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Wetlands consultant urges Bristol to lean on NH DES stormwater rules when drafting solar ordinance
Summary
At an April 22 planning-board meeting, wetlands consultant Cindy Balcius told members New Hampshire treats solar panels as impervious surfaces and advised referencing NH DES ’Alteration of Terrain’ rules in the town’s draft solar ordinance to address stormwater, slope and vegetation requirements.
Cindy Balcius, a wetlands consultant with Stoney Ridge Environmental LLC, told the Bristol Planning Board on April 22 that New Hampshire considers solar panels impervious and that larger solar projects trigger state "Alteration of Terrain" (AoT) permitting standards that address runoff and erosion.
Balcius, who advised the board on a draft town solar ordinance, said the state’s Env‑Wq 1500 AoT rules now include a section specific to solar and that the AoT review looks at panel tilt and count, stormwater infrastructure, soils and infiltration rates, vegetative groundcover and terrain slopes. She told members that the state typically requires substantial vegetative coverage under arrays (about 85% in her examples) and a 25‑foot vegetative buffer where panels abut wetlands.
The consultant outlined technical mitigation commonly required for larger arrays, including engineered drainage systems, infiltration trenches, level spreaders and retention basins. She said projects that disturb at least 100,000 square feet — or 50,000 square feet in protected shoreland — generally require an AoT permit and professional stormwater engineering; smaller installations may be handled with soils and vegetation determinations and best management practices during construction.
Board members discussed how to measure impervious area for solar installations — whether to count square footage per panel, factor panel tilt, or set a triggering percentage that would require expanded review. Conservation Commission Vice Chair Liz Miller raised a Fire Chief concern that vegetation under ground-mounted arrays might conflict with fire code; Balcius said that in projects she’s worked on that requirement had not arisen but recommended the town consult the Fire Chief and state agencies about any local fire-code issues.
Planning Board Chair Steve Carten and staff member Donna Sullivan agreed the town could reference compliance with NH DES rules in the local permit application; Sullivan offered to adapt the town’s lot‑coverage worksheet to capture per‑panel impervious calculations. Board members Scott Severn and Jeremy Fischer volunteered to help draft ordinance language. The board postponed detailed review of the draft until the member who prepared it could attend a future workshop.
The board took no formal action on the ordinance at the meeting; members asked staff to incorporate technical worksheet language and state-rule references for further drafting.
The Board’s next meeting is scheduled for May 13, 2026, when the solar ordinance review is expected to resume.
