TITLE X
PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 146-G
GASOLINE REMEDIATION AND ELIMINATION OF ETHERS
Section 146-G:1
[RSA 146-G:1 repealed by 2001, 293:20, I, eff. July 1, 2015.]
146-G:1 Purpose. –
I. The general court finds that ethers contained in gasoline, due to their extreme fluidity, recalcitrance to natural degradation, low taste and odor thresholds, and probable carcinogenic qualities, comprise a sufficiently distinct class of property which represent a particular, present, and rapidly escalating threat to the quality of all the water of the state and, thereby, to our citizens. The general court also finds that potentially serious health, safety, and environmental problems are evidenced due to the speed with which ethers are able to flow into, contaminate, and accumulate in invaluable groundwater supplies. In addition, the cost of cleanup of gasoline ethers in groundwater and surface water is a significant economic burden for which economic assistance may otherwise not be available.
II. The purpose of this chapter is to provide procedures that will expedite the cleanup of gasoline ether spillage, mitigate the adverse affects of gasoline ether discharges, encourage preventive measures, impose a fee upon importers of neat gasoline ethers into the state and establish a fund for the remediation of groundwater and surface water contaminated by gasoline ethers. The fund may also be used to provide financial reimbursement to owners of public and private water supplies for the treatment and removal of gasoline ethers and associated contaminants when present with those ethers from those supplies. The fund established under this chapter shall be in addition to the oil pollution control fund established pursuant to RSA 146-A:11-a and is separate from the oil discharge and disposal cleanup fund established pursuant to RSA 146-D:3.
Source. 2001, 293:10, eff. July 1, 2001.
Section 146-G:2
[RSA 146-G:2 repealed by 2001, 293:20, I, eff. July 1, 2015.]
146-G:2 Definitions. –
In this chapter:
I. ""Board'' means the oil fund disbursement board established under RSA 146-D:4.
II. ""Discharge'' or ""spillage'' means the release or addition of any gasoline containing ethers to land, groundwater, or surface water.
III. ""Distributor'' means any person, wherever resident or located, who imports or causes to be imported neat gasoline ethers, as defined in this section, into the state; provided, however, that bringing gasoline into the state in the fuel supply tank attached to the engine of a vehicle or aircraft shall not be considered importing. ""Distributor'' does not mean a spill cleanup organization or other person acting to contain, remove, clean up, restore, or take other remedial or corrective action or measures with regard to the spillage or discharge of gasoline or neat gasoline ethers, or threatened spillage or discharge of gasoline or neat gasoline ethers.
IV. ""Ethers'' means organic compounds formed by the treatment of an alcohol with a dehydrating agent resulting in 2 organic radicals joined by an oxygen atom.
V. ""Facility'' means a location, including structures or land, at which gasoline is subjected to treatment, storage, processing, refining, pumping, transfer, or collection.
VI. ""Gasoline'' means all products commonly or commercially known or sold as gasoline, including casinghead and absorption of natural gasoline, regardless of their classification or uses, and any liquid prepared, advertised, offered for sale, or sold for use as or commonly and commercially used as a fuel in internal combustion engines, which when subjected to distillation in accordance with the standard method of test for distillation of gasoline, naphtha, kerosene, and similar petroleum products (ASTM Designation D-86) show not less than 10 percent distilled (recovered) below 347 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Centigrade) and not less than 95 percent distilled (recovered) below 464 degrees Fahrenheit (240 degrees Centigrade); provided that the term gasoline shall not include commercial solvents or naphthas which distill by ASTM method D-86 not more than 9 percent at 176 degrees Fahrenheit and which have a distillation range of 150 degrees Fahrenheit or less, or liquefied gases which would not exist as liquid at a temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit and a pressure of 14.7 pounds per square inch absolute.
