Revision: Feb. 17, 2017, 9:31 a.m.
SB 240-FN-LOCAL - AS INTRODUCED
2017 SESSION
17-0926
08/10
SENATE BILL 240-FN-LOCAL
AN ACT allowing owners of certain contaminated wells access to municipal water systems.
SPONSORS: Sen. Innis, Dist 24; Sen. Bradley, Dist 3; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 21; Sen. Gannon, Dist 23; Rep. Messmer, Rock. 24; Rep. Cushing, Rock. 21; Rep. Malloy, Rock. 23; Rep. H. Marsh, Rock. 22; Rep. Bean, Rock. 21
COMMITTEE: Public and Municipal Affairs
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This bill allows owners of certain contaminated wells access to public water 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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
17-0926
08/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seventeen
AN ACT allowing owners of certain contaminated wells access to municipal water systems.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Contaminated Wells; Access to Municipal Water. Amend RSA 486-A by inserting after section 15 the following new section:
486-A:16 Contaminated Wells; Access to Municipal Water. If a well is discovered to be contaminated by man-made contaminants and a test one year to the date of such discovery shows a 10 percent or more increase in such man-made contaminants, then the owner of such well shall be connected to the public water system at cost to the municipality in which such well is located.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
17-0926
1/31/17
SB 240-FN-LOCAL- FISCAL NOTE
as introduced
AN ACT allowing owners of certain contaminated wells access to municipal water systems.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ X ] Local [ ] None
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| Estimated Increase / (Decrease) | |||
STATE: | FY 2018 | FY 2019 | FY 2020 | FY 2021 |
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other | |||
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LOCAL: |
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Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
The New Hampshire Municipal Association was originally contacted on January 10, 2017, with followup contact on January 19, 2017, for a fiscal note worksheet, which the Association has not provided as of January 31, 2017.
METHODOLOGY:
This bill requires municipalities to connect private wells to public water systems, at a cost to the municipality, in the event a private well has been found to have a 10 percent increase in man-made containments in a year. The Department of Environmental Services states there are about 2,500 public water systems and more than 250,000 private wells in New Hampshire. The Department assumes that thousands of wells could experience a 10 percent increase in a given year as a result of the criterion established in this bill. The costs to connect all of the qualifying private wells that experience a 10 percent increase in man-made containments to public water systems could be in the tens of millions of dollars each year. In instances where private wells are located several miles from a public water system, the distance, geography, and terrain could make such projects very costly. This bill does not explicitly charge the Department of Environmental Services with any specific role in administering the provisions of this bill. However, if the Department were to play a role in administering the new law then it could incur substantial additional costs.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states this bill will have no impact on county expenditures or revenue.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Environmental Services, New Hampshire Municipal Association, and New Hampshire Association of Counties