sb 0028

CHAPTER 31

SB 28-FN – FINAL VERSION

AN ACT relative to annual dam registration fees for non-menace dams and notification to dam owners of downstream development.

SPONSORS: Sen. Gallus, Dist 1; Sen. Reynolds, Dist 2; Rep. Remick, Coos 2; Rep. H. Richardson, Coos 2; Rep. Ingersoll, Coos 4; Rep. Stohl, Coos 1; Rep. E. Merrick, Coos 2

I. Exempts dams classified by the department of environmental services as non-menace dams from the annual dam registration fee.

II. Requires notification to owners of dams and the department of environmental services dam bureau of downstream development.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

AN ACT relative to annual dam registration fees for non-menace dams and notification to dam owners of downstream development.

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

482:8-a Annual Registration Fee. Annual registration fees for dams shall be payable to the department on January 1 of each calendar year. Yearly dam registration fees shall be based on classification as follows: Low hazard potential = $400; Significant hazard potential = $750; High hazard potential = $1,500. If the hazard classification designated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a dam differs from the classification designated by the department, the annual dam registration fees shall be based on the classification designated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission except that a dam which is classified as a non-menace dam by the department shall be exempt from the annual dam registration fee for as long as the dam is classified by the department as a non-menace dam. Revenues from this annual registration are to be collected by the department and deposited in the dam maintenance fund established in RSA 482:55 to be used for the inspection of dams.

31:2 Board’s Procedure on Plats; Identification of Upstream Dams. Amend RSA 676:4, I (b) to read as follows:

(b) The planning board shall specify by regulation what constitutes a completed application sufficient to invoke jurisdiction to obtain approval. A completed application means that sufficient information is included or submitted to allow the board to proceed with consideration and to make an informed decision. A completed application sufficient to invoke jurisdiction of the board shall be submitted to and accepted by the board only at a public meeting of the board, with notice as provided in subparagraph (d). The applicant shall file the application with the board or its agent at least 15 days prior to the meeting at which the application will be accepted. The application shall include the names and addresses of the applicant, all holders of conservation, preservation, or agricultural preservation restrictions as defined in RSA 477:45, and all abutters as indicated in the town records for incorporated towns or county records for unincorporated towns or unorganized places not more than 5 days before the day of filing. Abutters shall also be identified on any plat submitted to the board. The application shall also include the name and business address of every engineer, architect, land surveyor, or soil scientist whose professional seal appears on any plat submitted to the board. Since construction of any structure near streams or rivers downstream of a dam can increase the hazard classification of the dam established by the department of environmental services, the application shall identify the nearest dam upstream and include the name and address of the dam owners.

31:3 Board’s Procedures on Plats; Notification of Upstream Dam Owners. Amend RSA 676:4, I (d) to read as follows:

(d) Notice to the applicant, holders of conservation, preservation, or agricultural preservation restrictions, abutters, upstream dam owners, the department of environmental services dam bureau, and the public shall be given as follows: The planning board shall notify the abutters, the applicant, holders of conservation, preservation, or agricultural preservation restrictions, and every engineer, architect, land surveyor, or soil scientist whose professional seal appears on any plat submitted to the board by certified mail of the date upon which the application will be formally submitted to the board. For those proposals near rivers and streams and downstream of a dam, the planning board shall also notify the owners of the upstream dam and the department of environmental services dam bureau by certified mail. Notice shall be mailed at least 10 days prior to submission. Notice to the general public shall also be given at the same time by posting or publication as required by the subdivision regulations. The notice shall include a general description of the proposal which is the subject of the application and shall identify the applicant and the location of the proposal. For any public hearing on the application, the same notice as required for notice of submission of the application shall be given. If notice of public hearing has been included in the notice of submission or any prior notice, additional notice of that hearing is not required nor shall additional notice be required of an adjourned session of a hearing with proper notice if the date, time, and place of the adjourned session was made known at the prior hearing. All costs of notice, whether mailed, posted, or published, shall be paid in advance by the applicant. Failure to pay such costs shall constitute valid grounds for the planning board to terminate further consideration and to disapprove the plat without a public hearing.