HB 4358, As Passed Senate

HB-4358, As Passed Senate, September 6, 2007

SENATE SUBSTITUTE FOR

HOUSE BILL NO. 4358

A bill to make appropriations for the department of

environmental quality for the fiscal year ending September 30,

2008; to provide for the expenditure of those appropriations; to

create certain funds and accounts; to require certain reports; to

prescribe the powers and duties of certain state agencies and

officials; to authorize certain transfers by certain state

agencies; and to provide for the disposition of fees and other

income received by the various state agencies.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

PART 1

LINE-ITEM APPROPRIATIONS

Sec. 101. Subject to the conditions set forth in this act, the

House Bill No. 4358 as amended September 6, 2007

amounts listed in this part are appropriated for the department of

environmental quality for the fiscal year ending September 30,

2008, from the funds indicated in this part. The following is a

summary of the appropriations in this part:

APPROPRIATION SUMMARY:

GROSS APPROPRIATION.................................... $ <<(100)>>

Interdepartmental grant revenues:

Total interdepartmental grants and intradepartmental

transfers............................................... 0

ADJUSTED GROSS APPROPRIATION........................... $ <<(100)>>

Federal revenues:

Total federal revenues................................. 0

Special revenue funds:

Total local revenues................................... 0

Total private revenues................................. 0

Total other state restricted revenues.................. 0

State general fund/general purpose..................... $ <<(100)>>

Sec. 102. BUDGETARY SAVINGS

Budgetary savings...................................... $ (100)

GROSS APPROPRIATION.................................... $ (100)

Appropriated from:

State general fund/general purpose..................... $ (100)

PART 2

PROVISIONS CONCERNING APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL SECTIONS

Sec. 201. Pursuant to section 30 of article IX of the state

constitution of 1963, total state spending under part 1 for fiscal

year 2005-2006 is <<($100.00)>>. State payments to local units of

government under part 1 are $0.00.

TOTAL.................................................. $ 0

Sec. 202. The appropriations made and the expenditures

authorized under this part and the departments, agencies,

commissions, boards, offices, and programs for which an

appropriation is made under part 1 are subject to the management

and budget act, 1984 PA 431, MCL 18.1101 to 18.1594.

Sec. 210. The department shall notify the legislature and

shall provide a public meeting and public comment opportunity with

respect to any request received by the state of Michigan to divert

water from the Great Lakes pursuant to the water resources

development act of 1986, Public Law 99-662, 100 Stat. 4082.

Sec. 219. The department shall not take disciplinary action

against an employee for communicating with a member of the

legislature or his or her staff.

Sec. 220. The department shall annually report by December 31

to the state budget director, the senate and house appropriations

committees, and the senate and house fiscal agencies an accounting

of all civil and criminal fine revenue collected during the

previous fiscal year.

Sec. 223. It is the intent of the legislature that, on or

before January 1, 2008, the department renew the joint agreement,

which was initially signed in January 2002, of the United States

environmental protection agency and the state to pursue regulatory

innovation. It is the intent that the agreement be renewed in a

substantially similar form to uphold the principal tenets of the

agreement, including, but not limited to, helping farms and farm

operations voluntarily prevent or minimize agricultural pollution

risks.

Sec. 224. From the funds appropriated in part 1, the

department shall implement continuous improvement efficiency

mechanisms in the air quality renewable operating permit program,

the groundwater discharge program, land and water management

programs, and the hazardous waste management program. On March 31,

2008 and September 30, 2008, the department shall report to the

state budget director, the senate and house appropriations

subcommittees on environmental quality, the senate and house

standing committees on issues primarily related to environmental

quality, and the senate and house fiscal agencies on the progress

made toward efficiencies in these programs. Individual reports

shall be submitted for each of the 4 identified programs. At a

minimum, each report shall include information on the program

review process, the type of improvement mechanisms applied, the

amount of actual and potential budget savings resulting from

efficiencies, and a plan for continued increased program

efficiency.

