CHAPTER 125
HB 281 - FINAL VERSION
14Feb2019... 0214h
2019 SESSION
19-0572
04/08
HOUSE BILL 281
SPONSORS: Rep. Myler, Merr. 10; Rep. Wallner, Merr. 10
COMMITTEE: Fish and Game and Marine Resources
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill allows for the installation of flow devices to discourage beaver damming and to minimize the risk of flooding behind an existing beaver dam.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
14Feb2019... 0214h 19-0572
04/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nineteen
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
125:1 Protection of Beaver; Flow Devices. Amend RSA 210:9, II and II-a to read as follows:
II. Notwithstanding paragraph I or any other provision of law or rule [of the executive director or the department of environmental services], a landowner, the landowner's agent, or any town or municipal or state official or employee, may destroy beaver, remove beaver dams, or install [beaver pipes or beaver fences] one or more flow devices on property under their control to protect property, public highways, or bridges from damage or submersion. The landowner or property owner shall be responsible for maintaining the flow device. Complete or partial dam removal or the installation or removal of a flow device shall be allowed without a permit under RSA 482-A if machinery does not enter the water and filling or dredging in or adjacent to surface water, wetlands, or their banks does not occur[. Removal] and shall be done in a gradual manner that does not allow a sudden release of impounded water so as to cause erosion, siltation, or a safety hazard downstream.
II-a. For purposes of paragraph II, the term ["beaver pipes" means no more than 3 temporary structures with the widest dimension no larger than 15 inches that is placed in a beaver dam to allow water passage to maintain a specific water surface elevation, and the term "beaver fences" means posts and fencing installed at culverts in such a manner as to either encourage or discourage beaver damming against the fence] "flow device" means one or more fence structures or other combination of fencing and piping used to discourage beaver damming, maintain water flow through an existing beaver dam, or minimize the risk of flooding by preventing the further impoundment of water behind a beaver dam.
125:2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: June 25, 2019
Effective Date: August 24, 2019
| Date | Body | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 22, 2019 | House | Hearing |
| Jan. 29, 2019 | House | Exec Session |
| Jan. 29, 2019 | House | Exec Session |
| Feb. 5, 2019 | House | Exec Session |
| House | Floor Vote | |
| Feb. 14, 2019 | House | Floor Vote |
| March 26, 2019 | Senate | Hearing |
| May 15, 2019 | Senate | Floor Vote |
June 25, 2019: Signed by Governor Sununu 06/25/2019; Chapter 125; Eff: 08/24/2019
May 23, 2019: Enrolled 05/23/2019 HJ 16 P. 51
May 30, 2019: Enrolled (In recess 05/30/2019); SJ 19
May 15, 2019: Ought to Pass: MA, VV; OT3rdg; 05/15/2019; SJ 16
May 15, 2019: Committee Report: Ought to Pass, 05/15/2019; Vote 5-0; CC SC 22
March 26, 2019: Hearing: 03/26/2019, Room 103, SH, 10:00 am; SC 15
March 7, 2019: Introduced 03/07/2019 and Referred to Energy and Natural Resources; SJ 8
Feb. 14, 2019: Ought to Pass with Amendment 2019-0214h (NT): MA VV 02/14/2019 HJ 5 P. 13
Feb. 14, 2019: Amendment # 2019-0214h (NT): AA VV 02/14/2019 HJ 5 P. 13
Feb. 14, 2019: Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2019-0214h (NT) for 02/14/2019 (Vote 20-0; CC) HC 11 P. 6
: Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2019-0214h (Vote 20-0; CC)
Feb. 5, 2019: ==CONTINUED== Executive Session: 02/05/2019 01:00 pm LOB 206-208
Jan. 29, 2019: ==RECESSED== Executive Session: 01/29/2019 01:00 pm LOB 307
Jan. 29, 2019: Subcommittee Work Session: 01/29/2019 11:30 am LOB 307
Jan. 22, 2019: Public Hearing: 01/22/2019 01:00 pm LOB 307
Jan. 2, 2019: Introduced 01/02/2019 and referred to Fish and Game and Marine Resources HJ 2 P. 44