HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE CLEANUP CRITERIA

House Bill 5872 (Substitute H-1)

Sponsor:  Rep. John Moolenaar

Committee:  Government Operations

Complete to 6-19-06

A SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSED H-1 SUBSTITUTE TO HOUSE BILL 5872

House Bill 5872 (H-1) would amend Part 201 (Environmental Remediation) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to require the Department of Environmental Quality to recalculate its dioxin cleanup criteria established under Part 201 based on the findings of the National Academy of Sciences project to review the federal Environmental Protection Agency's Exposure and Human Health Reassessment of Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin (TCDD) and Related Compounds. 

MCL 324.20120e

FISCAL IMPACT:

The bill would have no apparent fiscal impact on the state or local units of government. 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The EPA has been evaluating the health effects of environmental exposure to dioxin for more than 25 years.  The EPA's initial risk assessment, completed in 1985, classified dioxin as a probable human carcinogen.  In April 1991, following significant scientific advances in the understanding of dioxin and its potential human health effects, the EPA announced that it would conduct a scientific reassessment of the health risks of exposure to dioxin and dioxin-like compounds.  After holding public hearings and peer-review workshops, the EPA completed its initial draft reassessment in 1994 and submitted the draft for review to its independent Science Advisory Board (SAB).  The draft reassessment underwent several versions over the next years, based on the SAB's review, public comment, and additional peer review workshops, before the SAB issued a final report in May 2001.  A revised draft reassessment, in response on SAB report, was submitted to the National Science and Technology Council's Interagency Working Group on Dioxin, which recommended that the National Academy of Sciences review the draft reassessment.  The NAS's review of the draft reassessment, which began in October 2004, was expected to take approximately 18 months.   

[This background information is taken primarily from a 1998 Congressional Research Service report entitled, "Dioxin:  Reassessing the Risk" and a 2003 EPA Information Sheet on the dioxin reassessment process.] 

                                                                                           Legislative Analyst:   Mark Wolf

                                                                                                   Fiscal Analyst:   Kirk Lindquist

■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.