RSA 149-M:81: Findings and Certificate Issuance.

I. Any certificate issued by the committee shall be based on the record. The decision to issue a certificate in its final form or to deny an application once it has been accepted shall be made by a majority of the committee.

II. The committee may consult with interested regional agencies and agencies of border states in the consideration of certificates.

III. After due consideration of all relevant information regarding the potential siting, including potential significant impacts and benefits, the committee shall determine if issuance of a certificate will serve the objectives of this chapter. In order to issue a certificate, the committee shall find that:

(a) The applicant has adequate financial, technical, and managerial capability to assure construction, operation, and closure of the facility in continuing compliance with the terms and conditions of the certificate.

(b) The facility will not unduly interfere with the orderly development of the region with due consideration having been given to the views of municipal and regional planning commissions and municipal governing bodies.

(c) The facility satisfies the criteria in RSA 149-M:11, III, as determined by the department.

(d) The public benefit of the facility shall outweigh any adverse impact of the facility on human health, aesthetics, historic preservation, economic impacts to the region, tourism, outdoor recreation, regional and statewide business development, wildlife, noise, odor, traffic and transportation impacts, existing land uses, including property values, characteristics and source of waste, and any other impacts assessed as part of the application pursuant to RSA 149-M:72, III.

(e) Issuance of a certificate will serve the public interest of the citizens of New Hampshire.

IV. The committee shall issue an order granting or denying a certificate. Such order shall summarize and address issues of concern expressed during public information sessions and hearings to ensure that the public's voice has been heard and recorded.

V. A certificate of site and facility may contain such reasonable terms and conditions, including, but not limited to the authority to require bonding, as the committee deems necessary. Such certificates, when issued, shall be final and subject only to judicial review.

VI. The committee shall condition the certificate upon the results of applicable federal and state approvals or appeal processes and required federal and state agency studies whose study period exceeds the application period.

VII. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that applications for landfill expansions shall satisfy the criteria in subparagraphs III(a), III(b), and III(d). The burden of producing evidence to rebut this presumption rests with the party challenging the action. This presumption may be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence.