485-A:50 Municipal Assessments. –
I. The department shall annually, at the beginning of each fiscal year, assess each municipality served by the regional sewage disposal facilities provided for by this subdivision, a sum sufficient to recover its proportional share of the total in relation to the total costs estimated to be incurred during said fiscal year in treating, transporting and disposal of sewage of the communities served and those to be served; the proportional share of each community shall be determined by the procedure provided for in paragraph IV.
II. The department shall annually, at the beginning of each fiscal year, assess each municipality served or to be served by the regional sewage disposal facilities provided for by the provisions of this subdivision the costs estimated to be incurred during said fiscal year in administering this subdivision, plus a charge for amortization charges on such costs of all facilities amounting to 5 percent of the total amortization charges, meaning principal and interest, on such charges. The proportional share of each community's costs shall be determined by the procedure provided for in paragraph IV.
III. The respective share of the assessments made in paragraphs I and II shall be paid to the department by each municipality quarterly, except for capital cost recovery assessments which shall be paid annually. After the close of each fiscal year, the department shall ascertain its actual total expenses in accordance with the foregoing provisions, and then shall adjust the assessment for the second quarterly payment of the new fiscal year for each such municipality served for any under-payment or over-payment by each such municipality served for the prior fiscal year.
IV. The assessments provided to be made by this section shall be made by taking into account the volume and strength of the industrial, domestic, commercial, and all other waste discharges treated or the estimated volume and strength of the industrial, domestic, commercial and all other waste discharges to be treated and techniques of treatment required. Proportional costs as determined by the department, associated with transporting raw and treated sewage through a major interceptor from a municipality at which it is generated or is to be generated to the point of treatment or discharge shall be allocated to the municipality which uses or will use the interceptor on the basis of volume and distance traveled or estimated volume and distance traveled. In determining said assessments for each municipality, the department shall abide by federal regulations which govern the allocation of costs and receipt of payments by industry for industrial discharges. Any operating and maintenance costs over and above what has been determined to be proportional by the department shall be an obligation of the state.
V. The municipality may recover charges assessed by means of user charges, connection fees, or such other techniques as may be utilized under state and local law, including sewage, sewerage, and waste service contracts, except that municipalities with industrial waste must abide by federal and state regulations which govern recovery of costs from said industries.
VI. All funds collected by the department by virtue of the assessments authorized under this section shall be paid to the state treasurer who shall keep the same in a special fund.
VII. Any municipality aggrieved or dissatisfied with any annual assessment levied against it under the provisions of this section may file a motion for reconsideration by the department control in the same manner and as provided in RSA 485-A:40.
VIII. The charges assessed by the department shall be made against the municipalities which are directly connected to the regional facilities provided for by this subdivision and shall include:
(a) any sewage or waste generated within the municipality and transported to such regional facilities, and
(b) any sewage or waste generated outside the municipality and being transported through such municipality's sewage system. Such municipality may recover the charges assessed in accordance with paragraph V.
Source. 1989, 339:1. 1996, 228:106. 2007, 5:1, eff. July 1, 2007. 2023, 79:35, eff. July 1, 2023.