SB 337 – VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES
03/27/14 0985s
2014 SESSION
06/04
SENATE BILL 337
AN ACT relative to the recovery of submerged vehicles by the department of environmental services.
SPONSORS: Sen. Woodburn, Dist 1; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 21
COMMITTEE: Energy and Natural Resources
This bill clarifies the responsibilities of the department of environmental services in situations involving abandoned vehicles.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/27/14 0985s
14-2789
06/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fourteen
AN ACT relative to the recovery of submerged vehicles by the department of environmental services.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Water Management; Submerged Vehicles. Amend RSA 485-A:14, IV-V to read as follows:
IV. If the owner refuses or fails to remove a submerged vehicle or container as required by paragraph I, or if no owner can be identified, the department of environmental services may contract for the removal of the vehicle or container in question. The owner of the submerged vehicle or container shall be strictly liable for the costs of removing the vehicle or container and the costs of the investigation, containment, cleanup, removal, and corrective measures associated with the discharge. The cost shall be recoverable by the state in an action of debt brought by the attorney general in the name of the state. [The state] If the owner of the vehicle or container has been identified, the contractor who removes the vehicle or container shall impound [any submerged] the recovered vehicle or container [recovered], at the expense of the owner[,]. No contractor shall release the vehicle or container to the owner until informed by the department that all costs incurred by the state have been paid by the owner of the vehicle or container or that the impounded vehicle or container otherwise may be released. Upon receiving approval from the department to release the impounded vehicle or container, the contractor shall dispose of the impounded vehicle or container in accordance with RSA 262:36-a. If no owner can be identified after reasonable efforts, the contractor who removes the vehicle or container shall deliver the vehicle or container to an appropriate salvage yard. Neither the state nor the contractor shall be liable for such delivery of the vehicle or container to anyone subsequently claiming ownership of the vehicle or container.
V.(a) Any person who fails to remove a submerged or partially submerged vehicle or container, as required by paragraph I, shall be guilty of a violation. Agents of the department of safety, division of state police, or any police officer [having jurisdiction over the water body,] of the municipality in which the vehicle or container is submerged may issue citations for a violation of this section and issue fines of $500 for each day the vehicle remains in the water. No citation or fine so issued shall preclude the department of environmental services from taking action pursuant to subparagraph (b).
(b) The department of environmental services may take action against any person who fails to remove a submerged or partially submerged vehicle or container, as required by paragraph I, in accordance with RSA 485-A:22. No action initiated by the department of environmental services under RSA 485-A:22 shall preclude the issuance of citations and fines pursuant to subparagraph (a).
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.