§ 21-O:7 — Water Council

I. There is established a water council which shall consist of 15 members:
(a) Thirteen of the members shall be public members appointed by the governor, with the consent of the council, who shall serve for terms of 4 years. Of these members, 2 shall represent the industrial interests of the state; one shall represent the vacation home or private recreational interests of the state; one shall represent the agricultural interests of the state; one shall be an employee of any municipal or privately-owned waterworks in the state; one shall be a representative of the septage hauling industry; one shall be a member of a statewide nonprofit conservation or environmental organization; one shall be a treatment plant operator; one shall be a designer or installer of septic systems; one shall represent a New Hampshire rivers council, and one shall represent a New Hampshire lakes association. The 2 remaining members shall be appointed and commissioned respectively as the chairman and vice chairman of the council;
(b) The remaining 2 members shall include:
(1) The executive director of fish and game, or designee; and
(2) The director of parks and recreation, or designee.
(c) Each member of the council, before entering upon his or her duties, shall take an oath to administer the duties of office faithfully and impartially, and such oath shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state.
II. Appointive members shall receive no compensation except for mileage and other expenses incurred while performing council business. The other members of the council shall receive no additional compensation for their service as members of the council other than their regular salaries from their respective state departments, but shall receive mileage and other expenses incurred while performing council business. Mileage shall be paid at the rate set for state employees.
III. The council shall consult with and advise the director of the division of water with respect to the policy, programs, goals, and operations of the division other than those relating to wetlands under RSA 482-A, with particular emphasis on long-range planning for the division and on education of the public relative to the functions of the division, on a continuing basis. In order to accomplish said purposes, the council shall meet with the director not less frequently than quarterly, or at the call of the chairman or 3 council members. The council shall file annually a report of its deliberations and recommendations with the commissioner of the department of environmental services and the governor and council.
IV. A quorum of at least 3 members of the water council shall hear all administrative appeals from department decisions relative to the functions and responsibilities of the division of water other than department decisions made under RSA 482-A relative to wetlands and RSA 483-B relative to shoreland protection, and shall decide all disputed issues of fact in such appeals, in accordance with RSA 21-O:14.
V. The director of the division of water shall present all rules proposed to be implemented by the water division, other than rules implementing RSA 482-A relative to wetlands, and RSA 483-B relative to shoreland protection, to the water council for consideration prior to filing a notice of proposed rule under RSA 541-A:6. The council shall present any objections to proposed rules to the director of the division of water and to the commissioner in writing within 15 days. The commissioner may adopt a rule to which the council has objected only after presenting a written reply to the council detailing the reasons for adopting the rule over the objections of the council.

Legislative History

1986, 202:1. 1987, 283:4. 1990, 252:1. 1994, 412:8. 1995, 226:10; 310:182. 1996, 228:6, 7. 2000, 44:1. 2003, 319:9. 2004, 257:44. 2008, 171:1, 2. 2010, 354:4, eff. Sept. 18, 2010. 2012, 246:2, eff. June 18, 2012. 2015, 67:2, eff. Aug. 1, 2015. 2023, 79:21, eff. July 1, 2023. 2025, 141:120, eff. July 1, 2025.