N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 485-A:4 – Duties of Department

It shall be the duty of the department and the department is authorized:

I. To exercise general supervision over the administration and enforcement of this chapter.
II. To study and investigate all problems connected with the pollution of the surface waters or groundwaters of the state.
III. To conduct scientific experiments, investigations and research to discover economical and practical methods for the elimination, disposal or treatment of industrial wastes to control pollution of the surface waters or groundwaters of the state.
IV. To cooperate with any other public or private agency in the conduct of such experiments, investigations and research. In order to utilize fully the facilities of the state, it shall be the duty of all other state agencies to cooperate and render such assistance as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this chapter.
V. To do all necessary work relative to the establishment of a proper and reasonable classification pursuant to RSA 485-A:9.
VI. To require the filing with the department of plans and specifications of the installation of systems and devices for handling, treating, or disposing of sewage, industrial and other wastes, at least 30 days prior to the beginning of construction.
VII. To investigate and approve after making such modification as the department deems necessary to conform to the purpose of this chapter and RSA 486, any portions of the applications of those municipalities, industries, or other persons of the state as may request state or federal aid that may at any time be made available in the interest of pollution control. The commissioner of environmental services shall receive or make agreements on behalf of the state for any federal or other moneys as may be allotted for such purposes. Those who have already incurred expense in order to comply with a classification adopted by the legislature or made under RSA 485-A:11 shall be equally eligible to receive any federal or other moneys with those who have not incurred but who are required to incur expense by reason of such classification.
VIII. To confer with responsible authorities of other states relative to methods, means and measures to be employed to control pollution of interstate streams and other waters, and to submit to the legislature recommendations relative to the adoption of interstate compacts pertaining to pollution or its control on all said waters. After said compacts and agreements have been concluded by the necessary legislative and congressional action, the department shall carry out said agreements or compacts by appropriate orders provided for in either the compacts or the provisions of this chapter.
IX. To set standards of design and construction for sewerage and sewage or waste treatment systems and standards or design guidelines as the department determines to be appropriate for innovative/alternative waste treatment systems. Innovative/alternative waste treatment systems shall include solar and such other systems as shall be identified or accepted by the department. To reject, if necessary, or modify and approve as deemed necessary for the purposes of the state water pollution control program all engineering or other documents associated with the design and construction of pollution control projects and perform such other related engineering or inspectional work as will provide for proper design, construction and operation of the facilities involved, and take such other action as the department deems necessary, to maximize the effectiveness of sewerage and other pollution control facilities, both proposed and in construction. The department is authorized to purchase professional liability insurance annually in order to provide coverage in connection with resident construction engineering services which may be made available to municipalities by the department for projects undertaken with benefit of a federal grant under the provisions of this chapter; provided, however, that no construction engineering services shall be provided to any municipality with a population of greater than 5,000 according to the office of planning and development estimate for that even decade year preceding project application to the department or when the estimated project costs exceed $2,000,000. The purpose of this paragraph is to ensure the planning, construction and operation of publicly owned pollution control facilities which in the judgment of the department will produce maximum benefits with the least expenditure of federal, state and local funds.
IX-a. [Repealed.]
IX-b. Any person submitting a request to the department, not accompanied by plans and specifications, for a permit to discharge additional sewage or industrial wastes to a municipal sewer system shall pay to the department a fee of $50. The request, accompanied by the fee, shall be submitted through, and approved by, the affected municipality. This fee shall not apply to municipalities, counties, state agencies, or school districts. These fees shall be deposited with the state treasurer as unrestricted revenue.
IX-c. Any person submitting plans and specifications to the department for the construction or installation of facilities for the pretreatment of industrial wastes shall pay to the department a permit fee of $1,000. The discharge permit request, accompanied by the plans and specifications and the fee, shall be submitted through and approved by the affected municipality. This fee shall not apply to municipalities, state agencies, or school districts. These fees shall be deposited with the state treasurer as unrestricted revenue.
X. To provide such services and technical assistance in the area of sanitary engineering as may be required by the commissioner of the department of health and human services to implement the statutory obligations imposed upon the commissioner of the department of health and human services and the rules adopted by said commissioner.
XI. To scientifically measure and monitor residual pesticides in the waters and in the aquatic resources in the waters of the state.
XII. To review, establish maximum state participation fees and modify in any other way which in the judgment of the department will promote economy and the purposes of this chapter, and following such review or modification, approve and cosign jointly with the municipality or other governmental subdivision concerned any proposed contracts or other proposed agreements or changes in contracts or agreements for engineering services related to sewerage and other pollution control facilities. Further, the department shall prescribe the contract documents to be employed and may provide for the assessment of liquidated damages for failure to complete the work within the time stipulated therefor. Except for the financial assistance available to municipalities under the provisions of RSA 486, nothing in this chapter shall be construed to place any additional financial obligation on the state, the department or its personnel.
