2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title L - Water Management and Protection › Chapter 485-A - Water Pollution and Waste Disposal › Section 485-A:30-b - Protective Well Radii.

485-A:30-b Protective Well Radii. –
I. All lots on which wastewater is or will be disposed on-site and all lots on which a private well exists or will be installed, including lots created prior to August 20, 1989, shall be subject to the following conditions:
(a) Rules adopted under this section concerning such lots shall include provisions allowing abutting lot owners to overlap their respective well radii for their mutual benefit and provisions allowing well radii to extend over property lines onto state and locally-mandated property line setbacks, recorded easements, or land which is permanently dedicated to a use which precludes development.
(b)(1) For any private well being installed or utilized to serve one or more new commercial buildings or a non-community public water system, the entire protective well radius shall be located on one or more of the following: on-lot, on a recorded easement, on land which is permanently dedicated to a use which precludes development, or on state or locally mandated property line setbacks.
(2) A private well may be installed without being located as required by subparagraph (1) only if it is needed to replace a well serving one or more existing commercial buildings or a public water system, there will be no increase in water use to a level that requires a larger protective well radius under rules adopted by the department, and the lot is not part of a larger parcel that is being subdivided. In such cases, the on-lot protective radius shall be maximized to the extent practicable and the owner of the property shall sign a setback reduction form prepared by the department, upon which the actual protective radius shall be noted together with a narrative description or depiction of the location of the well, to acknowledge the potential loss of the protection of any portion of the radius which extends over the property line. The water well contractor shall file a copy of the setback reduction form with the record of the well completion submitted to the department pursuant to RSA 482-B:10.
(3) If a private well installed under the provisions of subparagraph (2) is not regulated as a public water supply well under RSA 485, the department may require such water quality monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting as is needed to ensure the water is suitable for its intended uses.
(4) For the purposes of this section, the term "commercial building" means a building that houses a commercial use but shall not include a residence which is also used for commercial purposes unless the total water withdrawal exceeds 600 gallons per day. A new commercial building means a new structure intended for commercial use, an existing residential structure being converted to commercial use, or an increase in water use at an existing commercial building to a level that requires a larger protective well radius under rules adopted by the department.
(c) For private wells serving buildings other than commercial buildings, if the protective well radius cannot be wholly maintained on an existing lot of record due to the size or other physical characteristics of the lot, then the on-lot protective radius shall be maximized to the extent practicable. Subject to the foregoing sentence, the protective well radius shall be maintained on one or more of the following: on-lot, on a recorded easement, on land which is permanently dedicated to a use which precludes development, or on state and locally mandated property line setbacks; and any portion of the protective well radius which is not maintained on-lot, on a recorded easement, on land which is permanently dedicated to a use which precludes development, or on state and locally mandated property line setbacks shall not be considered part of the protective well radius.
(d) Any person submitting plans and specifications for a sewage or waste disposal system for a property which is or will be served by an on-lot well, shall show the location or proposed location of the well, or a designated area within which the well will be located, on such plans and shall show the protective radius as specified in the department's rules.
(e) Whenever the department approves a septic plan with an on-lot well radius which is less than the optimum standard, the department shall notify the applicant of the consequences of such reduced radius and advise the applicant whether special precautions should be taken relative to well installation.
(f) If the well is not installed prior to the sewage or waste disposal system being constructed, then the property owner shall provide the water well contractor with a copy of the approved plan showing the location of the well, and the water well contractor shall ensure, to the best of their ability that the well is installed in accordance with the approved plan.
(g) When, for reasons of the condition of the lot or the placement of buildings thereon, the well cannot be installed as shown on the approved plan or a replacement well is necessary, the water well contractor shall advise and consult with the property owner, or the property owner's agent, on the best possible alternative location, considering distance to property boundaries and to the sewage or waste disposal system. Using a setback reduction form prepared by the department, the water well contractor shall alert the owner to the consequences of the alternate installation, including the potential loss of the protection of any portion of the radius which extends over the property line. The owner, or the owner's agent, may defer to the designer of the sewage or waste disposal system or may allow the water well contractor to proceed in the identified alternative location. Prior to installing the well in the identified alternative location, the well contractor shall, using the setback reduction form, obtain a written acknowledgment, from the property owner, or the owner's agent, that the consequences are understood and file the setback reduction form with the record of the well completion submitted to the department pursuant to RSA 482-B:10.
II. For lots approved under RSA 485-A:29, the rules adopted under this section concerning such lots shall include provisions allowing abutting lot owners to overlap their respective well radii for their mutual benefit by allowing well radii to extend over property lines, onto state and locally mandated property line setbacks, recorded easements, or land which is permanently dedicated to a use which precludes development. If after a lot is created pursuant to this section, the well cannot be installed as shown on the subdivision plan, then the provisions of RSA 485-A:30-b, I(d), (e), (f), and (g) shall apply.
III. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "cluster development" means a form of residential subdivision that permits dwelling units to be grouped on sites or lots with dimensions, frontages, and setbacks reduced from conventional requirements, provided that the remaining land area is permanently designated as open space for cluster development. For cluster developments the following provisions shall apply:
(a) Where the sewage waste disposal systems are located off of the individual home lots or the cluster development is served by municipal sewers, the wells and associated protective radii serving those home lots need not be confined to the individual lot which each well serves so long as all wells and their associated protective radii are confined within the tract of home lots and common land permanently designated as open space, and shall not encumber property situated outside of the cluster development except by recorded easement.
(b) Where the home lots are serviced by on-lot sewage or waste disposal systems, wells and their protective radii may be located wholly or partially on common land permanently designated as open space, and shall not encumber adjacent lots or property situated outside of the cluster development except by recorded easement. The department shall not approve such off-lot wells and radii unless the lot owner or developer demonstrates to the department's satisfaction, by means of recorded easements, land use restrictions or other appropriate mechanisms, that the well owner will be able to maintain and service the well in perpetuity and that the area covered by the protective well radius is permanently dedicated to a use which precludes development.
IV. The commissioner shall adopt rules under RSA 541-A providing for protective well radii for private water wells, and for regulation of land use within the radii boundary.
Source.
1991, 215:2. 1996, 228:106, 110, eff. July 1, 1996. 2015, 236:3, eff. Sept. 11, 2015. 2023, 123:1, eff. Aug. 29, 2023.