Revision: Dec. 14, 2023, 8:37 a.m.
SB 539-FN-A-LOCAL - AS INTRODUCED
2024 SESSION
24-2854
10/05
SENATE BILL 539-FN-A-LOCAL
SPONSORS: Sen. Murphy, Dist 16; Sen. Bradley, Dist 3; Sen. Birdsell, Dist 19; Sen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20; Sen. Carson, Dist 14; Sen. Innis, Dist 7; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Pearl, Dist 17; Rep. Osborne, Rock. 2; Rep. Alexander Jr., Hills. 29; Rep. Mazur, Hills. 44; Rep. C. McGuire, Merr. 27
COMMITTEE: Energy and Natural Resources
-----------------------------------------------------------------
ANALYSIS
This bill establishes a procedure for the department of environmental services to transfer ownership of a dam and associated property to the town or towns in which the dam is located, or to other associations or parties, and includes the authority of the department to make loans from the dam maintenance fund.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
24-2854
10/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Department of Environmental Services; Dams; Transfer Procedures. Amend RSA 482 by inserting after section 51 the following new section:
482:51-a Dams; Transfer to Municipality or Association.
I. At least one year prior to removing any state-owned dam, the department shall offer to transfer ownership of the dam and associated property to the town or towns in which the dam is located, or which contains or borders the impoundment created by the dam. If after 180 days the town or towns have not indicated whether they wish to take ownership of the dam, the department shall offer to transfer ownership of the dam to any association of landowners or any interested parties which have an interest in perpetuating the dam and its impoundment. Those interested parties shall have 90 days to consider whether to accept the transfer of ownership. After those 90 days have elapsed with no accepted offers for a transfer of ownership, the department may proceed with removal of the dam.
II. The procedure in paragraph I shall not apply if, upon receipt of information reasonably believed to be valid, the commissioner of environmental services believes the dam to be in imminent danger of failure and a threat to the lives and property downstream.
III. When offering a transfer of a dam under paragraph I, the department shall provide to the offerees any existing documentation regarding the dams condition, a good faith estimate of costs of necessary repairs, a list of ongoing maintenance, inspection, or licensing needed, and all other relevant information regarding the costs of taking ownership of the dam with associated property.
IV. The department shall develop by administrative rules under RSA 541-A a process by which towns, or other interested parties authorized by town resolution, may apply for a loan necessary for the repair and maintenance of non-state-owned dams. Loans shall be funded by moneys in the dam maintenance fund in RSA 482:55. Loans made from the fund shall accrue interest at the rate of 5 percent per annum, and be amortized over a period of 20 years. Towns shall not have more than one loan from the fund outstanding at a time.
V. Towns accepting a transfer of ownership shall repay these loans by appropriations made in the budget process or by a regular or special meeting, provided the loan amount shall not exceed an amount equal to 50 percent of the local property taxes collected from properties bordering the impoundment. If the sum equal to 50 percent of the property taxes collected from affected properties will not, in the judgment of the department, be sufficient to repay the loan under this section within 20 years, taking into account the 5 percent interest rate, then the department shall not approve the loan. Whether or not a loan is taken shall have no impact upon the obligation of the department to offer the dam transfer pursuant to paragraph I.
2 Dam Maintenance Fund; Purpose Added. Amend RSA 482:55 to read as follows:
482:55 Fund Established. For the state of New Hampshire to meet its commitments to maintain its dams and impoundments and associated property for future generations and promote the safety of the public, there is established a dam maintenance fund to cover the cost of performing work on state-owned dams and property associated with and contiguous to state-owned dam sites, as well as noncontiguous property, such as rainfall and stream gages, that is essential to the safe operation of the dam, and for providing funds for loans for the transfer of dams under RSA 482:51-a. This fund shall be a nonlapsing fund which shall be continually appropriated for the purposes of this section.
3 Appropriation; Dam Maintenance Fund. The sum of $1 is appropriated to the department of environmental services for deposit in the dam maintenance fund established in RSA 482:55, for the purpose of providing loans under RSA 482:51-a. The governor is authorized to draw a warrant for said sum out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.
24-2854
12/4/23
SB 539-FN-A-LOCAL- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT relative to the transfer of dams to municipalities.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
|
| |||||
Estimated State Impact - Increase / (Decrease) | ||||||
| FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | FY 2027 | ||
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
Revenue Fund(s) | None
| |||||
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | ||
Funding Source(s) | General Fund Dam Maintenance Fund | |||||
Appropriations | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
Funding Source(s) | General Fund
| |||||
• Does this bill provide sufficient funding to cover estimated expenditures? [X] No • Does this bill authorize new positions to implement this bill? [X] No | ||||||
METHODOLOGY:
This bill establishes a procedure for the Department of Environmental Services to transfer ownership of a dam and associated property to the town or towns in which the dam is located, or to other associations or parties, and includes the authority of the Department to make loans from the dam maintenance fund.
The Department of Environmental Services indicates the State owns 273 dams. The Department states the potential impact on state expenditures and revenues cannot be determined because the Department does not have a time line of which dams it would be seeking to remove in the future. There may be more than one offer to transfer ownership, or none at all, in any given year.
When offering to transfer a dam, the bill would require the Department to provide documentation relating to the dam and a cost estimate for repairing and maintaining the dam. To properly determine such costs, the Department would need to contract with an engineering consultant to estimate the costs based on current pricing in the construction industry. The cost of contracts is unknown and would depend on the repair needs at the dam, the type of dam, the age of the dam, the condition assessment and the hazard classification of the dam. Consulting contract costs vary depending on the number of dams offered for ownership transfer.
The bill would also require the Department establish a loan program with funds in the Dam Maintenance Fund. The Dam Maintenance Fund only receives revenue from leasing nine state-owned dams to hydropower companies. This income, along with the current balance in the Dam Maintenance Fund, does not cover the costs of major repair projects to state-owned dams. Those costs are covered by appropriations in the Capital Budget. The Dam Maintenance Fund currently only covers overhead expenses and minor repair projects on state-owned dams. The balance in the Dam Maintenance Fund is not sufficient to cover all potential loans. The cost of repairing and maintaining a dam to meet current regulatory standards can range from tens of thousands of dollars to millions of dollars. Since the Dam Maintenance Fund balance currently is insufficient to meet all existing costs associated with state dam ownership, it is unlikely to cover the loan amounts necessary to repair and maintain dams transferred to towns or other parties. The implementation of a loan program with the Dam Maintenance Fund would likely require the Department to fund overhead expenses and minor repair projects with General Funds. Since the number of loans is unknown, the cost to manage those loans is also unknown. Because the life of the loans could be 20 years, these indeterminable costs are expected to extend beyond fiscal year 2027.
The New Hampshire Municipal Association states this bill creates a local option and enables a municipality to take ownership of a state-owned dam and have it transferred to their jurisdiction. The Association indicates, because this is a local option, the bill would have no fiscal impact
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Environmental Services and New Hampshire Municipal Association