Title L, Water Management and Protection

If the department shall require the abandonment of any such emergency source the person, corporation or association aggrieved by such action shall have an appeal to the superior court, said appeal to be taken within 30 days from the receipt of the order from said department, and …

The department, any authorized representative, any authorized representative of any agency operating under a memorandum of agreement with the department, or any town or city health officer may enter any land or establishment for the purpose of administering the provisions of this…

Whoever violates any of the provisions of RSA 485:8-13, but not RSA 485:8, II, or fails to comply with the lawful orders and requirements of the department duly made pursuant to those sections, or whoever hinders or obstructs any inspector in the pursuit of his lawful duty in res…

I. The department may issue a written cease and desist order against any violation of this chapter or rule adopted under this chapter. Local health officers shall have concurrent power to issue such orders. Such orders shall set out the specific acts which are alleged to be in vi…

If the department finds that an emergency has arisen from failure of or casualty to facilities for the control of pollution, the department may, if it finds that the best interests of the public will not unduly suffer, authorize any person for a reasonable time to discharge sewag…

I. The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of health and human services, shall adopt primary and secondary drinking water standards pursuant to RSA 485:3, and ambient groundwater quality standards pursuant to RSA 485-C:6, applicable to MTBE. The commissioner shall…

I. Except as provided for in RSA 485:16-d, the commissioner shall seek all necessary authorizations from the Environmental Protection Agency to opt out of the federal reformulated gasoline program as soon as possible, but in no case later than January 1, 2004. The department of e…

In order to reduce air emissions and receive federal credit for such reductions, the commissioner shall be authorized to establish limits on the manufacture, use, or sale of consumer products in accordance with RSA 125-C:6, XVII.

I. The commissioner is authorized to promote such regional or federal efforts as may be required to reduce the ongoing contamination threat posed by MTBE and other gasoline ethers, including but not limited to efforts to eliminate the federal oxygen mandate in the federal Clean A…

I. The maximum contaminant levels for the following shall be: (a) Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA): 12 parts per trillion. (b) Perfluoroctanesulfonic acid (PFOS): 15 parts per trillion. (c) Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS): 18 parts per trillion. (d) Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA…

I. Any person proposing to dredge, excavate, place fill, mine, prospect, transport forest products or undertake construction in or on the border of the surface waters of the state, and any person proposing to significantly alter the characteristics of the terrain, in such a manne…

Actions of the department under RSA 485-C:16 may be appealed in accordance with RSA 21-O:14.

I. If a person shall recklessly place, leave, or cause to be placed or left, in or near a lake, pond, reservoir or stream tributary thereto, from which the domestic water supply of a city, town, or village is taken, in whole or in part, any material, substance, or fluid that may …

I. Public and private schools and licensed child care facilities shall take measures to limit exposure to lead in drinking water by: (a) Within 180 days of the effective date of this section, installing and providing access to water bottle filling stations in accordance with para…

I. Any authorized member or agent of the department may enter any land or establishment for the purpose of collecting information that may be necessary to the purposes of this chapter and no owner of such establishment shall refuse to admit any such member or employee. II. The de…

The health officer of the town, or the water commissioners having charge of the water supply, or the proprietors of the water supply, may remove such material, substance, or fluid and may recover the expense of removal from the person who placed the same, or caused it to be place…

The commissioner may impose an administrative fine not to exceed $4,000 for each offense upon any person who violates any provision of this chapter or any rule, permit or order adopted or issued under this chapter. Each day of violation shall constitute a separate offense. Appeal…

I. Any person who knowingly violates this chapter, or any rule, permit, or order adopted or issued under this chapter; or who knowingly or recklessly makes any material false statement in any document required to be filed or maintained pursuant to this chapter; or who knowingly o…

The procedure for rehearings and appeal shall be that prescribed by RSA 21-O:14.

Whenever such bond is given by a person not a resident of the state, it shall contain an appointment of an agent or attorney within the state upon whom service of any notice or process whatever may be made.

In this chapter: I. "Ambient groundwater quality standards" means maximum concentration levels for regulated contaminants in groundwater which result from human operations or activities, as delineated in RSA 485-C:6. II. "Best management practice" means schedules of activities, p…

In this chapter: I. "Community water system" means "community water system" as defined in RSA 485:1-a. II. "Department" means the department of environmental services. [Paragraph III effective until September 8, 2026; see also paragraph III set out below.] III. "Drinking water st…

In this chapter: I. "Alliance" means the Southeast Watershed Alliance. II. "Associated waters" means freshwater surface waters and groundwater located in the coastal watershed, which contribute flows downstream to the state's coastal water resources. III. "Coastal watershed" mean…

In this chapter: I. "Department" means the department of environmental services. II. "Trust fund" means the drinking water and groundwater trust fund established in RSA 6-D:1.

