Proposal for baseline environmental studies draws testimony rooted in Merrimack contamination case
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Summary
HB 16 21 would require a baseline environmental impact study before permitting certain manufacturing or storage facilities and periodic updates. Sponsors and local officials cited the Saint-Gobain contamination in Merrimack to argue for advance baseline data; DES staff raised questions about vague language (‘unreasonable adverse impacts’) and implementation details.
Representative Perez introduced HB 16 21, a bipartisan bill that would require an environmental baseline study (air, water, soil, noise and light) prior to permitting certain manufacturing and storage facilities above a threshold square footage and to require updates and re-evaluations on ownership or changes in operations.
Sponsor testimony and multiple public witnesses used Saint-Gobain in Merrimack as a case study of why baseline monitoring and public notification matter: they said earlier, routine changes in ownership and unanticipated process changes at that site preceded significant PFAS contamination of private wells and local water were not caught early enough by current permitting practice. Representative Wendy Thomas and other Merrimack representatives urged the bill be viewed as a prevention tool to protect public health and drinking water.
Department of Environmental Services (DES) officials, including Jeff Martz from the Hazardous Waste Remediation Bureau, told the committee DES is not taking a formal position but raised concerns that some bill terms (for example, “unreasonable adverse impacts”) are vague and would require clarifying criteria. DES also noted the agency lacks an accreditation framework for third-party environmental-impact preparers and that evaluating hundreds of historic municipal and closed landfill sites or many potential applicants could require additional staffing or consultant support.
Witnesses and committee members discussed possible refinements: narrowing the threshold, specifying the elements of a baseline, and clarifying which actions (ownership change, start of new processes, expansion) trigger an updated study. Representative Rung and other experienced industry/public-affairs witnesses suggested focusing requirements and building clearer definitions before passing a broad mandate. DES offered to work with the committee on language to reduce ambiguity and workload.
The committee did not vote; a work session is scheduled to refine the bill’s language and implementation detail and to consider how the state could use accredited third parties to provide baseline studies without creating unsustainable agency workloads.