VII. ""Gasoline ethers'' means any ether added to gasoline and its by-products, including, but not limited to, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MtBE), tertiary amyl methyl ether (TAME), di-isopropyl ether (DIPE), and ethyl tertiary butyl ether (EtBE). ""Gasoline ethers'' shall not include prepackaged goods intended for retail consumer use including, but not limited to, starting fluid and octane booster.
VIII. ""Gasoline remediation and elimination of ethers fund'' means the fund established pursuant to RSA 146-G:4.
IX. ""Gasoline terminal facility'' means any facility of any kind and its related appurtenances located within the boundaries of this state that is used or capable of being used for pumping, handling, transferring, processing, refining, or storing gasoline.
X. ""Groundwater'' means subsurface water that occurs beneath the water table in soils and geologic formations.
XI. ""Neat gasoline ethers'' mean ethers intended for blending with gasoline prior to sale to the public which are imported into the state with little or no admixtures or dilution. Neat gasoline ethers shall contain a minimum of 92.1 percent by volume ether, including its impurities.
XII. ""Removal costs'' means the costs of containment, removal, cleanup, restoration, and remedial or corrective action or measures that are incurred after a spillage or discharge of gasoline has occurred or, in any case in which there is a threat of a spillage or discharge of gasoline, the cost to prevent, minimize, or mitigate gasoline pollution from such an incident.
XIII. ""Surface water'' means streams, lakes, ponds, and tidal waters within the jurisdiction of the state, including all streams, lakes, or ponds bordering on the state, marshes, watercourses, and other bodies of water, natural or artificial.
Source. 2001, 293:10, eff. July 1, 2001.
Section 146-G:3
[RSA 146-G:3 repealed by 2001, 293:20, I, eff. July 1, 2015.]
146-G:3 Recovery by State. –
Recovery of costs of containment cleanup, removal, or corrective measures expended under this chapter shall be in accordance with RSA 146-A:9.
Source. 2001, 293:10, eff. July 1, 2001.
Section 146-G:4
[RSA 146-G:4 repealed by 2001, 293:20, I, eff. July 1, 2015.]
146-G:4 Fund Established. –
I. There is hereby established the gasoline remediation and elimination of ethers fund which shall be administered by the board. This nonlapsing, revolving fund shall be used to pay the costs to implement the provisions of this chapter which include, but are not limited to, the salaries and expenses of personnel, as approved by the fiscal committee, to the extent that such salaries and expenses are incurred in implementing the provisions of this chapter, testing and monitoring activities, and other costs of treatment or removal or corrective measures deemed necessary by the board as a result of an actual or potential discharge of gasoline ethers into or onto the surface water or groundwater of the state. Moneys from the fund shall be used to mitigate the adverse affects of gasoline ether discharges including, but not limited to, provision of emergency water supplies to persons affected by such pollution, and, where necessary as determined by the board, the establishment of an acceptable source of potable water to injured parties. Not more than $150,000 shall be allocated annually for research programs dedicated to the development and improvement of preventive and cleanup measures concerning such gasoline ether discharges. Income derived from the fund shall only be used for those administrative costs needed to implement this chapter.
II. Moneys in the fund not currently needed to meet the obligations of the board under this chapter shall be deposited with the state treasurer to the credit of the fund and shall be invested as provided by law. Interest received on such investment shall also be credited to the fund. If the fund's balance becomes greater than $2,500,000, the transfer of moneys into the fund as established in RSA 146-D:3, VI(b) shall be discontinued and only re-established when the fund's balance is below $1,000,000. Those fees normally transferred to the gasoline remediation and elimination of ethers fund shall accumulate instead in the oil discharge and disposal cleanup fund.
III. All moneys paid to the state to reimburse costs paid out of the gasoline remediation and elimination of ethers fund by any person strictly liable to the state under RSA 146-A:3-a shall be placed in the gasoline remediation and elimination of ethers fund.
Source. 2001, 293:10, eff. July 1, 2001. 2008, 249:2, eff. July 1, 2008.
