Revision: Dec. 23, 2019, 5:30 p.m.
SB 496-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2020 SESSION
20-2809
08/05
SENATE BILL 496-FN
AN ACT relative to municipal water pollution control.
SPONSORS: Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 21; Sen. Chandley, Dist 11; Sen. Levesque, Dist 12; Rep. Spang, Straf. 6
COMMITTEE: Energy and Natural Resources
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ANALYSIS
This bill allows aid to municipal water systems to achieve compliance with maximum contaminant limits for perfluorinated chemicals.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
20-2809
08/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty
AN ACT relative to municipal water pollution control.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Aid to Public Water Systems; Maximum Contaminant Limits; Perfluorochemicals. Amend RSA 486-A by inserting after section 3 the following new section:
486-A:3-a Maximum Contaminant Limits; Perfluorochemicals.
I. Any public water system which is or was required, beginning September 30, 2019, to achieve compliance with the rules of the New Hampshire department of environmental services adopted pursuant to RSA 485:16-e relative to the maximum contaminant limit for perfluorochemicals shall be eligible for a state contribution. As its contribution, the state shall pay 40 percent of the capital costs associated with compliance with the rules adopted pursuant to RSA 485:16-e and 40 percent of the costs for disposal of perfluorochemical contaminated media.
II. An additional 10 percent contribution shall be provided when such installation or construction will result in user fees that are 20 percent above the statewide average for residential customers.
2 New Section; Aid to Municipalities for Water Pollution Control; Perfluorochemicals. Amend RSA 486 by inserting after section 1-a the following new section:
486:1-b Perfluorochemicals.
I. Notwithstanding the provisions of RSA 486:1, beginning September 30, 2019, the state of New Hampshire shall pay 40 percent of the incremental costs resulting from the acquisition and construction of sewage disposal facilities by municipalities (meaning counties, cities, towns, or village districts) for compliance with administrative rules pertaining to perfluorochemicals adopted in accordance with RSA 485-C:6 and 40 percent of the costs for disposal of perfluorochemical contaminated sewer residuals.
II. An additional 10 percent contribution shall be provided when such installation or construction will result in user fees that are 20 percent above the statewide average for residential customers.
3 Municipal Immunity for Compliance with Best Practices; Pollutant Liability Standard. Amend RSA 507-B:9, I to read as follows:
I. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the liability of any governmental unit or public employee for any personal injury, bodily injury, or property damage caused by or resulting from pollutant incidents including but not limited to perfluorochemical contamination shall only be based upon a showing by a preponderance of the evidence that the acts or omissions of the governmental unit were unreasonable. The acts or omissions of a governmental unit or public employee shall be conclusively presumed to be reasonable if they are in accord with the generally prevailing state of the art, scientific knowledge, and technology available to the governmental unit at the time the acts or omissions were undertaken or made by the governmental unit or public employee.
4 Repeal. 2019, 346:83, relative to state aid grants; department of environmental services, is repealed.
5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.
20-2809
12/12/19
SB 496-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT relative to municipal water pollution control.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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STATE: | FY 2020 | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 |
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other | |||
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COUNTY: |
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Revenue | $0 | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
Expenditures | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
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LOCAL: |
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Revenue | $0 | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
Expenditures | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
METHODOLOGY:
This bill makes public water systems, which are required to achieve compliance with the State’s administrative rules relative to maximum contaminant limits (MCLs) for perfluorochemicals (PFAS), eligible for a state contribution equal to 40% of the capital cost associated with compliance. The state contribution is 50% if the installation or construction increases user fees to 20 percent above the state average for residential customers. A state contribution of 40% would also be available for acquisition and construction of sewage disposal facilities by municipalities for compliance with the administrative rules pertaining to PFAS and for the disposal of PFAS contaminated media. The additional 10% state contribution is also if these costs result in user fees 20% higher than the State average. The bill allows for municipal immunity from unknowingly causing PFAS contamination. The bill also repeals the moratorium on state aid grants for drinking water, wastewater and landfills. The Department of Environmental Services cannot estimate the fiscal impact of this portion of the bill as there are likely eligible projects for which funding will be sought.
The Department states the sampling of public water systems has not been completed and the compliance costs are indeterminable at this time. The Department can provide the range of possible costs for public water system treatment and operation and maintenance costs that were developed as part of the rulemaking process. That analysis assumes 9% of sources of public water would need to be treated, estimated an associated water volume, and looked at a range of potential costs using data from currently treating systems. The cost estimate for treatment ranged from $65 million to $142.8 million with annual operating and maintenance costs estimated to be between $6.9 and $13.4 million. The Department indicates this is a high estimate assuming all contaminated sources will need treatment vs. blending water from other sources or taking the contaminated source off line. The Department states there is no way to differentiate between municipally or county owned facilities until the systems are actually sampled in accordance with the new rule. Currently, a minority of the systems have been sampled and it is not possible to estimate the aid these systems would receive. Until the sampling is complete, there is no way to estimate the number of systems that would be eligible for the higher state contribution of 50%.
Regarding aid to municipalities for acquisition and construction of sewage disposal facilities to comply with the new PFAS standards and disposal of wastewater residuals, the Department assumes the aid provided would be for the 33 municipalities that discharge some portion of their wastewater and/or residuals onto or into the ground in lagoons, large septic systems, rapid infiltration basins and spray irrigation under a groundwater discharge permit. A cost of $5 million was estimated for all groundwater discharge permitted facilities as part of the PFAS rulemaking related to ambient groundwater quality standards (AGQSs). Sufficient sampling has not occurred to determine cost estimates specific to municipal, county or state owned permitted facilities. The $5 million estimate included testing and, for discharges with PFAS above the AGQS, re-evaluation of the groundwater discharge zone, installation of additional monitoring wells, investigation of the PFAS source and treatment of impacted down-gradient wells. There is insufficient information to determine the incremental costs associated with residuals disposal if a municipality had to change their current disposal practices such as, if land application of residuals resulted in the violation of a PFAS AGQS.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Environmental Services