With bipartisan support, the New Hampshire Senate approved a proposal for a site evaluation committee on Thursday after the body’s previous proposal generated pushback and criticism from North Country residents and lawmakers.

An amended version of House Bill 707 passed on a voice vote Thursday afternoon after it was recommended by the Senate Finance Committee, 7-1, on Tuesday.

An earlier Senate amendment to HB 707, authored by Loudon Republican Sen. Howard Pearl and recommended by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee earlier this year, passed the Senate in January, also by voice vote. But it was met with less robust support on the floor and also stirred opposition among some North Country residents, for whom landfills are a topic of local importance.

Some activists, including North Country Alliance for Balanced Change President Wayne Morrison, said the amendment prioritized the interests of private waste corporations over local control. In April, Morrison vocally rejected some provisions in the Senate’s previous amendment to HB 707.

But the version of House Bill 707 passed on Thursday received support from the alliance, as well as from Sen. David Rochefort, R-Littleton, who has advocated for local control in the landfill siting process.

As amended, “[HB] 707 is very, very good,” Rochefort said on the Senate floor Thursday. He called the approval process “comprehensive” and “deliberate.”

Rochefort said the bill, as amended, also would not threaten existing legal agreements between towns and private entities. A legal settlement between the town of Bethlehem and Casella Waste Systems currently precludes expansion of a Casella-owned landfill in Bethlehem; town officials previously said they worried the prior version of HB 707 could override that agreement.

On Thursday, Sen. David Watters, D-Dover, asked Pearl if the amendment would override existing municipal regulations or agreements.

“No … we were very careful about that,” Pearl said.

The amended version of HB 707, approved on Thursday, creates a seven-member site evaluation committee. Its membership includes the chair of the New Hampshire Waste Management Council, as chair of the committee; the commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs, or a designee; the commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, or a designee; and additional and alternate members appointed by the Governor and Executive Council. Those include a member of a local conservation commission, a person with expertise in the private waste industry, a person with expertise in municipal planning, and a person with environmental expertise.

The bill directs the committee to consider a proposed landfill’s impacts on a range of topics, including public health and safety, aesthetics, traffic, wildlife, and more, and requires applicants to provide information on these and other elements of their proposal.

It also requires an applicant to note whether the facility would have a preference for waste generated in New Hampshire. Out-of-state waste is a significant contributor to New Hampshire’s active landfills.

“I promised I would continue to faithfully negotiate … and I hope that I have done that,” said Pearl. “… I thank you for your patience on this. I know it’s been a long haul.”

In a news release issued after the Senate Finance Committee recommended the amendment on Tuesday, Morrison endorsed the proposal. He also thanked Gov. Kelly Ayotte, who has pushed for a site evaluation committee, and said in April that she would support local control in the siting process.

“I’m proud to see the Senate advance legislation that gives local communities a say in the site evaluation process for landfills,” Ayotte said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “I’ve said from day one that we would not let beautiful areas of our state become a dumping ground for out-of-state trash.”

The House will now review the amended bill.