Section 146-G:5
[RSA 146-G:5 repealed by 2001, 293:20, I, eff. July 1, 2015.]
146-G:5 Competitive Bidding Required. –
I. Except as provided in paragraph II, the commissioner of environmental services shall enter into the competitive bidding process for any project undertaken by the department of environmental services under the authority of this chapter with an estimated cost of $10,000 or more. The commissioner may enter the competitive bidding process for any such project with an estimated cost of less than $10,000.
II. When procuring professional services from engineers, architects, and surveyors associated with the investigation or cleanup of contamination from gasoline ethers, the commissioner of environmental services shall procure those services in accordance with the procedures contained in RSA 21-I:22.
Source. 2001, 293:10, eff. July 1, 2001.
Section 146-G:6
[RSA 146-G:6 repealed by 2001, 293:20, I, eff. July 1, 2015.]
146-G:6 Corrective Measures Authorized. –
Corrective measures authorized by this chapter shall include but not be limited to:
I. Provision of interim water supplies to residents whose water supplies have been contaminated due to the presence of gasoline ethers above standards set by the board or a condition related to gasoline ethers determined to be hazardous by the office of community and public health and the state forensic toxicologist. This may include the supply of bottled water and the installation and operation of water supply treatment systems, approved or provided by the board.
II. The establishment of an acceptable source of potable water to injured parties, where necessary, as determined by the board. This may include but not be limited to a proportioned share of the costs of construction of the extension of public water mains and appurtenances, the installation of replacement water supply wells and appurtenances, or the installation of water treatment processes for new or existing water supplies. The extent of reimbursement shall be determined based upon criteria established by rules adopted by the board. Such rules shall consider the overall need for the capital investment to address contamination or threatened contamination of water supplies by gasoline ethers. Operation and maintenance costs or annual user fees for new or upgraded public water supply main extensions or treatment processes shall not be eligible expenses under this paragraph.
Source. 2001, 293:10, eff. July 1, 2001.
Section 146-G:7
[RSA 146-G:7 repealed by 2001, 293:20, I, eff. July 1, 2015.]
146-G:7 License Required; Fee. –
I. Any distributor who imports or causes to be imported neat gasoline ethers into the state shall be licensed by the department of safety under this chapter. The annual fee for the license shall be $0.10 per gallon of neat gasoline ethers imported into this state for the purpose of being mixed or blended with gasoline prior to sale to the public. The fee shall be paid monthly by such person to the department of safety and deposited by the department of safety into the gasoline remediation and elimination of ethers fund. Imposition of the fee shall be based on the records of the person and certified as accurate to the department of safety.
II. Every distributor who imports or causes to be imported neat gasoline ethers into the state shall file a monthly report for the preceding month and shall include all fees due for that reporting period with the department of safety on or before the twentieth day of the following calendar month. Failure to file by the required date or to enclose fees due shall result in the assessment of a 10 percent penalty to be added to the amount of fees due for that month. If no fees are due, a penalty of $10 per day shall be assessed. Such penalty shall immediately accrue and thereafter the overdue fees and the penalty shall bear interest at the rate established by the Internal Revenue Service effective on the first business day of the calendar year. To this rate shall be added 2 percent. In determining the monthly rate, that figure shall be rounded off to the nearest quarter percent. The board may waive all or any portion of penalties or interest for good cause. Such cause and incident shall be recorded in the records of the gasoline remediation and elimination of ethers fund.
III. No distributor licensed under this section shall import neat gasoline ethers into this state without paying the fee required by this section.
IV. Unless otherwise provided, any distributor who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor if a natural person or guilty of a felony if any other person.
Source. 2001, 293:10, eff. July 1, 2001.
Section 146-G:8
[RSA 146-G:8 repealed by 2001, 293:20, I, eff. July 1, 2015.]
