Section 21-O:12 Office of the Commissioner.
The commissioner of environmental services shall establish units within his office to be responsible for: administrative services, geology, planning, public information and permitting, risk analysis and management, and laboratory services, which shall include the following functions and such other functions as may be assigned by the commissioner:
I. Administrative services shall include the following services to all divisions, to the greatest extent possible:
(a) Accounting, purchasing, and budget control.
(b) Personnel management.
(c) Property, contracts, and grants management.
(d) Data processing.
(e) Compiling, indexing, and managing data collected by all divisions, which shall be used to establish a departmental data base for use by all divisions of the department, and which shall be a public record.
II. Geology shall be under the direction of the state geologist, who shall be the director of the New Hampshire geological survey. The geological survey shall collect data and perform research on the land, mineral, and water resources of the state, and disseminate the findings of such research to the public through maps, reports, and other publications. The state geologist shall: consult with the commissioner of the department of resources and economic development relative to the issuance of mining permits under RSA 12-E; assist the directors of the divisions of water and waste management as necessary; and perform such other duties as may be assigned by the commissioner. The state geologist and all members of the New Hampshire geological survey shall be staff members of the commissioner's office. The state geologist shall advise the department, and all other branches of state and local government, concerning the geologic character of the state and its implications for both economic and scientific needs in conjunction with all existing and future environmental factors relating to the geology of the state. The state geologist shall maintain liaison with federal and other state geologic agencies and with the state university. The state geologist shall also serve as a voting member of the board of professional geologists.
III. Planning shall be under the direct supervision of the assistant commissioner and shall include all department-level short- and long-range planning activities and the coordination and compilation of all division-level planning activities.
IV. Public information and permitting shall include all initial public contact relative to permits and applications; furnishing members of the general public with all permit applications and information needed for any project which comes under the jurisdiction of the department, as well as information as to federal or local permits which may be required; assisting members of the general public, whenever possible, to fill out permit applications by directing them to the appropriate person within the relevant division of the department; and generally providing members of the general public with all of the information necessary for meeting permit requirements, including information as to where to find the relevant federal laws and regulations, rules, and municipal ordinances.
V. The risk analysis and management function shall be the direct responsibility of the assistant commissioner, in accordance with RSA 125-H:7. The commissioner may call on any personnel from any division or any other state department to assist the assistant commissioner in the event of a crisis, disaster, or other occurrence or condition requiring analysis and management of an actual or suspected risk of damage to the environment. The unit, once assembled by the commissioner in the event of a crisis, disaster, occurrence, or condition, shall work closely with the risk assessment bureau in the department of health and human services under the direction of the assistant commissioner to:
(a) Make assessments of potential or actual risk of harm to the environment or, in cooperation with the risk assessment bureau of the department of health and human services, to persons.
(b) Manage environmental risk hazards using the results of the assessment described above or any other available information to develop and evaluate regulatory options, within a statutory framework, to reduce or eliminate the risk of harm to the environment.
VI. Laboratory services shall include such expert assistants and such facilities as are necessary to support the investigatory, analytical, and enforcement functions of the department of environmental services. The commissioner shall provide the commissioner of the department of health and human services with direct access to all raw data, test results, and other information and samples received or generated by the laboratories in the department deemed necessary by the commissioner of the department of health and human services in order to carry out his responsibilities to protect the public health. The commissioner shall consult with the commissioner of the department of health and human services relative to such access as provided by RSA 125:15-b.
Source. 1986, 202:1. 1995, 310:67, eff. Nov. 1, 1995. 1996, 228:9, eff. July 1, 1996. 2001, 75:1, eff. Aug. 18, 2001. 2004, 15:1, eff. June 4, 2004.