I.The governing bodies of 2 or more municipalities may at their discretion, and shall upon a vote of their respective legislative bodies, create a special unpaid committee to be known as a solid waste management district planning committee, consisting of 3 persons from each municipality appointed by the respective governing bodies. The committee shall elect a chairperson, clerk and treasurer. Members may be reimbursed by the committee for costs of performing duties directly related to committee responsibilities. Any solid waste management district committee formed pursuant to RSA 149-M:24, in existence as of August 8, 1994, may serve as a planning committee under this chapter.
II.The committee may accept funds from any public or private source and may expend money for planning purposes w
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I. The governing bodies of 2 or more municipalities may at their discretion, and shall upon a vote of their respective legislative bodies, create a special unpaid committee to be known as a solid waste management district planning committee, consisting of 3 persons from each municipality appointed by the respective governing bodies. The committee shall elect a chairperson, clerk and treasurer. Members may be reimbursed by the committee for costs of performing duties directly related to committee responsibilities. Any solid waste management district committee formed pursuant to RSA 149-M:24, in existence as of August 8, 1994, may serve as a planning committee under this chapter.
II. The committee may accept funds from any public or private source and may expend money for planning purposes which may include, but not be limited to, engaging legal counsel, accountants, engineers, contractors, consultants and other advisors, paying for member expenses, or organizational and secretarial assistance. The committee shall report in a timely fashion to each governing body the sources and amounts of such funds. Each municipality represented on the committee may appropriate funds to the committee.
III. The committee shall study the advisability of establishing a solid waste management district by examining the types of facilities that would be needed; the methods of organizing, operating and financing such a district; the potential benefits and disadvantages to member municipalities; and the closure of any proposed or existing facilities. The committee may consider specific sites inside or outside the proposed district for facility location or, more generally, which municipalities may have facilities located within them.
IV. If the committee determines that the formation of a district is desirable, it shall prepare a proposed district agreement and hold a public informational session and hearing on it in at least one of the participating municipalities. A public informational session and hearing shall be held in each municipality which is named in the district agreement as a site. Copies of the proposed agreement and of RSA 53-B shall be made available at and prior to any hearing. Notice of any hearing shall be published in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the proposed district area and sent to the governing bodies of participating municipalities.
V. After the public hearing and informational session the committee may amend the contents of the proposed agreement and shall send it for review to the attorney general and department of environmental services. The attorney general shall approve any proposed agreement unless it is in improper form or is incompatible with the requirements of this chapter and the laws of this state. The attorney general shall detail in writing to the governing bodies and the planning committee any specific respects in which the proposed agreement fails to meet the requirements of law. Approval by the attorney general shall be required for any district agreement to be legally valid. Failure by the attorney general to disapprove an agreement within 30 days of its submission shall constitute approval. The department of environmental services shall provide comment, including recommendations for improvement, to the committee and governing bodies within 30 days of the proposed agreement's submission relative to its compatibility with the state solid waste management plan and the solid waste management statutes and rules. The comments of the department shall not affect the legal validity of any district agreement.
VI. The committee may revise the proposed district agreement as it deems necessary and shall resubmit it to the 2 state agencies as provided in paragraph V. A public hearing shall be held in at least one of the participating municipalities if the agreement is substantially revised. The committee may give final approval to a proposed agreement after approval by the attorney general.
VII. The committee shall report its findings and recommendations, along with any proposed district agreement, to the governing bodies of the municipalities comprising the committee.