Sec. 225. From the funds appropriated in part 1, the

department shall collaborate with the legislative service bureau to

complete a benchmarking study on the air quality renewable

operating permit program, the groundwater discharge program, land

and water management programs, and the hazardous waste management

program. The study shall include a calculation of the department's

per-permit cost to process the permits, a listing of the timeliness

of the process from receipt of permit application to award or

denial of permit, the cost of administering permits including

compliance reviews, and a comparison of Michigan's performance and

practices to those of our competitor states, including, but not

limited to, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky,

Tennessee, Georgia, and the other Great Lakes states. The study

shall be submitted to the state budget director, the senate and

house appropriations subcommittees on environmental quality, the

senate and house standing committees on issues primarily related to

environmental quality, and the senate and house fiscal agencies by

September 30, 2008.

Sec. 226. (1) The department shall report no later than April

1, 2008 on each specific policy change made to implement enacted

legislation to the senate and house appropriations subcommittees on

the department budget, the senate and house standing committees on

the department budget, the chairperson of the joint committee on

administrative rules, and the senate and house fiscal agencies and

policy offices.

(2) Funds appropriated in part 1 shall not be used to prepare

regulatory plans or promulgate rules that fail to reduce the

disproportionate economic impact on small businesses pursuant to

section 40 of the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA

306, MCL 24.240.

Sec. 227. Funds appropriated in part 1 shall not be used by a

principal executive department, state agency, or authority to hire

a person to provide legal services that are the responsibility of

the attorney general.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND SERVICES

Sec. 501. By July 1, 2008, the department shall prepare and

submit a report to the state budget director, the legislature, the

chairs of the standing committees of the senate and house of

representatives with primary responsibility for issues related to

natural resources and the environment, and the chairs of the

subcommittees of the senate and house appropriations committees

with primary responsibility for appropriations for the department

of environmental quality, outlining the implementation of the Great

Lakes water quality bond provided for in part 197 of the natural

resources and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL

324.19701 to 324.19708, including, but not limited to, the amount

of bonds issued and the date they were issued, the number of

applications received for loans from the state water pollution

control revolving fund created in section 16a of the shared credit

rating act, 1985 PA 227, MCL 141.1066a, the total amount of loans

requested, a listing of the applicants receiving loans and the

total amount of loans provided to those applicants, a listing of

applicants whose loan applications were not approved and the

reasons why those applications were not approved, the amount of the

loans granted that were leveraged from bond proceeds, and the

remaining bond proceeds and bond authorization.

Sec. 503. From the funds appropriated in part 1, the

department, in cooperation with associations of small business,

shall publish at least 2 compliance guides annually to assist small

businesses in complying with environmental requirements. Each guide

shall cover a group or class of similarly affected small

businesses, explain the actions a small business in that group or

class is required to take to comply with environmental

requirements, and use plain language likely to be understood by

affected small businesses. It is the intent of the legislature that

each compliance guide be reevaluated and revised every 5 years.

OFFICE OF GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Sec. 550. From the funds appropriated in part 1, the office of

geological survey is encouraged to continue its work with Western

Michigan University’s department of geosciences to maintain core

samples at the Michigan basin core research laboratory as part of

the Michigan geological repository for research and education at

Western Michigan University and it is encouraged to explore new

opportunities for mutually beneficial research and collaboration

between the department and the university

LAND AND WATER MANAGEMENT

Sec. 602. (1) The department shall not spend funds provided in

part 1 on the implementation of part 303 of the natural resources

and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.30301 to

324.30323, as it relates to wetlands described in section

30301(d)(ii) of the natural resources and environmental protection

act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.30301, in a county with a population of

less than 100,000 until the department has developed and

implemented a wetland inventory map for that county to a level of

detail such that a person can determine from the map with a

reasonable amount of certainty whether or not a parcel or

substantial portion of a parcel in question is in fact a wetland

subject to regulation by the department.

(2) Before commencing wetlands protection in counties with

populations of less than 100,000, the department shall notify in

writing the senate and house appropriations subcommittees on

environmental quality, the senate and house fiscal agencies, and

the state budget director that the wetland inventory maps meet the

criteria of subsection (1) and the date the program will begin.

REMEDIATION AND REDEVELOPMENT

Sec. 702. From funds appropriated in part 1 for activities

related to cleanup sites under part 201 of the natural resources

and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.20101 to

324.20142, the department shall incorporate into remedial action

plans area-wide or site-specific cleanup criteria derived from

peer-reviewed risk assessment based on bioavailability studies,

site-specific human exposure data, and any other scientifically

based risk assessment studies that are available and relevant. The

department shall submit a report listing efforts made by the

department to comply with this section. This report shall be

provided to the house and senate appropriations subcommittees on

environmental quality on or before January 1, 2008.

