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	CLVC Newsletter - 2000-11

by Julian Zelazny
ASNH Environmental Policy Director

Mar. 5, 2001 Conservation Legislation Volunteer Corps Newsletter 2001 #11 Dear CLVC Members, The legislature is back in session this week and there is a lot on the agenda. The most important issues for the next two weeks are: LCHIP subcommittee work session on March 7th Clean Power subcommittee on March 7th, and Mercury Bill Hearing on March 14th Following are the details that will interest you... We're betting that the hearings for Tuesday, March 6 will be canceled due to the weather. Wednesday, March 7th At 9am in room 104, HB 111 will be heard. This bill requires all uncoated printing and writing papers purchased by or for state agencies to contain not less than 30% post consumer waste material and all coated printing papers purchased by or for state agencies to contain not less than 10% post consumer waste material. Post consumer waste material for paper means de-inked paper and recovered textiles cleaned and bleached for use in the manufacturing of printing and writing papers. At 10am in room 304, the Science, Technology, and Energy Committee will have a subcommittee work session HB 284 - Clean Power. Prospects for signing this bill into law look good! The general court has complied with the needs for Clean Power. Under "Findings and Purpose" it states:       The GC finds that aggressive further reductions in emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), mercury, and carbon dioxide (CO2) must be pursued.such aggressive emission reductions are both feasible and cost-effective if implemented simultaneously through a comprehensive, integrated power plant strategy. It is promising that emissions will be reduced at the rates proposed by DES. Findings promote market-based trading (of emission reductions) as the most cost-effective way to comply with emission reduction requirements, however. We will need to pay attention to discussions of emissions trading only to make sure that trading programs are environmentally sound. At 9am in room 303, there will be a public hearing on HB 728. This establishes a surcharge assessed on solid waste disposed at landfills and incinerators. The surcharge will be collected by DES and be deposited in a special fund. Funds will be used for grants for eligible waste reduction and management programs and activities. DES estimates a total of 1,560,000 tons annually. Ultimately, this money will be used to expand recycling programs. DES approximates $3,120,000 (surcharge of $2/ton X 1,560,000) for recycling and waste reduction for FY 2002 and thereafter. Thursday, March 8th Immediately following the House session will be a subcommittee work session on HB 537 - LCHIP. In addition to the original allotment of $3 million from the NH economic development fund, the targeted new revenue source is the real estate transfer tax (RETT). The proceeds would be aimed at tourism promotion )$4 million) and LCHIP ($12 million). The tax was originally introduced in 1967 to fund farmland in NH. Already in place to preserve land and historic buildings, the transfer tax is a good revenue source. (It already exists - let's get it for LCHIP!) To see if your representative is a member of the committee or to learn more about HB 537, visit www.specialplaces.org. Wednesday, March 14th At 9am in room 303, the Environment and Agriculture Committee will hear HB 581. This bill requires the commissioner of agriculture, markets, and food to obtain a search warrant before searching any place, building, or vehicle in which prohibited species may be harbored. An estimated $95,313 (in the first year) would be needed to obtain search warrants. Additional money would be needed to conduct surveillances of fields, forests, wetlands, and croplands. DES estimates that it would take 4 hours of work just to obtain a search warrant. And, the cost would increase in subsequent years. This would be a big waste of money and energy. It must be defeated. At 10am in room 301, the Municipal and County Government Committee will have a hearing on HB 506. This bill eliminates the authority of zoning boards of adjustment to issue variances. At 2pm in room 303, E & A will hear HB 675. This establishes certain restrictions of the sale, labeling, and disposal of certain mercury-added products. Highlights of this bill include: The Disposal Ban states that in 2 years after the effective date, mercury-added products can no longer be disposed in solid waste landfills, transfer stations, and incinerators. The manufacturer must label products that contain mercury. Some products include appliances, mercury added thermometers, motor vehicles, and button cell batteries. Within 18 months of the effective date, no mercury-added product shall be offered for final sale or use in NH unless a take-back plan has approval from DES. Manufacturers of products containing mercury must provide a certificate of analysis (COA) documenting the mercury content in great detail. The arguments for mercury reduction are strong. We should support all of these efforts. At 3pm in room 303, E & A will move onto HB 676 which would establish a committee to study the creation of a regional program for collection and marketing certain components of the municipal solid waste stream. Regional districts will be formed to reduce toxicity in the solid waste stream, reduce the amount of solid waste destined for disposal, and allow increased public sector management of waste materials. If the marketing of recycled materials gets more people to recycle and reduces trash destined for the landfills, then let's get behind this one. Thursday, March 15th At 10am in room 301, the Municipal and County Govt. Committee will hear HB 401 - relative to the receipt of information from regional planning commissions by local land use boards. At 11am in room 301, HB 712 will be discussed. This bill coordinates state and local land use planning efforts by requiring more coordination and consistency in the structure of master plans at the state, regional, and local levels. Sprawl is a huge issue in NH right now as more and more people and businesses migrate north. HB 712 would promote smart growth with an established, more cohesive process to create land use plans. This would allow inter-municipal concerns to be voiced within the local planning process and require the state to provide smart growth direction to regional planning goals. Following HB 712, HB 650 will be heard at 1:30pm in room 301. HB 650 revises the requirements for master plans. A "master plan" is the "big picture" of the community. The goal of HB 650 is to provide more definitive guidance in planning and managing future growth. This act calls strongly for planning to be conducted in context of the wider area. In doing so, master plans will include detailed sections on important issues such as land use, transportation, housing, economic development, natural resources, recreation and historic and cultural resources. HB 650 will give citizens more control over the development of their communities. Wednesday, March 21st At 9:30am, HCR 5 will be heard in room 201. House Concurrent Resolution 5 urges the federal government to consider the impacts on NH and the smaller states of interstate waste legislation. NH imports more solid waste than it exports. The capacity of landfills is diminishing. HCR 5 poses the strong argument that if NH's landfills are developed to hold solid waste of other states, the further success of recycling programs within NH may be defeated. We need incentives for each state to plan for processing and disposal of its municipal solid waste within its own borders. Current interstate waste legislation is unfair and it needs to be revised. Thank you for reading! Contacts Julian Zelazny, Audubon Society of NH, bosko@cyberportal.net, (603) 224-9909 Charlie Niebling, Society for the Protection of NH Forests, cneibling@spnhf.org, 224-9945 x 327 David Schaarsmith, NH Lakes Assoc., dks@nhlakes.org, 226-0299 Brian Hart, LCHIP Coordinator, bhart@igc.org, 230-9729 Emily Genaway, CLVC Newsletter Writer, emily.genaway@awl.com, 343-1343 NH State Government: www.state.nh.us