HB 1618 - AS INTRODUCED
2018 SESSION
18-2509
08/04
HOUSE BILL 1618
SPONSORS: Rep. Messmer, Rock. 24; Rep. Cushing, Rock. 21; Rep. McConnell, Ches. 12; Rep. Grassie, Straf. 11; Rep. Knirk, Carr. 3; Rep. Fraser, Belk. 1; Rep. Bean, Rock. 21; Rep. Edgar, Rock. 21; Rep. Chandley, Hills. 22; Sen. Kahn, Dist 10
COMMITTEE: Resources, Recreation and Development
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ANALYSIS
This bill requires the department of environmental services to make rules relative to preflourinated chemicals in ambient water.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
18-2509
08/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eighteen
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Subdivision; UCMR3 List Perfluorochemicals. Amend RSA 485 by inserting after section 16-d the following new subdivision:
UCMR3 List Perfluorochemicals
485:16-e Environmental Protection Agency; UCMR3 List Perfluorochemicals.
The commissioner shall, in consultation with the commissioner of the department of health and human services, within 120 days from the effective date of this section, initiate rulemaking to adopt maximum contaminant limits (MCLs) for EPA UCMR3 List perfluorinated chemicals for public water systems regulated by this chapter. The commissioner shall consider the standards of other states, including the science considered by states with standards lower than those contained in health advisories from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The commissioner shall adopt MCLs that reasonably protect public health, particularly prenatal and early childhood health, and that are reasonably supported by peer reviewed science and independent or government agency studies, provided no MCL shall exceed that contained in any MCL promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The commissioner shall review the newest peer reviewed science and independent or government agency studies every 3 years and undertake rulemaking in order to comply with this paragraph if necessary.
2 New Paragraph; Ambient Groundwater Quality Standards. Amend RSA 485-C:6 by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraph:
IV. The commissioner shall, in consultation with the commissioner of the department of health and human services, within 120 days from the effective date of this paragraph, initiate rulemaking to adopt new or revise the existing ambient groundwater quality standards for EPA UCMR3 List perfluorinated chemicals established in rule in order to comply with this paragraph and shall make public his or her determination. The commissioner shall consider the standards of other states, including the science considered by states with standards lower than those contained in the lifetime health advisory promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The commissioner shall adopt standards that reasonably protect public health, particularly prenatal and early childhood health, and that are reasonably supported by peer reviewed science and independent or government agency studies, provided no standard shall exceed that contained in any standard promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The commissioner shall review the newest peer reviewed science and independent or government agency studies every 3 years and undertake rulemaking in order to comply with this paragraph, if necessary.
3 New Paragraph; Surface Water Quality Standards. Amend RSA 485-A:8 by inserting after paragraph IX the following new paragraph:
X. The commissioner shall, in consultation with the commissioner of the department of health and human services, within 120 days from the effective date of this paragraph, initiate rulemaking to adopt surface water quality standards for EPA UCMR3 List perfluorinated chemicals for surface water regulated by this chapter. The commissioner shall consider the standards and advisories of other states, including the science considered by states with standards lower than those contained in health advisories from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The commissioner shall adopt surface water quality standards that reasonably protect public health, particularly with respect to pregnant women, prenatal and early childhood exposure to fish ingested from surface water bodies, and that are reasonably supported by peer reviewed science and independent or government agency studies, provided no surface water quality standard shall exceed that promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The commissioner shall review the newest peer reviewed science and independent or government agency studies every 3 years and undertake rulemaking in order to comply with this paragraph, if necessary.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
18-2509
1/29/18
HB 1618-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ X ] County [ X ] Local [ ] None
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STATE: | FY 2019 | FY 2020 | FY 2021 | FY 2022 |
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other | |||
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COUNTY: |
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Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
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LOCAL: |
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Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
The Department of Health and Human Services and New Hampshire Municipal Association were originally contacted on January 12, 2018 and again on January 23, 2018 for fiscal note worksheets, which they have not provided as of January 29, 2018.
