6/8/20
NEBRA Files Amicus Brief in NH Supreme Court Amidst Turmoil Over NH PFAS Regulations

The New Hampshire Supreme Court might help decide whether or not the NH Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) drinking water standards will go into effect soon or not. In 2019, NHDES adopted regulations setting maximimum contaminant levels (MCLs) for PFAS in drinking water in the teens of parts per trillion, one of the few lowest such standards anywhere in the world, and far lower than the 70 ppt health advisory value set by U. S. EPA. The NH groundwater standards follow the drinking water standards, and would also be in the teens of parts per trillion (ppt). When Plymouth Village Water and Sewer District and others filed a suit against NHDES in court last fall (see NEBRA story), NEBRA filed an amicus (“friend of the court”) brief. Now, as the case has moved to the NH Supreme Court, NEBRA has filed another brief in support of the plaintiffs’ claims and the Merrimack Superior Court’s injunction that is keeping NHDES from enforcing the new standards. Other parties also filed briefs.

NEBRA Amicus Brief to NH Supreme Court, May 29, 2020
BIA of NH Amicus Brief to NH Supreme Court, May 28, 2020
NH Municipal Association Amicus Brief to NH Supreme Court, May 28, 2020

Plaintiffs’ Brief to the NH Supreme Court, May 29, 2020
State of NH Defendant’s Brief to the NH Supreme Court, April 29, 2020

Meanwhile, the New England Ratepayers’ Association released a report shedding light on some of the costs and benefits of the NH drinking water standards (see NERA). As numerous stakeholders have commented to NH DES over the past two years, the costs of New Hampshire’s pretty-much-lowest-in-the-world drinking water standards will far outweigh any measurable, marginal benefits of going from the current 70 ppt EPA advisory level to the teens of ppt.

And then, this week, a New Hampshire Senate Committee suddenly resuscitated the concept of putting the MCLs and groundwater standards into law, creating an omnibus bill - HB 1264 - that includes the MCLs and a $50 million program providing loans to municipalities and utilities to help defray a part of the $267+ million that NH DES estimated will be needed to meet the requirements of the new standards.