146-G:8 Administrative Costs. –
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the expenditure of additional funds is necessary for the costs of administration of the collection process established in RSA 146-D:3 and RSA 146-G:7 for funding the gasoline remediation and elimination of ethers fund, the commissioner of safety, with the prior approval of the governor and council, may draw upon the gasoline remediation and elimination of ethers fund for such purposes.
Source. 2001, 293:10, eff. July 1, 2001.
Section 146-G:9
[RSA 146-G:9 repealed by 2001, 293:20, II, eff. Oct. 1, 2015.]
146-G:9 Reporting by the Oil Disbursement Board. –
The board shall file annual reports of the status of the gasoline remediation and elimination of ethers fund no later than October 1, to the speaker of the house, the president of the senate and the state library. The first such report shall be submitted no later than October 1, 2002. The board shall also file interim reports on the activities of the gasoline remediation and elimination of ethers fund, including expenditures and reimbursements, and enforcement and remediation activities under RSA 146-G, by October 1, 2005 and by October 1, 2010 to the senate president, the speaker of the house of representatives, the senate clerk, the house clerk, the house and senate committees having jurisdiction over water quality policy, the governor, and the state library. The board shall file a final report on the activities of the fund and enforcement and remediation activities by October 1, 2015 to the senate president, the speaker of the house of representatives, the senate clerk, the house clerk, the house and senate committees having jurisdiction over water quality policy, the governor, and the state library.
Source. 2001, 293:10, eff. July 1, 2001. 2008, 249:3, eff. July 1, 2008.
Section 146-G:10
[RSA 146-G:10 repealed by 2001, 293:20, I, eff. July 1, 2015.]
146-G:10 Review and Report. –
Upon issuance of the interim report by the board required by RSA 146-G:9, the members of house and senate committees having jurisdiction over water quality policy shall constitute a joint committee for purposes of reviewing the effectiveness of the program implemented by this chapter. The joint committee shall review the effectiveness of the program implemented by this act, and shall report the joint committee's findings and recommendations to the full senate and house.
Source. 2001, 293:10, eff. July 1, 2001.
Section 146-G:11
[RSA 146-G:11 repealed by 2001, 293:20, I, eff. July 1, 2015.]
146-G:11 Rulemaking. –
The board shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to the allocation of funds from the gasoline remediation and elimination of ethers fund authorized under this chapter. Construction costs due to contamination from gasoline ethers incurred by operators of public water supplies between May 4, 2000 and the effective date of board rules shall be considered for compensation on a case-by-case basis.
Source. 2001, 293:10, eff. July 1, 2001.
Elimination of Gasoline Ethers and TBA From Gasoline Supplies
Section 146-G:12
[RSA 146-G:12 repealed by 2001, 293:20, I, eff. July 1, 2015.]
146-G:12 Elimination of Gasoline Ethers and TBA From Gasoline Supplies. –
No person, as defined in RSA 146-A:2, VI, shall sell, deliver for sale, import, or cause to be imported into the state for sale any neat gasoline ethers or gasoline containing MTBE, other gasoline ethers, or tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) in quantities greater than 1/2 of one percent by volume. Nothing in this subdivision shall be interpreted to prohibit the transshipment of MTBE, other gasoline ethers, or TBA content fuel through the state for disposition outside of the state including storage coincident to such shipment.
Source. 2004, 175:4, eff. Jan. 1, 2007.
Section 146-G:13
[RSA 146-G:13 repealed by 2001, 293:20, I, eff. July 1, 2015.]
146-G:13 Penalties. –
Any person who violates RSA 146-G:12 shall be subject to administrative fines not to exceed $2,000 for each violation issued by the department of environmental services and civil penalties not to exceed $60,000 for each violation. Each day of a continuing violation shall constitute a separate violation. In addition to civil penalties, the attorney general may institute such legal or equitable action as he or she deems necessary, including an action for injunctive relief.
Source. 2004, 175:4, eff. Jan. 1, 2007.