I. "Developed waterfront" property means any parcel of land upon which stands a structure suitable for either seasonal or year-round human occupancy, where such parcel of land is contiguous to or within 250 feet of the reference line, as defined in RSA 483-B:4, XVII, of: (a) A fr…

There is established within the department of environmental services the New Hampshire coastal program to implement 16 U.S.C. section 1452, the Coastal Zone Management Act. It is the intent of the state to encourage and assist state and federal agencies and coastal zone municipal…

This chapter shall be administered by the department, which is authorized to: I. Enter into agreements, contracts or cooperative arrangements under such terms and conditions as it deems appropriate with other state, federal or interstate agencies, municipalities, education instit…

I. The members of the commission shall be as follows: (a) Two members of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate. (b) Three members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives. (c) The commissioner of the department of en…

The following shall not be subject to this chapter: I. Mining activities in existence before August 24, 1979. II. The crushing of rock for the purpose of producing construction aggregate regulated pursuant to RSA 155-E.

I. The superior court shall have power to issue injunctions restraining any person from violating the provisions of RSA 485:17. II. Municipalities may apply to a justice of the superior court for injunctive relief against existing or impending violations of RSA 485:17. The munici…

I. Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to preempt the authority of municipalities, under other statutes, to enact local ordinances or regulations affecting groundwater, other than groundwater withdrawals; provided, however, that requirements imposed under this chapter shall b…

The department shall have power to subpoena witnesses and administer oaths in any proceeding or examination instituted before or conducted by it, and to compel the production of any account books, contracts, records, documents, memoranda and papers of any kind necessary to the pu…

Said local legislative bodies and officers may also adopt all reasonable rules regarding fishing and the use of boats in and upon any such lake, pond or reservoir, and regarding racing or speeding horses upon the ice of such water body, which they may deem expedient. Any person w…

I. No person may withdraw more than a total of 57,600 gallons of water in any 24-hour period from a well or wells sited at a single property or place of business after the effective date of this section, regardless of the number of wells sited on the property or business, without…

Witnesses summoned before the department shall be paid the same fee as witnesses summoned to appear before the superior court, and such summons issued by any justice of the peace shall have the same effects as though issued for appearance in court. No person so testifying shall b…

The department may grant a renewable exemption from the rules for water conservation practices under RSA 485:61 to any municipality with a water balance of less than 15 percent. The municipality shall calculate the water balance each calendar year after the well is permitted, and…

If any person shall bathe in such lake, pond or reservoir, within the limits prescribed for the protection of said water supply by the local board of health or health officer or the department, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

I. Any person who willfully or negligently violates any provision of this subdivision or RSA 485-A:4-6; or any rule of the department adopted pursuant to this subdivision or RSA 485-A:4-6 or any condition or limitation in a permit issued under this subdivision or RSA 485-A:4-6; o…

I. Large groundwater withdrawals from new wells that replace a well or wells installed prior to August 1, 1998 shall not be subject to the requirements of RSA 485-C:14-a and RSA 485-C:21. Such wells shall require approval of the department under RSA 485-C:22, II-IV. II. No person…

The director of the division of forests and lands, department of natural and cultural resources, or his or her authorized agents, may: I. Issue a written cease and desist order against any timber operation in violation of this chapter. Any such violation may be enjoined by the su…

I. The department may approve a new large groundwater withdrawal without compliance with RSA 485-C:14, RSA 485-C:21, or RSA 485-C:22 to protect human health and the environment in the event that circumstances beyond the control of the person requesting the withdrawal occurs, such…

I. Whenever any board of water commissioners, local board of health, local health officer or 10 or more citizens of any town or city have reason to believe that a public water or ice supply is being contaminated or is in danger of contamination, and that the local regulations are…

No private boat access facility shall be constructed to any public waters which serve as a public water supply for a public or private water utility company, without the approval of the department of environmental services upon consultation with the public water access advisory b…

I. The department shall respond in writing to a petition filed under RSA 485:23, I, after due investigation, but not later than 30 days after receipt of the petition, informing the petitioners of the department's intended action. In response to a petition, or upon its own motion,…

The department shall require a short-term use, large groundwater withdrawal to cease and desist if such withdrawal causes unmitigated impacts as described in RSA 485-A:21, V-c.

A geothermal system as defined by RSA 485:1-a, I-b and RSA 485:1-a, XI-a shall not be considered a large groundwater withdrawal if the volume of groundwater extracted minus the volume of water returned to the same aquifer does not exceed 57,600 gallons over any 24-hour period.