Title L, Water Management and Protection

I. The department shall provide low interest loans and grants to publicly-owned and non-profit wastewater and/or wastewater residual treatment or storage facilities that are required to treat effluent and residuals to achieve applicable PFAS standards prior to discharge or dispos…

If any person submitting plans and specifications to the department for its approval is aggrieved or dissatisfied with its decision, he or she shall, in addition to any rights to appeal a department decision under RSA 21-O:14, have a right of appeal from the decision of the depar…

The department shall develop plans, with the advice and assistance of the division of homeland security and emergency management, and of the public water systems of the state, for emergency conditions and situations that may endanger the public health or welfare by contamination …

The commissioner shall: I. Exercise general supervision over the administration and enforcement of this subdivision. II. Employ necessary personnel. III. Prohibit construction of systems which would pollute the surface waters or groundwaters of the state, until an acceptable and …

The department shall: I. Monitor the operation and maintenance of new and existing public water systems and privately owned redistribution systems. II. Adopt rules governing the maintenance and operation of public water systems to ensure compliance with drinking water standards a…

I. (a) The department may issue an order to any person in violation of this chapter, of rules adopted under this chapter, or of any condition of a permit issued under this chapter. (b) The department may require such remedial measures as are necessary to correct the violation. (c…

I. The department may, after notice and opportunity for hearing, grant one or more variances from an applicable state drinking water regulation to a public water system if the variance will not result in an unreasonable risk to the public health, and if: (a) Because of the charac…

I. A public water system shall, upon granting of a variance or exemption or upon determination of its noncompliance with any primary drinking water standard or any rule adopted under this chapter or with any other requirement of this chapter notify the department of such noncompl…

I. Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this subdivision or who shall knowingly fail, neglect or refuse to obey any order of the department or member or authorized agent of the department issued under the authority of this subdivision, or who shall knowingly make…

I. Any laboratory conducting water analysis tests for the purpose of determining compliance of a public water supply with the provisions of RSA 485:3 and any laboratory conducting environmental analyses in this state for any other governmental purpose where a requirement of certi…

I. On application of the department, the superior court or any justice of the court, in term time or in vacation, may enjoin any act in violation of this subdivision. II. Municipalities may apply to a justice of the superior court for injunctive relief against existing or impendi…

The state laboratory shall make periodic inspections and analyses of the public water supplies of the state and any special investigations of such water supplies that may be called for; also, when requested or as may be deemed by them necessary or expedient in the interests of th…

I. The department is authorized and directed to acquire, plan, construct, and operate, to serve certain municipalities within the Winnipesaukee river basin (including, but not necessarily limited to Meredith, Laconia, Gilford, Belmont, Sanbornton, Tilton, Northfield, and Franklin…

Any future payments due from a municipality which has undertaken construction (or engaged in engineering study, planning or design), as outlined in RSA 485-A:45, since July 1, 1947, to pay for such construction, study, planning, or design, and the facility involved is acquired by…

I. The department shall adopt rules under RSA 541-A, after public hearing, establishing a schedule of reasonable fees to be paid by any laboratory applying for accreditation. II. The schedule of fees shall be designed to recover the costs associated with the accreditation service…

To administer the provisions of this chapter and to perform such other related duties as may be required, the department of environmental services is designated as the agency to receive and utilize any federal or other aids which may at any time be made available in the interest …

The department shall adopt rules, under RSA 541-A, relative to: I. Procedures and standards for accreditation of laboratories, including but not limited to the form and content of approval and accreditation application forms, analytical techniques to be employed, standard collect…

The department may institute a wellhead protection program as described in section 1428 of the federal Safe Drinking Water Amendments of 1986. The program shall be consistent with the provisions of RSA 485-C and shall include, but not be limited to, the following: I. Determinatio…

All present powers, duties and functions conferred upon municipalities within the basin in connection with the planning, construction, financing and operation of sewage or waste treatment facilities (excepting common sewers and other collector facilities considered ineligible for…

I. With the approval of the governor and council, the department may use state, federal or other funds accruing to the department and funds borrowed from the state water pollution control and drinking water revolving loan fund established under RSA 486:14 for the acquisition of e…

It is declared that there is statewide need for long-range planning in order that the health and safety of the people of the state may be protected in respect to adequate water supplies for domestic use.

Notice shall be given of such appeal and of the court at which it will be entered at least 14 days before the term at which it is to be entered.

I. The department shall forgive up to 10 percent of the loan principal to municipalities, community water systems and non-profit, non-transient non-community water systems using the same qualifying standards for forgiveness used in the drinking water state revolving loan program …

I. The coastal program shall develop and seek approval from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for a geographic location description (GLD), as described in 15 C.F.R. 930.53, for certain activities in federal waters, including but not limited to the develop…

I. The department shall, no later than October 1, 2009: (a) Notify the governing bodies, planning boards, conservation commissions, and public works departments of each municipality in the coastal watershed, and the applicable regional planning commissions, of the establishment o…

I. All groundwater shall be classified for the purpose of prescribing protections and management practices. These classifications do not necessarily reflect existing water quality. For purposes of classification, all groundwater shall be assigned to one of 4 classes as follows: (…

The acquisition of adjacent or marginal lands necessary to provide reasonable sanitary control over the quality of a public water supply shall be deemed an improvement in sanitary conditions which is within the power of the department to require under the provisions of RSA 485:4.…

I. After the effective date of any pretreatment standards established and prescribed by the department pursuant to RSA 485-A:4, XV, no person shall discharge into the collection system or the sewage treatment facility of any municipality or other governmental entity being served …

The department shall certify operators of wastewater treatment plants. Wastewater treatment plants shall be operated only by certified operators.

I. Each municipality shall either provide, or assure access to, a department of environmental services approved septage facility or a department approved alternative option for its residents. II. For the purposes of paragraph I, "provide, or assure access to" shall mean a written…

I. No person shall spread septage or sludge as defined in RSA 485-A:2 before providing all property owners abutting the spreading site with written notice of the intended date and location of the spreading. Such notice shall be provided by publishing a notice at least 14 days bef…

I. Sludge or biosolids which are to be land applied in New Hampshire shall not exceed the maximum concentrations for specific chemical contaminants contained in the rules of the department, or the rules or regulations of the state in which the sludge was generated, whichever are …

I. A wastewater treatment plant may require any industrial or commercial facilities or septic haulers of industrial or commercial waste contributing discharge to its plant to test such discharge to determine the level of PFAS in the discharge. A wastewater treatment plant that ma…

I. Wastewater treatment plants or wastewater facilities shall implement a cybersecurity protection program that is commensurate with the size and complexity of the wastewater treatment plant or wastewater facility in accordance with rules adopted by the department. II. Wastewater…

The department of environmental services is authorized and directed to study the probable domestic water supply requirements of groups of towns or cities, or both, which appear likely to have increased industrial and population growths for the next 50 years. In connection with sa…

I. The department shall annually, at the beginning of each fiscal year, assess each municipality served by the regional sewage disposal facilities provided for by this subdivision, a sum sufficient to recover its proportional share of the total in relation to the total costs esti…

The department of environmental services is authorized, within the limits of the appropriations made therefor, to employ engineers and other assistants to make the studies authorized by this subdivision.

I. There is established a nonlapsing, revolving fund to provide capital for repair and replacement of major components of the water pollution control facilities administered under this subdivision which cannot be absorbed as regular budgetary items. The replacement fund is to be …

I. There is established a Winnipesaukee River advisory board consisting of one member, from each community, appointed by the board of selectmen of a town or the city council of a city involved. The term of office of each member shall be one year commencing July 1, 1972, and each …

Whenever any study of a group plan for domestic water supply projects is made the department of environmental services shall report the same to the next session of the legislature together with its recommendations to make secure the availability of those sites which the departmen…

Upon request the department of environmental services shall consult with and advise any municipality which is considering a change in its domestic water supply due to an approaching critical situation in the municipality.

The department shall purchase insurance, including extended coverage insurance, to protect the pollution control facilities administered under this subdivision against fire, vandalism, and malicious mischief. The cost of the insurance shall be included in the user fee. If the dep…

No person shall cut or take ice from any lake, pond or reservoir used as the source of a domestic public water supply, unless he shall first comply in all respects with such reasonable rules regarding the manner and place of such cutting and taking as may be prescribed by the loc…

I. The department may issue an order to any person in violation of this subdivision, a rule adopted under this subdivision, or any condition in any contract or permit issued or entered into under this subdivision. This order may require such remedial or corrective measures as may…

Any person who knowingly or willfully shall cut or take ice for domestic purposes from any waters which are polluted with sewage or other substance deleterious or dangerous to life or health, or from waters which a board of health, local health officer or the department has conde…

In this subdivision: I. "Household cleansing product" means any product, including but not limited to, soaps and detergents used for domestic cleaning purposes, including, but not limited to, the cleansing of fabric, dishes, food utensils and household premises. II. "Phosphorus" …