RETIRED ENGINEER TECHNICAL

ASSISTANCE PROGRAM



House Bill 4849 as enrolled

Public Act 289 of 1998

Second Analysis (8-14-98)


Sponsor: Rep. James Middaugh

House Committee: Conservation,

Environment and Recreation

Senate Committee: Appropriations



THE APPARENT PROBLEM:


Almost every state has a program that provides on-site technical assistance on pollution prevention (the elimination or reduction of waste at the source) to smaller businesses. In Michigan, a pilot program -- the Retired Engineer Technical Assistance Program (RETAP) -- was introduced in 1994 that used retired engineers and other professionals to aid businesses in adopting programs that would reduce the volume or toxicity of waste that each releases into the environment. During this pilot phase, RETAP personnel have performed pollution prevention assessments at facilities and developed recommendations to improve energy efficiency. According to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the program is now an important part of its efforts to institute pollution prevention practices throughout the state. Recommendations from RETAP have proven practical and have provided new approaches to conserve materials and prevent the generation of waste. They have also resulted in considerable savings for the companies involved. This, and the fact that the extensive business experience of RETAP professionals has also been well received by Michigan businesses, has shown that the policy deserves to be established as a permanent program. Consequently, legislation has been introduced that would establish the program in statute and create a RETAP Fund to support it.


THE CONTENT OF THE BILL:


The bill would amend Parts 143 and 145 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA), concerning waste minimization and waste reduction assistance, to establish the Retired Engineer Technical Assistance Program (RETAP) within the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Under the program, retired engineers, scientists, and other qualified professionals would participate in providing technical assistance on pollution prevention to business and industry.


Under the bill, the DEQ would replace the Office of Waste Reduction within the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and a Retired Engineers Technical Assistance Program would replace the present Waste Reduction Research Grants Program. The bill would also establish a RETAP Fund to cover department expenses in administering the RETAP program, and a Pollution Prevention Assistance Revolving Loan Fund that would provide loans to small businesses for qualifying pollution prevention expenditures. (Note: A "small business" would be defined under the bill to mean one that is independently owned and operated and was not dominant in its field, as defined in federal rules (13 CFR 121); and is both a "small business concern," as defined in the Small Business Act (Public Law 85-536, 72 STAT 384), and is owned or operated by a person who employed 100 or fewer employees.)


"Pollution prevention" would be defined under the bill to mean all of the following: