Section 486-A:13 Public Trust. - New Hampshire Statutes

   I. The lands and interests in lands acquired by the state or other public entity with a water supply land protection grant under this chapter shall be held in public trust and used and applied for the purposes of this chapter. Notwithstanding any other provision of law relating to the disposal of publicly-owned real estate, no deviation in the uses of any land or interest in land so acquired to uses or purposes not consistent with the purposes of this chapter shall be permitted. The sale, transfer, conveyance, or release of any such land or interest in land from public trust is prohibited except when the conditions of RSA 486-A:13, II or III are met.
   II. Land may be released from public trust in order to be converted to another use if:
      (a) The municipality, holding title to the land or conservation easement proposed for release from the program, votes in favor of such a release by a two-thirds vote of its legislative body;
      (b) A public hearing is held prior to the municipal vote, after the municipality provides notice of such hearing at least 30 days prior to the hearing by notices sent to the department, notices posted in at least one public place in the municipality, certified notice to any other municipality whose water supply might be affected by the proposed release, and notices in at least 2 newspapers of general circulation in the region;
      (c) All other municipalities using the water supply protected by the land or conservation easement vote to release the land by a two-thirds vote of their legislative bodies and after holding a public hearing noticed according to the procedures set forth in subparagraph (b);
      (d) The land proposed for release from the program will be publicly owned after its release from the program; and
      (e) The municipality proposing to release the land or conservation easement from the program repays the department the amount of the water supply land protection grant plus interest compounded annually at the rate of 10 percent, which repayment shall be used by the department to further the water supply land protection purposes of this chapter.
   III. Land may be released from public trust due to termination of use if:
      (a) The grantee has successfully demonstrated to the department that the source of drinking water that the land or conservation easement is intended to protect is not and will not be viable due to the inability to remediate contamination or to provide treatment which improves water quality so that it is suitable for human consumption; and
      (b) The municipality voting to release the land or conservation easement from the program repays the department the amount of the water supply land protection grant plus interest compounded annually at the rate of 3.5 percent, which repayment shall be used by the department to further the water supply land protection purposes of this chapter.

Source. 2000, 310:4, eff. June 21, 2000.