Bill Text: NH HB1592 | 2018 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Requiring the commissioner of the department of environmental services to review ambient groundwater standards for arsenic.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-2)
Status: (Passed) 2018-06-12 - Signed by Governor Sununu 06/08/2018; Chapter 190; Eff. 6/8/2018 [HB1592 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2018-HB1592-Amended.html
HB 1592-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
8Feb2018... 0324h
22Mar2018... 1100h
04/19/2018 1438s
05/03/2018 1926s
2018 SESSION
18-2378
08/04
HOUSE BILL 1592
SPONSORS: Rep. Messmer, Rock. 24; Rep. McConnell, Ches. 12; Rep. Cushing, Rock. 21; Rep. Grassie, Straf. 11; Rep. Altschiller, Rock. 19; Rep. Fraser, Belk. 1
COMMITTEE: Resources, Recreation and Development
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill requires the commissioner of the department of environmental services to review the ambient groundwater standard for arsenic to determine whether it should be lowered. This bill also requires that any proposed change shall require approval of the general court.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
8Feb2018... 0324h
22Mar2018... 1100h
04/19/2018 1438s
05/03/2018 1926s 18-2378
08/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eighteen
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Department of Environmental Services; Ambient Groundwater Quality Standards. By January 1, 2019, the commissioner of the department of environmental services shall review the ambient groundwater standard for arsenic to determine whether it should be lowered, taking into consideration the extent to which the contaminant is found in New Hampshire, the ability to detect the contaminant in public water systems, the ability to remove the contaminant from drinking water, the impact on public health, and the costs and benefits to affected entities that will result from establishing the standard. Any proposed change to the ambient groundwater standard for arsenic shall require the approval of the general court. On or before January 1, 2019, the commissioner shall submit a report of the findings to the chairpersons of the house and senate committees with jurisdiction over natural resources.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
18-2378
Amended 4/23/18
HB 1592-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE (AMENDMENT #2018-1438s)
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ X ] County [ X ] Local [ ] None
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Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other | |||
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COUNTY: |
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Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
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LOCAL: |
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Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
METHODOLOGY:
This bill would require the Department of Environmental Services to review the arsenic Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for public water systems and the arsenic Ambient Groundwater Quality Standard (AGQS) to determine whether they should be lowered, and if it is determined that either should be lowered, initiate rulemaking to do so. If the Department were to lower the AGQS, the MCL, or both, county and local expenditures would likely increase for entities that own public water systems, wastewater lagoons, landfills, and other facilities that discharge to groundwater. For some of the affected facilities, the increased costs would be significant. The Department does not anticipate that revenues would increase for any unit of government. The Department indicates, a result of implementing lower limits would be indeterminable long-term reductions in health care costs associated with reductions in diseases and conditions caused by exposure to arsenic in drinking water.
The Department would need to independently review available research regarding the health effects of arsenic exposure, review data regarding the occurrence of arsenic in treated and untreated water at public water systems (PWSs), estimate the reduction in health effects under various scenarios for lowered MCLs, and estimate the costs for PWSs to comply with the lowered standard. The Department would also need to estimate the costs of compliance under corresponding scenarios for lowered AGQSs. The Department does not currently have staff with the expertise necessary to perform these functions, since the Department does not normally set drinking water standards (MCLs). In order to complete this review and propose revised limits in the time provided, the Department would need to hire a contractor. The Department estimates that the cost to hire a contractor could exceed $100,000. The report to the house executive departments and administration committee, the senate executive departments and administration committee and the joint legislative committee on administrative rules to be submitted prior to initiating rulemaking can be prepared with existing staff and resources.
The Department indicates it is not possible to determine which or how many PWSs or other facilities would be affected without knowing what the new AGQS and/or MCL would be. However, the Department has prepared a preliminary estimate of some of the impacts of lowering the limits to 5 ppb, a level the Department believes is technologically achievable.
For Public Water Systems, the Department estimates lowering the arsenic in drinking water limit to 5 ppb would increase the operating costs of 246 affected public water systems (PWSs) by approximately $2.5 million per year. This includes the cost impact on 33 affected municipal, county, and state-owned PWSs, which the Department estimates as approximately $281,000 per year. Not included in the amount are municipal PWSs that currently treat for arsenic with greensand. The Department believes these systems would not experience a significant cost increase due to greensand’s ability to remove arsenic to below 5 ppb without an appreciable effect on the useful life of the media.
For wastewater lagoons and other discharges to groundwater, the Department states lowering the AGQS for arsenic to 5 ppb would affect a number of facilities that hold groundwater discharge permits. Of the 102 facilities including wastewater lagoons, sludge lagoons, and wastewater discharges to the ground with permits, 40 are owned by public entities. At least 8 of those facilities struggle to comply with the current 10 ppb limit at least some of the time. Seven of those are unlined wastewater lagoons and one is a sludge lagoon. The facilities with persistent problems are in various stages of evaluating ways to achieve continuous compliance, typically by removing accumulated solids, acquiring more discharge area (land) and in extreme cases by relocating. The cost of compliance for these facilities is not possible to determine at this time, but is expected to be $10,000 to $100,000 per year for each facility. By lowering of the AGQS to 5 ppb, the Department estimates the number of facilities needing to take on additional costs may double or even triple. If so, the compliance costs due to lowering the limit to 5 ppb could be on the order of $80,000 to $1.6 million per year for all publicly owned facilities. Including privately owned facilities would bring the total to the order of $200,000 to $4 million per year.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties does not expect this bill would have an impact on county revenues or expenditures.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Environmental Services and New Hampshire Association of Counties