Sec. 704. The funds appropriated in part 1 for the

environmental cleanup and redevelopment program shall be used to

fund cleanup activities on a list to be provided to the legislature

within 30 days of enactment of this section.

Sec. 705. It is the intent of the legislature to repay the

refined petroleum fund for the $70,000,000.00 that was transferred

House Bill No. 4358 as amended September 6, 2007 (1 of 2)

to the environmental protection fund as part of the resolution for

the fiscal year 2006-2007 budget.

Sec. 706. It is the intent of the legislature that the office

of the auditor general conduct a performance audit of the leaking

underground storage tank program. The performance audit shall

include an investigation of the use of operational memoranda, draft

memoranda, and selective enforcement of regulations. The department

shall fully cooperate with the auditor general during the

performance audit.

Sec. 707. The department shall not expend funds appropriated

in part 1 if using operational memoranda or other similar documents

that are in draft form to impose regulations on individuals or

businesses conducting environmental cleanup projects. Upon request,

the department shall provide written proof that a regulation being

applied or enforced with respect to an environmental cleanup

project is established in statute or administrative rule.

<<Sec.708. From the funds appropriated in part 1, the

department shall not expend any funds for the promulgation of proposed rule 336.1640.

WASTE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

Sec. 803. As defined in part 625 of the natural resources and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, (MCL 324.6501 to 324.6539), the department shall annually provide a report to the city of Romulus, city of Taylor, and Wayne County with respect to multisource commercial hazardous waste disposal well activities in Wayne County containing all of the following:

(a) Information concerning the release or discharge of any hazardous waste or hazardous waste constituent that may endanger public drinking water supplies or the environment.

(b) Information concerning the fire, explosion, or other release or discharge of any hazardous waste or hazardous waste constituent that could threaten human health or the environment or a spill that has reached surface water or groundwater.

(c) A summary of groundwater quality data, data graphs, data tables, statistical analyses to date, and identification of any statistically significant increases.

(d) With respect to the information described in subdivisions (a) to (c), a description of any noncompliance and its cause; the periods of noncompliance, including exact dates and times; whether the noncompliance has been corrected and, if not, the anticipated time it is expected to continue; and steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent recurrence of the noncompliance and when those activities occurred or will occur.>>

WATER

Sec. 902. Of the funds appropriated in part 1 for safe

drinking water assistance activities under part 54 of the natural

resources and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL

324.5401 to 324.5418, the department shall allocate the full 2%

available for technical assistance under 42 USC 300j-12.

Sec. 903. From the funds appropriated in part 1, the

department shall conduct a comparative analysis of the NPDES permit

program for large confined animal feeding operations with the

Michigan agriculture environmental assurance program (MAEAP). The

analysis shall include a comparison of standards in effect at the

time of MAEAP verification of a farm. The collection of data,

evaluation, and final report shall be conducted in collaboration

with the department of agriculture. The analysis shall be submitted

to the state budget director, the senate and house appropriations

subcommittees on environmental quality and agriculture, the senate

and house standing committees on issues primarily related to

environmental quality and agriculture, and the senate and house

fiscal agencies by February 1, 2008.

Sec. 904. The department shall not expend funds appropriated

in part 1 to enforce administrative rules, policies, guidelines, or

procedures that are more stringent than 40 CFR part 9, 122, 123, or

412, as finally promulgated. The department shall not expend funds

appropriated in part 1 to implement or enforce administrative

rules, policies, guidelines, or procedures that do 1 or more of the

following:

(a) Require a farm to obtain a national pollution discharge

elimination system permit under part 31 of the natural resources

and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.3101 to

324.3133, if the farm has not been found by the department to have

a regulated discharge of pollutants into waters of this state.

(b) Require submission of field specific information beyond

providing on-site access to the department.

the clean water act, 33 USC 1251 to 1387.

Sec. 905. From the funds appropriated in part 1, the

department shall assess storm water permit fees only on the owners