BillCam

HB 1326-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2024 SESSION

24-2433

08/05

HOUSE BILL 1326-FN

AN ACT relative to notification processes for large groundwater withdrawal applications.

SPONSORS: Rep. Porcelli, Rock. 19; Rep. Bernardy, Rock. 36; Rep. Harley, Rock. 30; Sen. Gannon, Dist 23

COMMITTEE: Resources, Recreation and Development

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ANALYSIS

This bill requires notice of a public meeting requested during the consideration of an application for a large groundwater withdrawal.

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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

24-2433

08/05

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four

AN ACT relative to notification processes for large groundwater withdrawal applications.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Removal of Groundwater; Notice of Public Hearing. Amend RSA 485-C:21, IV to read as follows:

IV.(a) The department shall hold the public hearing within 30 days after the request of the governing body of the municipality or the supplier of water made pursuant to paragraph III. Notice of the hearing shall be made by the applicant and shall be published twice in 2 different weeks, the last publication to be 7 days before the hearing, in one newspaper of general circulation throughout the state and another newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. The notice shall also be posted in 2 public places in the municipality.

(b) The applicant shall provide written notification of the public hearing by mail to all owners of property or residents within a 10,500 foot radius of the project 30 days prior to the public hearing. The department shall adopt rules under RSA 541-A relative to the form of such notice. The list of all persons that are mailed a notice shall be delivered to the town clerk and shall be an addendum to the application.

(c) Persons receiving a written notice under subparagraph (b) shall have 60 days after the public hearing to request from the department of environmental services testing of their wells at no cost to the person.

(d) If based on tests requested under subparagraph (c) monitoring of wells is deemed necessary by the department of environmental services, the persons owning the wells may request reports of well performance for up to one year after the initial test.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

LBA

24-2433

10/30/23

HB 1326-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

AN ACT relative to notification processes for large groundwater withdrawal applications.

FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ X ] Local [ ] None

Estimated State Impact - Increase / (Decrease)

FY 2024

FY 2025

FY 2026

FY 2027

Revenue

Revenue Fund(s)

None

Expenditures

$1,862,000 to $10,662,000

$1,863,000 to $10,663,000

$1,867,000 to $10,667,000

Funding Source(s)

General Fund

Appropriations

Funding Source(s)

None

• Does this bill provide sufficient funding to cover estimated expenditures? [X] No

• Does this bill authorize new positions to implement this bill? [X] No

Estimated Political Subdivision Impact - Increase / (Decrease)

FY 2024

FY 2025

FY 2026

FY 2027

Local Revenue

Local Expenditures

Indeterminable

METHODOLOGY:

The Department of Environmental Services indicates this bill would expand the notification and testing process an applicant for a new large groundwater withdrawal permit must follow when submitting an application for a new permit. The bill adds a requirement to notify all owners of private properties located within a 10,500 foot radius (approximately 12.5 square miles) around the proposed groundwater withdrawal well and include an offer to test each private well on the notified properties, and report the results of testing. The Department provided the following information and assumptions regarding the impact of the bill:

The number of owners of private property that would respond to the notice and request a well test is not determinable. Based on historic response rates from private property owners notified under the current permit process, the Department assumes a 20% response rate.

The number of private properties that would have been mailed notices had this bill been effective for the last five large groundwater withdrawal permit applications submitted by municipality-owned public water system ranges from 1,500 to 3,100 properties. Under this bill, the Department assumed 2,200 properties, on average, would be included in a notification.

The bill does not define the type of testing to be performed on private wells when requested by the owner in response to a notification letter. The Department provided a range of likely fiscal impacts by assuming low and high cost testing programs based on estimates from professional consultant firms performing similar work:
- Low cost test method – automated groundwater level recording of each private well only: $2,000 per test.
- High cost test method – hydraulic response pumping test of each private well only: $12,000 per test.

Proposed RSA 485-C:21,IV(c), appears to indicate the Department would be responsible for completing the testing requirements.

The majority of applications for new large groundwater withdrawals are associated with municipally owned water systems. The Department assumes there would be no impact on local expenditures. However, if the bill intends for the applicants to pay for the proposed tests, the state expenditures for the testing costs, as summarized below, would shift to local expenditures.

The Department prepared the following estimate of the annual fiscal impact of this bill assuming two applications per year from to municipal water systems:

FY 2025

FY 2026

FY 2027

One new Environmentalist III position to administer notifications, analyze testing data and provide the findings.

$102,000

$103,000

$107,000

Testing - Low Estimate 20% X 2,200 =440 tests

@ $2,000 per test= $880,000

2 applications per year.

$1,760,000

Testing - High Estimate 20% X 2,200 =440 tests

@ $12,000 per test= $5,280,000

2 applications per year.

$10,560,000

Low Range Estimate plus Position Cost:

$1,862,000

$1,863,000

$1,867,000

High Range Estimate plus Position Cost:

$10,662,000

$10,663,000

$10,667,000

It is assumed that any fiscal impact would occur after FY 2024.

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Department of Environmental Services