Here’s a new one on me.  Guess these people also deserve a thank you for our great drinking water. – Lil

Walpole Drinking Water Committee Meeting

Wednesday September 10, 2014 at 7:30 PM

Present

Mark Houghton, Water/Sewer Superintendent (Late)

Jen Palmiotto, Resident, GSRWA

Andrew Madison, GSRWA

Bob Miller, Conservation

Tom Beaudry, Conservation (Late)

Vinnie Malnatti, Land Owner

Laura Palmer, Resident, SWPC Secretary

Steve Dalessio, Planning Board

Dennis Marcom, Planning Board (late)

Absent

Ernie Vose, Zoning

Gary Speed, Conservation

Larry Britton, Land Owner

Chas Street, Select board

Agenda

1. Meeting Notes From Previous Meeting – A presentation was made by the Southwest Regional Planning Commission regarding the zoning map of Walpole. The zoning mapping services are being provided by SWRPC, of which Walpole is a member. Some of the lot numbers were incorrect on the map but this could be the result of changing lot numbers. Steve reported that the mapping project is moving forward and progressing, albeit slowly.

The new GSRWA Source Water Specialist, Andrew Madison, was introduced.

It was mentioned that the Town of Walpole won GSRWA’s drinking water taste test at the annual Operator Field Day on Tuesday and came first out of 13 entries.

1. Edits and Questions on Current Ordinance Draft – Edits to the Draft Walpole Source Protection Overlay Ordinance were submitted by both Dennis Marcom and Steve D’Alessio.

Dennis Marcom:

• II, A, 2.- Dennis suggested that the phrase “and wellhead protection areas within known aquifers” be changed to “within known public aquifers.” It was decided that the wording would be unchanged since all aquifers are considered to be public.
• III Definitions, M- Regulated Substances- Eight substances (ammonia, sodium hypochlorite, sodium hydroxide, acetic acid, sulfuric acid, potassium hydroxide, potassium permanganate, propane and other liquefied fuels which exist as gasses at normal atmospheric temperature and pressure) are excluded from the list of prohibited regulated substances. This is because they are chemicals used in water treatment or exist as gasses and are not considered to be a serious threat to groundwater supplies by NH DES.
• Section IV Heading- It was decided that the heading would remain as “Overlay District”
• Section VII F regarding outdoor storage of regulated substances- This section addresses the outdoor storage of regulated substances with regard to private wells. There was some confusion as to why this section was in the draft ordinance since the ordinance is meant to address public water supplies. It was found that NH DES can regulate private wells with regard to regulated substances within their 75ft sanitary radius through regulation RSA 485-A:30-B.
• Section VII, Paragraph I- This paragraph reads: “Prior to any land disturbing activities on the property…” There was some confusion as to what property this refers to and who is responsible for sealing the well. The wording in this section will be revised to make it more clear that the well owner is responsible for sealing the well and that the property where land disturbing activities are taking place is the property in question.
• Section XIII, Exemptions, Paragraph G- Pesticides are listed as exempt from all provisions of the ordinance, this is because RSA 430:29 XXVI prohibits municipalities from interfering with the sale, use, or transportation of pesticides and that regulation of pesticides is reserved for the state.
• Section XIII, Exemptions, Paragraph I- This paragraph states that underground and above ground storage tanks are exempt from Section XV inspections. This was viewed as in conflict with Table 1, Item B which prohibits underground storage of petroleum products and as more stringent that the model NH DES ordinance. Underground and above ground storage tanks were viewed as problematic for ground water protection by all members of the Source Water Committee. The wording of this section will be revised to specify that this section applies to permitted aboveground storage tanks under 1100 gallons only.

Steve D’Alessio:

• Definition of “Bulk” was added
• Section VII, Paragraph G- This section was amended to state “…containment structure must be constructed in a way to minimize accumulation of water…”
• Section VII, Paragraph H- “…in accordance with local, state, and federal regulations…”
• Section XIII- Amended to state that substances are exempt from Article VII Performance Standards to clarify which standards were being addressed.
• Page 1 will be amended to include “natural resource overlay districts and boundary lines”

III. Potential Sources of Contamination Inventory: Update on inventory given by Andrew: Still in progress, investigating commercial zoning along CT River and Rt. 12. Will be in contact with local producers to discuss fertilizer and pesticide use to get an accurate picture of agricultural impacts in the area. Will be in contact with Larry Britton to discuss agricultural practices on Watkins Hill and Vin Malnati to discuss agriculture near the River Well.

1. New Edits and Final Draft of SW Ordinance: New edits to the draft ordinance will be incorporated next week and sent out for review by committee members. Email approval via “reply all” will be used for voting on the new draft. Vin is to receive a hard copy of the draft ordinance and call with his vote. All edits will need to be approved and finalized by October 11^th.

The Planning Committee meeting is the second Tuesday in October and the final proposed ordinance will need to be completed and ready for presentation to the Planning Committee by then. A public hearing on the proposed ordinance is planned for November 25^th.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, October 1st at 7:30 PM