485-A:58 Establishment and Implementation of Cyanobacteria Mitigation Loan Program. –
I. There is established in the department of environmental services the cyanobacteria mitigation loan program. The program shall provide low interest loans to:
(a) Municipalities, community water systems and non-profit lake and river watershed associations whose testing shows confirmed and chronic exceedances of the state health advisory for cyanobacteria, for remediation efforts begun after September 30, 2023.
(b) Publicly-owned and non-profit lake or river watershed associations that have a watershed management plan which specifies sources of phosphorus loading approved by the department of environmental services.
II. Projects shall only be financed after the applicant's proposed mitigation plan or watershed management plan demonstrates that such plan is the most cost-effective solution, as reviewed and approved by the department of environmental services. The applicant shall provide evidence in the application for funding that there are no no-cost or low-cost efforts that would result in a substantial decrease in external phosphorus loading. The applicant shall also show that there is no responsible party identified by department of environmental services or that the responsible party, potentially including the applicant, has provided their appropriate share of the funding for the proposed project.
III. Loans or grants may be made for up to the total cost of the project, after any responsible party's contribution, addressing the contamination.
IV. The cyanobacteria mitigation program shall forgive up to 10 percent of the loan principal to community water systems, publicly owned or non-profit lake or river watershed associations using the same qualifying standards for forgiveness used in the drinking water state revolving loan program established under RSA 486:14.
V. Total loan forgiveness under this section shall not exceed $1,000,000 in a fiscal year.