State lawmakers may take a closer look at giving New Hampshire control of its own storm water permits, now managed by the federal government.
New Hampshire is one of four states where the Environmental Protection Agency is in charge of storm water regulations.
The EPA will put a new state permit into effect this July, focused on local sewer systems, according to regional EPA chief Alexandra Dunn.
"It will have these communities doing storm water management plans, street sweeping, management of fertilizer applications and a number of other practices that will be very, very beneficial to water quality,” Dunn said during a visit to New Hampshire last week.
Still, Dunn and Gov. Chris Sununu, as well as some local officials, reportedly support giving the state control of such permits.
The Department of Environmental Services says doing so wouldn’t be cheap or easy.
But they’ve supported a bill, which has passed the Senate and is set to pass the House this week, to form a commission on the prospect.
