SB 56-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2023 SESSION
23-0993
09/10
SENATE BILL 56-FN
AN ACT relative to payments for upland resource losses.
SPONSORS: Sen. Watters, Dist 4
COMMITTEE: Energy and Natural Resources
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ANALYSIS
This bill establishes a method for the department of environmental services to determine the compensatory payments for upland resource losses.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
23-0993
09/
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Three
AN ACT relative to payments for upland resource losses.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Aquatic Resource Compensatory Mitigation; Fund Established. Amend RSA 482-A:29, I and II to read as follows:
I. There is hereby established the aquatic resource compensatory mitigation fund into which payments made under this subdivision shall be deposited. The fund shall be a separate, nonlapsing fund continually appropriated to the department to be used only as specified in this subdivision for costs related to wetlands creation or restoration, stream and river restoration, stream and river enhancement, restoration or enhancement of any jurisdictional area under RSA 482-A, preservation of upland areas adjacent to wetlands and riparian areas, and the subsequent monitoring and maintenance of such areas.
II. A separate, non-lapsing account shall be established within the fund into which all administrative assessments collected under RSA 482-A:30, III, [and] RSA 482-A:30-a, II, and RSA 482-A:30-b, III shall be placed. Such account moneys shall be used for administration of the fund, including staff, and aquatic resource mitigation related projects.
2 New Section; Payment For Upland Resource Losses. Amend RSA 482-A by inserting after section 482-A:30-a the following new section:
482-A:30-b Payment for Upland Resource Losses. For any other jurisdictional resource losses to which this chapter applies, the in lieu payment shall be the sum of:
I. The cost that would have been incurred if a resource of the same type was restored at the ratios adopted by the department, based on a price of $65,000 per acre of resource area created, to be adjusted at the beginning of the calendar year according to the annual simple rate of interest on judgments established by RSA 336:1;
II. The area of resources impacted, as used in the calculation performed under paragraph I, times the cost of land in the municipality where the impact is occurring as calculated by the total assessed land values in the municipality, as determined by the department of revenue administration, which are equalized, divided by the number of acres in the municipality to yield a per acre equalized land value; and
III. An administrative assessment equal to 20 percent of the amount in paragraphs I and II.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
23-0993
Revised 1/18/23
SB 56-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT relative to payments for upland resource losses.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ X ] County [ X ] Local [ ] None
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| Estimated Increase / (Decrease) | |||
STATE: | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 |
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
Funding Source: | [ ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ X ] Other - Aquatic Resource Mitigation Fund | |||
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COUNTY: |
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Revenue | $0 | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
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LOCAL: |
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Revenue | $0 | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
METHODOLOGY:
This bill establishes a method for the Department of Environmental Services to determine the compensatory payments for upland resource losses.
The Department of Environmental Services indicates the effect of this legislation would be to expand the option of paying an in-lieu fee to the dedicated, non-lapsing, Aquatic Resource Mitigation (ARM) Fund for projects requiring mitigation that impact jurisdiction areas other than wetlands or shorelines. These jurisdictional areas include the tidal buffer zone, prime wetlands buffers and sand dunes. This bill does not change the mitigation requirements and only provides an alternative method of satisfying mitigation already required by state and federal regulations. Paying an in-lieu fee would be optional. Applicants may continue to complete on site or off site mitigation projects where available, in keeping with the Department's rules.
The Department states because this bill only creates the option, and is not a requirement, to pay an in-lieu fee into the ARM Fund there is no way to calculate the number of applicants that will choose this new option. In-lieu fees are based upon the area of jurisdictional impact. There is no way of predicting the size of the projects proposed by those applicants that might choose to use the new option. It is not possible to calculate a revenue or expenditure impact without knowing the number of applicants who will participate or the size of the projects on which fees would be based. The impact to county or local revenues and expenditures cannot be determine as there is no way of predicting whether counties or towns will have projects that would require mitigation and how many would choose the in-lieu fee option.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Environmental Services