House committee backs 3-year moratorium on permits for new landfills; sends bill to floor

After hours of debate in committee work sessions and a recorded roll call in executive session, the House Environment & Agriculture Committee voted to advance HB 171, a bill placing a temporary moratorium on new landfill permits in New Hampshire.

Supporters argued the pause is intended to allow the Department of Environmental Services (DES) time to write and refine rules to improve siting, environmental protections and oversight. Representative Gruber offered the amendment that set the moratorium at three years; that amendment and the motion to pass the bill with the amendment were adopted by the committee in recorded votes.

Committee members described a range of positions during debate. Representative Scully and other members proposed shortening the moratorium to one year so future legislatures would retain flexibility; Representative Germana and others argued a multi-year pause reflected the broad consensus built in the House and would give DES sufficient time to implement rules. Some members said the moratorium was a bargaining position for the House during subsequent conference with the Senate and governor’s office.

Representatives repeatedly referenced DES reports and internal analyses when discussing capacity and the effect of out-of-state waste, with one member saying that DES data show at least five years of permitted landfill capacity statewide and that roughly 45% of buried waste in the state comes from out of state. Supporters said the pause would not stop existing permitted sites from expanding under current law, and that DES would still accept and process information for permit completeness during the moratorium.

In executive session the committee first approved an amendment (2025-0465H) and then voted OUGHT TO PASS AS AMENDED on HB 171. The amendment and final committee recommendation passed by recorded roll calls of 13–1. Committee discussion and roll calls show the measure was placed on the committee report and the sponsor was assigned to carry the bill to the floor.

The committee discussed technical drafting questions in the amendment — including how the moratorium’s repeal date would be coded in statute and whether the effective date should align with the state fiscal year (July 1) — and members said the exact length of the moratorium would ultimately be resolved in conference negotiations with the Senate and the governor’s office.

The committee chair and sponsors said they intended to press for a three-year pause on the House floor while acknowledging the Senate has considered longer options. Several members said the pause is not intended to stop current permitted landfills or to restrict expansions that meet environmental standards.

The committee report advancing HB 171 with amendment will be filed with the House clerk; the bill was recorded as passing the committee on a 13–1 vote. The committee also agreed it was appropriate to place the bill on the consent calendar for floor consideration.

Votes at committee: - Amendment 2025-0465H (sets moratorium dates/effective date): passed, 13–1. - OTPA (Ought to Pass as Amended) on HB 171: passed, 13–1.

Notes: The committee’s discussion emphasized the moratorium as a tool to give DES time to complete rulemaking and to codify a net public benefit approach already under separate House bills. Several members asked legislative staff to check cross-references and the bill’s repeal language so the statutory expiration date would be clear.