The General Land Office adopted amendments to regulations governing beach dune management. The amendments ensure consistency with related provisions, increase beach user fees, update beach access provisions, and prohibit on-beach vehicular access in certain areas.
The Department of Environmental Conservation proposed amendments to regulations governing the state’s environmental remediation programs. The amendments would, among other things, address and update requirements pertaining to the State Superfund Program, the Environmental Restoration Program, and the Brownfield Cleanup Program, and update soil cleanup objectives. Hearings will be held May 15, 2024. Comments are due May 21, 2024.
The Department of Environmental Services proposed to readopt, without amendments, rules governing requirements for the registration, design, installation, operation, maintenance, and monitoring of above-ground petroleum storage facilities. A hearing will be held March 7, 2024. Comments are due March 14, 2024. See https://gencourt.state.nh.us/rules/register/2024/0208/2024-18%20IP%20Notice%20Env-Or%20300.pdf.
The Department of Environmental Services proposed to readopt, with amendments, existing rules governing the Voluntary Certified Salt Applicator Program and to adopt new rules to establish a municipal winter maintenance certification program. A hearing will be held February 29, 2024. Comments are due March 7, 2024. See https://gencourt.state.nh.us/rules/register/2024/0208/2024-16%20IP%20Notice%20Env-Wq%202200.pdf.
The Department of Environmental Quality adopted new rules and amended existing rules pertaining to Montana groundwater pollution control system permits. The rules and amendments allow the conditions of an expired permit to remain in force if the permittee applies for a reissued permit, and require all interested persons to raise all reasonably ascertainable issues and arguments on a tentative permit decision during the public comment period.
The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation adopted amendments to regulations pertaining to state land leasing. The amendments make revisions to definitions, procedures for evaluating sites for land banking, and procedures for site sales.
The Department of Environmental Quality transferred rulemaking authority from the Board of Environmental Review to the Department of Environmental Quality.
The Department of Agriculture adopted amendments to regulations governing cost sharing in the Water Pollution Control Program. The amendments increase the payment amount and remove the per-person funding cap for single projects, excluding animal waste storage or treatment projects, while imposing a total payment cap for such animal waste projects on a farm or farms that a person owns or operates or in which the person has a controlling interest.
The Department of Environmental Protection proposed to adopt a new rule governing the Packaging Stewardship Program. The rule would implement the program by, among other things, characterizing packaging material, providing a method for determining municipal reimbursement and producer fees, providing a method and criteria for investing in infrastructure and education, establishing a cap for the stewardship fund, and providing mechanisms for ongoing assessment and updates to the program. A hearing will be held March 7, 2024. Comments are due March 18, 2024.
The Department of Environmental Protection proposed to amend regulations governing the no adverse environmental effect standards under the Site Location of Development Act. The amendments would define habitat resources and establish a compensation fee program that would require compensation for alterations to deer wintering areas, habitats of rare, threatened, or endangered species, migratory bird pathways, and important wildlife corridors, in addition to alterations exceeding specified acreages based on ecoregion. A hearing will be held March 7, 2024.