XIII. To establish rules governing the prequalification of consulting engineering firms employed in the planning and construction of public water supply and pollution control projects. Any licensed engineering firm seeking initial prequalification shall pay to the department a fee of $200. Prequalification shall be renewed annually and shall be accompanied by a $50 renewal fee. These fees shall be deposited with the state treasurer as unrestricted revenue. The department is further empowered to prescribe the contract award procedures to be followed in the awarding of construction contracts involving state financial assistance.
XIV. To formulate a policy relating to long-term trends affecting the purity of the surface waters or groundwaters of the state. Insofar as practicable and necessary, a continuing program of sampling and subsequent chemical or biological analysis, or both, shall be conducted to establish patterns and reveal long-term trends to serve as a basis for formulating such policy. In conducting said program of sampling and analysis, the department is authorized to accept any assistance as may be proffered by persons that the department deems to be qualified. The department shall provide proper warning to the public by posting a sign indicating where water quality standards are not being attained as they relate to specified designated uses.
XV. To establish and prescribe physical, chemical and biological pretreatment standards to which waste must conform before discharge into the collection system or the sewage treatment facility of a municipality or other governmental entity being served by or under order to construct a public sewage treatment facility. In establishing and prescribing pretreatment standards, the department shall give consideration to the following:
1. (a) The treatment capabilities and operating efficiency of the facilities to which they apply.
2. (b) The discharge criteria applicable to the facility in order for it to conform to established water quality standards for the receiving water, as expressed in the discharge permit or compliance order issued to the municipality.
3. (c) Toxic effluent standards.
4. (d) Such standards as will prevent the discharge of any pollutant through the facility that interferes with, passes through without being rendered innocuous or is otherwise incompatible with the effective operation of the facility.
XVI. To enter into, with the consent of the governor and council, cooperative agreements with the United States Environmental Protection Agency or any other federal agency having jurisdiction in the premises relative to any joint state-federal water pollution enforcement abatement and control programs authorized by law, and involving the issuance of discharge permits.
XVI-a. To regulate the removal, transportation, and disposal of septage through administration of a permit system. As a condition of any permit issued under this chapter, the department may require payment of a reasonable fee, established by rules adopted under RSA 485-A:6, X-a. Funds collected under this paragraph shall be deposited with the treasurer as unrestricted revenue.
XVI-b. To regulate the removal, transportation, and disposal of sludge through administration of a permit system. As a condition of any permit issued under this chapter, the department may require payment of a reasonable fee, established by rules adopted under RSA 485-A:6, X-a. Funds collected under this paragraph shall be deposited with the treasurer as unrestricted revenue.
XVI-c. (a) To design and implement a program for state or independent third party sampling and testing of sludge or biosolid materials that are intended for land application. The department shall design the sampling methodology, in consultation with university of New Hampshire statisticians and sludge and biosolid experts, to provide a statistical evaluation of the contaminant levels contained in sludge or biosolids. The department shall concentrate its testing on those contaminants that pose greater risks to public health and the environment due to their toxicity, potential availability, concentration levels, or concentration uncertainty. The department shall maintain a database of testing results and prepare, in consultation with university of New Hampshire statisticians and sludge and biosolid experts, and make available to the public and the general court, a biennial report by November 1 of each year which analyses the compiled test results, including data from prior years, as appropriate. The analysis shall detail contaminant concentrations on both a statewide and generator level and shall indicate the statistical degree of certainty in the results of the analysis. The department shall attempt to present the report in terms that are understandable to the layperson including practical examples such as the probability that any given load of untested sludge exceeds a contaminant standard.
(b) The department shall establish a fee of $500, to be paid by sludge quality certificate holders by January 1 of each year. The fee shall be deposited in a special, nonlapsing sampling and analysis of sludge or biosolids samples fund, for exclusive use by the department to implement the program established in subparagraph (a).
XVI-d. To conduct on-site inspections of sludge or biosolid application sites to monitor adherence to all state and federal requirements for such activity.
XVII. To give notice by first-class mail to the city or town clerk of the municipality in which is located the point of discharge or point of potential discharge, and all adjacent municipalities located on the same receiving water as the water at the point of discharge, when an application is made for a new permit or when a permit is renewed by the department.
XVIII. To establish rules for dental offices relative to the use of environmentally appropriate disposal equipment or methods for amalgam waste to trap and dispose of mercury.

Source. 1989, 339:1. 1990, 3:86, 87; 248:2; 252:11. 1991, 240:1; 371:1. 1993, 172:3. 1995, 310:182, 183. 1996, 228:106. 1998, 102:4; 230:2. 2000, 326:1, 2. 2002, 96:3; 240:2. 2003, 319:9. 2004, 257:44, eff. July 1, 2004. 2015, 259:9, 10, eff. July 1, 2015. 2017, 156:64, eff. July 1, 2017. 2021, 91:198, eff. July 1, 2021. 2024, 164:4, 6, eff. July 1, 2024. 2025, 141:114, eff. July 1, 2025.