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Senate Finance backs amended $20 million package for southern-tier water project
Summary
The committee approved amendments to SB541 to assemble roughly $20 million for a southern-tier water project by combining capital bonding, a drinking-water trust fund allocation, and Manchester water-system bonding; members also debated PFAS standard language and had LBA draft a consolidated replace-all amendment.
The Senate Finance Committee voted to advance Senate Bill 541 after adopting committee amendments that reallocate funding for a southern-tier water project. Senator Lang described a three-part funding approach to cover the project: $5 million from the year-end capital bonding program, $5 million from the drinking water/groundwater trust fund (the committee amended one allocation from $4 million to $5 million), and $10 million to be provided through bonding by the Manchester water system.
Senator Waters proposed replacement language for a section the two senators said overlapped; the committee agreed LBA would draft a consolidated "replace all" committee amendment to combine the changes and ensure consistent totals. Committee members noted the original statute included a prior $50 million appropriation and that DEES currently had $6.2 million still available from that earlier fund; the amendment directs several million toward the phase‑2B southern-tier project.
Members also debated language in the amendment that referenced federal and state standards for PFAS/PAS contaminants. Senator Rosen and others asked which standard would control if federal and state levels diverged. Richard Hedigan of the Department of Environmental Services' legal unit explained that EPA has indicated it will maintain PFOA and PFOS standards (noting lower federal levels) and is moving to remove other PFAS substances; DEES asked to retain the ability to apply state standards as federal guidance evolves. Because part of the proposed amendment changed definitions outside the immediate funding provisions, the committee voted to strike a narrow set of definition lines (lines 9–12) from the amendment so the policy change can be explained separately in the House if needed.
The committee approved the amended package by voice vote and instructed LBA to make technical changes to integrate totals and to draft the final replace-all amendment for the bill. Senators emphasized there would be no general-fund dollars required in the committee's plan and that administrative costs would be handled from existing fund balances.
