'This Bill Is Not Part of a Sinister Plot'

Seacoast sponsors of a bill to allow towns and cities to establish water and sewer utility districts beat back a floor challenge Wednesday that it was an ideologically laced attempt to usurp or to tax private wells and septic systems.

The bill, which originated in Exeter and Stratham, created a buzz online earlier this month. It continued on the floor of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, before the chamber voted 251 to 75 to pass Senate Bill 11.

"This bill will give newly created water districts the ability to tax private wells and private septic systems," said Rep. Richard Meaney (R-Goffstown), in urging the House to defeat it. He said the bill was full of redundancy and conflicting requirements.

Rep. Patrick Abrami (R-Stratham), one of seven Seacoast lawmakers sponsoring the bill, took to the floor to defend the bill. "This bill is not partisan and this bill is not ideological at all," he said.

Abrami said he was flooded with emails questioning the bill, and what he said was criticism that the bill had something to do with Agenda 21, the sustainable development non-binding plan of the United Nations. 

"I assure you that Secretary-General (Ban Ki-) Moon did not visit Stratham to tell us what to do, OK, it did not happen," Abrami said. "Most people in Stratham are not even aware of what Agenda 21 is."

The bill language does not say anything about the state seizing well water, or any other water, he added.

The bill does authorize for charges to owners and users of property within the proposed water/sewer utility district, according to the House committee that unanimously recommended the full House of Representatives pass the bill.

The New Hampshire Senate passed the bill earlier this session. It was such "enabling" legislation that the bill was on the House consent calendar May 29, before opponents asked that it be removed in order for it to be debated.

Abrami said the sponsors didn't want to tinker with the existing statutes, some of which date back to the 1800s. Stratham, he said, came to realize that there was no clear authority in existing law to accomplish its four goals.

There are laws that allow for a regional water district only and a regional sewer district only, but no statute that allows for a combined water and sewer district, according to Abrami. Stratham and Exeter do not want to create a new political subdivision, such as a village district, he added.

Other sponsors of the bill are: Sen. Nancy Stiles (R-Hampton), Sen. Russell Prescott (R-Kingston), Rep. Timothy Copeland (R-Stratham), Rep. Donna Schlachman (D-Exeter), Rep. Eileen Flockhart (D-Exeter), and Rep. Pat Lovejoy (D-Stratham).

Stratham, which has no public water or sewer, is interested in an inter-municipal agreement with Exeter in order to help attract businesses to the Route 108 corridor and to help offset tax burdens for local property taxpayers.

The bill is about local control – two contiguous municipalities working together for their interests, Abrami assured House members. In a parliamentary inquiry before the vote, Rep. James Coffey (R-New Ipswich) put it another way: "This bill is not part of a sinister plot to capture your rain water."