RSA 149-M:65: Declaration of Purpose.

I. The legislature and the executive branch recognize that the selection of sites for major solid waste disposal facilities may have significant statewide, regional, and local impacts that are not fully evaluated through existing regulatory review.

II. Accordingly, the general court finds that it is in the public interest to establish a procedure to evaluate the local, regional, and statewide benefits and burdens of a new major solid waste facility that are not captured by existing regulatory reviews, including public health and safety, noise, odor, aesthetics, local and regional economic impacts, property value impacts, nature and source of waste, need, impacts on tourism, recreation and traffic, and other similar impacts.

III. Furthermore, the general court recognizes there is a compelling state interest in maintaining adequate, reasonably priced, and environmentally protective disposal capacity for solid waste generated in New Hampshire.

IV. The general court prefers that new landfill capacity be developed in expansions of existing permitted landfills or brownfield sites instead of on greenfield sites.