with federal regulations for water and waste as a result of this bill.