DES tells committee it will centralize wildlife reviews, raise some permitting fees and restrict overwater boathouses; new solid‑waste siting panel proposed

Concord — The Department of Environmental Services told a House Finance Division I hearing it supports a package of changes in the governor’s House Bill 2 that would consolidate several environmental permitting reviews at DES, increase a set of permit fees to pay for added staff, and add new guardrails for overwater “boathouses.” Separately, the governor’s office proposed creation of a Solid Waste Site Evaluation Committee to review very large disposal or transfer facilities and a temporary moratorium on new capacity until the committee issues rules.

At a Jan. 24 Division I hearing, Adam Crapo, assistant commissioner at the Department of Environmental Services, described sections 2 through 8 of HB 2 as “realigning some of the state agencies to make permitting a little bit quicker,” including moving several DES‑related wildlife review positions now housed at New Hampshire Fish and Game and the Natural Heritage Bureau/Department of Natural and Cultural Resources into DES. “The idea here is for when developers have a project and they need DES permits…to consolidate this to just a one‑stop shop,” Crapo said.

Why it matters: DES officials said the move aims to shorten permitting timelines and reduce applicants’ need to navigate multiple agencies. Legislators pressing DES sought revenue and process details: Representatives asked how many positions move, which fees would rise, who pays, and whether fee increases could push homeowners to work without permits.

What DES told the committee - Staff moves and structure: Crapo said HB 1 and HB 2 together would transfer most of the reviewers who complete endangered‑species and Natural Heritage Database (NHB) checks into DES’s Land Resource Management Bureau. DES asked a technical correction so Fish and Game would retain some reviewers who do work for other state or federal agencies. Under the current proposal DES would receive three staff from Fish and Game, two from DNCR, plus one new supervisory position to run an endangered‑species unit. Phil Trowbridge, who runs DES’s Land Resource Management Bureau, added that the transferred reviewers would remain biologists/botanists doing desktop reviews and coordinating mitigation recommendations.

- Funding and fees: Crapo said the governor’s budget would use general funds to cover the new positions for the first part of the biennium, then rely on fee increases later in the biennium. DES’s materials estimate that tweaking selected fees could reduce general‑fund support by roughly $5.5 million across the biennium if the committee and Legislature adopt the proposed increases. DES told lawmakers it plans a mix of wetlands‑permit fee increases (DES said wetlands fees would increase by 50% in the department’s spreadsheet example) and higher alteration‑of‑terrain fees; DES also proposed raising the small “data‑check” fee for an NHB lookup from $25 to $50 and increasing the wetlands permit permit‑by‑notification (PBN) flat fee from $400 to $600.

- Permit‑by‑notification and thresholds: DES said AOT (alteration of terrain) permitting currently requires formal review for projects over 100,000 square feet; the proposal would create a PBN option for some projects between the 100,000 and 50,000‑square‑foot thresholds, and give DES rulemaking authority to refine which projects qualify. Phil Trowbridge told the committee that roughly 30% of wetlands permits are housing‑related and that PBNs constitute about half of DES’s wetlands workload.

Legislative concerns raised Legislators repeatedly pressed DES on homeowner impacts and enforcement. Representative Weiler asked whether new fees would cover the new positions; Crapo said, “They will cover the cost, of of those people. Yes.” Representatives expressed worry that higher fees for small homeowners might encourage unpermitted work; DES said the bill clarifies contractor liability (making contractors liable if they knowingly violate permit rules) and stressed that much work is contracted and would remain subject to enforcement. DES also said it relies on public complaints and field inspections for compliance work and currently investigates roughly 300 complaints a year in the Land Resource Management Bureau.

Overwater boathouses DES told the committee a legal opinion from the attorney general requires the agency to treat “overwater” boathouses as potentially approvable if environmental criteria are met; historically DES and the governor and council have not approved overwater boathouses. To avoid unbounded or multi‑story structures coming forward, HB 2 would define boathouses, set a structural‑height cap (statutory text in the redline tied structural height to about 18 feet), and limit boathouse use to boat servicing and storage rather than habitable dwellings. DES said overwater structures can be less environmentally damaging than “dug‑in” boathouses but that the new language is intended to set safe statewide guardrails for size, height and function.

Solid‑waste siting and moratorium proposal The governor’s plan also would create a Solid Waste Site Evaluation Committee to review major disposal or transfer facilities that handle at least 100,000 tons annually. DES described the committee as a five‑member, fee‑funded panel that could order extra public hearings and require studies on traffic, odor, visual and recreation impacts; the draft includes a filing fee scale (a $20,000 base and graduated fees up to tens of thousands more for very large facilities). The bill text would place a moratorium on new capacity while the committee promulgates rules. DES said applicants would still need DES and other state permits before a site‑evaluation filing would be considered by the committee; the SEC review would focus on community impacts not already addressed by technical permits.

Other budget and rule changes discussed The committee also heard DES proposals to: repeal two future appropriations for a wastewater state‑aid program that had appeared in HB 2 of the prior biennium (DES staff described those as not yet spent appropriations); remove a small operator‑licensing fee that DES said is difficult to administer; repeal an underperforming out‑of‑state boater‑decal fee that DES said cost more to run than it produces in revenue; and several technical edits to statutory lists of which RSAs require DES environmental reviews (DES staff used RSA citations for wetlands and AOT during the hearing).

Votes at a glance (actions recorded in the hearing) - Committee accepted the redline for section 161 (dam easement technical fix) as presented (motion and second; vote recorded affirmatively). - Committee accepted section 158 (repeal of future state‑aid appropriations referenced in HB2) (motion and second; vote recorded affirmatively). - Committee accepted section 162 (change to waste management division director qualification language) (motion and second; vote recorded affirmatively). - The committee adopted an amendment on environmental councils (sections 163–166) to add one representative for the renewable‑energy industry and to adjust the count of general public members; the amendment passed (one no vote recorded). The committee then accepted the affected sections with that amendment (motions and recorded votes in the transcript).

What DES said it will do next DES told the committee it plans to work with stakeholders, including the home‑builders and construction trade groups, on fee increases; it will use rulemaking to refine PBN eligibility; and it will prepare technical corrections to HB 1 and HB 2 drafts to reflect staffing and appropriation decisions. Crapo said the agency will move more quickly than the 180 days the redline allows for rulemaking but wants enough time to consult stakeholders and JLCR (the rule review body).

Who spoke to the record Speakers included Adam Crapo (assistant commissioner, Department of Environmental Services), Susan Carlson (chief operating officer, DES), Phil Trowbridge (Land Resource Management Bureau chief, DES), Sarah Stewart (commissioner, Department of Natural and Cultural Resources), Stephanie Simek (director, New Hampshire Fish and Game), and multiple House members including Representatives Wyler (chair), Weiler, Munster, Ron, Ebel, Munson, Leishman, Brown and Vivo.

The hearing continued with committee members asking DES to provide more detail on fee models, enforcement capacity, and the Solid Waste Site Evaluation Committee’s proposed rule timetable; members also asked DES to evaluate options for staggering annual or biennial CPI adjustments to fees rather than one‑time changes.