In this chapter:

1. I. "Construction" means:

   1. (a) The installation or building of:

      1. (1) New wells or well buildings;
      2. (2) Filtration systems and associated pump stations, pump equipment, chemical treatment systems, telemetry and metering equipment, and storage tanks; and
      3. (3) Distribution mains and valves needed to interconnect the new wells or filtration system to the existing system as may be required by the department and the EPA or to interconnect public water systems to form a regional water system.
   2. (b) Altering, improving or adding to existing water treatment or water source, storage or transmission main facilities or regional water system interconnections in order to meet the requirements of the surface water treatment rules or to meet the water needs of a regional water system.

   3. (c) Engineering services related to the activities identified under this paragraph, including the scientific evaluation of the groundwater contributing area of public wells with recorded levels of chemical contaminants, excluding MTBE, using a method approved by the department.

      I-a. "Community water system" means a community water system as defined in RSA 485:1-a, I.

2. II. "Department" means the department of environmental services.

3. III. "Eligible surface water treatment costs" means the actual cost of construction and related services necessary for a municipality to comply with the surface water treatment rules of the department of environmental services and the EPA, but shall not include the following:

   1. (a) Land acquisition, except for land which shall be an integral part of a well system or filtration system;
   2. (b) Easements and rights-of-way necessary to the project;
   3. (c) Distribution systems and any improvement thereto not necessary for the municipality to achieve compliance with the surface water treatment rules; and

   4. (d) Any administrative, legal, and fiscal costs related to the project.

      III-a. "Eligible water supply land protection costs" means the actual cost of permanently conserving substantially undeveloped land within one or more source water protection areas for active, proposed, or future sources of public drinking water supplying a community or non-transient non-community water system, including the cost of land or conservation easement acquisition and associated legal and transaction costs.

      III-b. "Eligible regional water system costs" means that portion of the costs of construction and related services attributable, as determined by the department, or the entire cost of permanent construction and related services attributable, as approved by the department in accordance with the provisions of RSA 485:8, for communities that qualify for United States Department of Agriculture rural utilities water and wastewater program direct loans, guarantees, and grants and public water systems that are eligible for any other needs based federal assistance to the provision of water for domestic, commercial, or fire protection purposes, whether as routine supply or emergency reserve supply, through one or more of the interconnections that form a regional water system, but shall not include any of the following:

   5. (a) Land acquisition, except for land which shall be an integral part of a well system or filtration system.
   6. (b) Easements and rights-of-way necessary to the project.
   7. (c) Distribution systems and any improvement thereto not necessary for the municipality to achieve compliance with the surface water treatment rules.

   8. (d) Administrative, legal, and fiscal costs related to the project.

      III-c. "Eligible evaluation of the groundwater contribution area of public wells that have recorded levels of chemical contaminants excluding MTBE" means that portion of the actual costs of scientific evaluation of the contribution area of the sources of public drinking water, such as a well or surface water intake, through which water is likely to flow towards the source and related services attributable, as determined by the department, to the provisions of water for domestic, commercial, or fire protection purposes, whether as routine supply or emergency backup supply, through one or more interconnections that form a regional water system, but shall not include the following:

   9. (a) Land acquisition, except for land which shall be an integral part of a well system or filtration system;
   10. (b) Easements and rights-of-way necessary to the project;
   11. (c) Distribution systems and any improvement thereto not necessary for the municipality to achieve compliance with the surface water treatment rules; and
   12. (d) Any administrative, legal, and fiscal costs related to the project.

4. IV. "EPA" means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

   1. (a) Stratified-drift aquifer areas identified by the department as favorable gravel well areas not constrained by existing development; and
   2. (b) Other groundwater resources identified by the department as high-yielding aquifer areas not constrained by existing development.

   IV-a. "Future source of public drinking water supply" means:

5. V. "Non-transient non-community water system" means a non-transient non-community water system as defined in RSA 485:1-a, XI.

   V-a. "Regional water system" means the system which results from the interconnection of 2 or more discrete public water systems to provide routine or emergency reserve supply.

   V-b. "Groundwaters" means all areas below the top of the water table, including aquifers, wells, and other sources of groundwater.

6. VI. "Source water protection area" means the area around a source of public drinking water, such as a well or surface water intake, through which water is likely to flow towards the source.
7. VII. "Stewardship" means ongoing surveillance of water supply protection land acquired pursuant to this chapter to ensure that the conservation intent is maintained.
8. VIII. "Water supply land protection grantee" means an entity that receives a water supply land protection grant to acquire and maintain in perpetuity land or easements for the purpose of protecting a drinking water source. A water supply land protection grantee shall be a nonprofit organization exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and having public water supply or land conservation as its principal mission or a municipality.

Source. 1993, 341:1. 1996, 228:94, 106. 2000, 310:1. 2003, 178:2-4. 2008, 279:10. 2009, 227:1-3, eff. July 16, 2009.