METHODOLOGY:
This bill requires the Department of Environmental Services to:
Rules to revise or adopt the new standards must be initiated within 120 days of the effective date of the bill. The Commissioner shall review the latest peer reviewed science and independent or government agency studies concerning these standards every three years and update the rules if necessary.
The Department of Environmental Services indicates in order to set and review the standards required by this bill it would, at a minimum need a toxicologist position, starting on July 1, 2018. The salary, benefits and associated costs for this position are estimated at $125,000 in FY 2019, $118,000 in FY 2020, $119,000 in FY 2021 and $124,000 in FY 2022. In addition, the Department assumes contractor support may be required for the tri-annual review of standards and possibly for implementation of the standard. The needed support cannot be determined without knowing what the standards will be and how many regulated municipal, county and private entities are affected.
Regarding the public water systems, laboratory costs for perfluorinated compounds ranges from $180-400 per sample. There are approximately 4,200 active sources of water from public water systems that would need to be routinely sampled if a (MCL) is adopted. The frequency of sampling would be based on the rules adopted by the Department. The frequency of sampling is typically increased or decreased based on previous monitoring results for a given water source. A single round of sampling for locals, counties and other affected entities would range from $756,000 to $1,680,000 and could exceed $1,680,000 depending on how low the standard is set. State, county, local government and private entities own and operate public water systems. Expenditures for these entities cannot be determined in advance because the frequency of sampling and the number of sources of water that may exceed the MCL adopted is not known. The Department’s costs associated with administering compliance with the MCL for PFOA and PFOs cannot be determined because the number of sources that will require mitigation and the frequency of ongoing monitoring cannot be determined.
In order to create ground water and surface water quality standards for PFCs, the Department would require funds to hire a contractor, experienced in PFCs and EPA methodologies for developing aquatic life and human health surface water quality criteria. The Contractor would review existing literature including criteria and assumptions used in other states, and then develop a report with defensible aquatic life and human health surface water criteria and supporting documentation consistent with EPA methodologies for developing aquatic life and human health surface water quality criteria. In order to accomplish this within 120 days, as required by the bill, the cost to conduct this activity would exceed $100,000. In addition, work of the consultant should be augmented with additional monitoring of aquatic species of concern in the state. This would require pairing water quality samples with fish or other organism tissue samples. If the literature surveyed identified a range of values for bioaccumulation, the range could be narrowed by sampling local fish and water. The cost of such a study would likely be about $50,000. Finally, it might benefit the development of a defensible water quality standard to submit it for peer review. The cost of an independent peer review is about $20,000.
The cost to the municipalities could be significant, but can not be determined. Many municipalities operate waste water treatment facilities that discharge treated water to local groundwater or surface waters. Should those surface waters fail to meet the water quality standards, treatment technologies or industrial pretreatment programs, may need to be developed. For larger facilities, the cost of such treatment could be millions of dollars. Municipalities may have firefighting or fire training facilities which have the potential to cause surface water impairments, the remediation costs of which could be high. For counties, the cost is likely to be lower unless contamination is found which originates from a county facility.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties does not expect this bill would have an impact on county revenues or expenditures.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Departments of Environmental Services and Health and Human Services, New Hampshire Association of Counties and New Hampshire Municipal Association
| Date | Body | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 11, 2018 | House | Hearing |
| Feb. 13, 2018 | House | Exec Session |
| House | Floor Vote | |
| March 6, 2018 | House | Floor Vote |
March 6, 2018: Inexpedient to Legislate: MA VV 03/06/2018 HJ 6 P. 54
: Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate (Vote 15-0; CC)
March 6, 2018: Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate for 03/06/2018 (Vote 15-0; CC) HC 9 P. 30
Feb. 13, 2018: Executive Session: 02/13/2018 LOB 305
Jan. 11, 2018: Public Hearing: 01/11/2018 11:30 AM LOB 305
Jan. 3, 2018: Introduced 01/03/2018 and referred to Resources, Recreation and Development HJ 1 P. 17