CHAPTER 220
SB 159 - FINAL VERSION
9june99.....1467h
1999 SESSION
SENATE BILL 159
AN ACT relative to early reduction of greenhouse gases.
SPONSORS: Sen. Cohen, Dist 24; Sen. Russman, Dist 19; Sen. Below, Dist 5; Rep. Bradley, Carr 8; Rep. Norelli, Rock 31; Rep. Konys, Hills 33
This bill establishes a registry for voluntary greenhouse gas emission reductions in order to create an incentive for and reward those greenhouse gas sources which voluntarily reduce such emissions before being required to do so.
This bill also requires the commissioner of environmental services to conduct a study to determine whether creating a particulate matter registry similar to the greenhouse gas emissions registry would provide an overall benefit to the state.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
9june99.....1467h
99-0456
08/02
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine
AN ACT relative to early reduction of greenhouse gases.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
220:1 Purpose.
I. The general court assumes that, based on numerous ongoing scientific studies being conducted worldwide, there exists a possible human influence on global climatic change. The general court finds that it is in the best interest of the state of New Hampshire, the United States of America, and the earth as a whole, to encourage the voluntary undertaking of economically beneficial reductions of greenhouse gas emissions from New Hampshire sources.
II. The general court further finds that at some future point the federal government is likely to impose greenhouse gas emissions reduction requirements upon New Hampshire sources, and that, for past air pollution reduction programs, the federal government has not always afforded New Hampshire sources appropriate consideration for emissions reductions made prior to the implementation of such programs. Therefore, the general court finds that it is in the best interest of the state to help ensure, to the greatest extent possible, appropriate recognition by the federal government of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions which New Hampshire sources may undertake voluntarily prior to the implementation of any such programs. The general court further finds that, in the absence of any federal program to afford New Hampshire sources certainty of such recognition, their efforts can most effectively be protected through the creation of a state registry of such efforts. The general court further finds that this state registry should include both voluntarily implemented greenhouse gas emission reductions and voluntarily undertaken measures which produce lower greenhouse gas emissions than would otherwise have been the case under a "business as usual" approach.
III. The general court further finds that, although New Hampshire sources contribute only a minute proportion of the total greenhouse gases emitted annually in the United States and the world, the state's past initiative in undertaking early and responsible action to reduce its similarly minor contribution to other air pollution problems, including but not limited to acid rain, toxic air pollution, and ozone smog, has demonstrated political, economic, and technological leadership, which has served the state well in subsequent negotiations with other, more culpable jurisdictions and with the Environmental Protection Agency. The general court finds that the state's tradition of environmental leadership should be continued through the establishment of a registry to provide state recognition of early greenhouse gas emissions reductions voluntarily achieved by New Hampshire sources.
220:2 New Chapter; Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions Registry. Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 125-K the following new chapter:
CHAPTER 125-L
VOLUNTARY GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS REGISTRY
125-L:1 Definitions.
I. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the department of environmental services.
II. "Department" means the department of environmental services.
III. "Emission" means a release into the outdoor atmosphere of a greenhouse gas.
IV. "Greenhouse gas" means but is not limited to such gases as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur hexafluoride.
V. "Source" means any entity, building, structure, facility, installation, article, or thing which, in the opinion of the commissioner, emits or may emit a greenhouse gas.
125-L:2 Registry. In order to help protect the interests of New Hampshire sources and the state's economy under a future federal regulatory scheme relating to greenhouse gas emissions, and to help encourage the voluntary reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by New Hampshire sources, the department shall establish and administer a registry whereby sources of greenhouse gas emissions may record and register early, voluntary greenhouse gas emissions reductions made after 1990. The purpose of this registry shall be to help sources establish a baseline against which any future federal greenhouse gas emissions reduction requirements may apply.
125-L:3 Rulemaking. The commissioner shall adopt rules under RSA 541-A, relative to:
I. Information, forms, procedures, and applicable thresholds for registering voluntarily achieved reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.
II. Methods and procedures for calculating, estimating, or otherwise quantifying voluntary reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.
III. Methods and procedures for verifying, where necessary, that emissions reductions to be registered have actually been achieved.
IV. Methods and procedures for determining or verifying the ownership of greenhouse gas emissions reductions in order to avoid double-counting such reductions.
V. General supervision and administration of this chapter.
220:3 Particulate Matter Registry Study. The commissioner of environmental services shall conduct a study to determine whether creating a particulate matter registry similar to the greenhouse gas registry established by RSA 125-L:2 as inserted by section 2 of this act would provide an overall benefit to the state. The commissioner shall report the results of this study, along with any recommendations for legislation, to the state library, the house science, technology and energy committee, and the senate environment committee on or before November 1, 1999.
220:4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
(Approved: July 6, 1999)
(Effective Date: September 4, 1999)