Act No. 417

Public Acts of 2008

Approved by the Governor

January 5, 2009

Filed with the Secretary of State

January 6, 2009

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 6, 2009

STATE OF MICHIGAN

94TH LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2008

Introduced by Senators McManus, Allen, Anderson, Barcia, Brown, Garcia, Gleason, Jacobs, Jansen, Jelinek, Kahn, Kuipers, Pappageorge, Prusi, Richardville and Switalski

ENROLLED SENATE BILL No. 677

AN ACT to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled "An act to protect the environment and natural resources of the state; to codify, revise, consolidate, and classify laws relating to the environment and natural resources of the state; to regulate the discharge of certain substances into the environment; to regulate the use of certain lands, waters, and other natural resources of the state; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state and local agencies and officials; to provide for certain charges, fees, assessments, and donations; to provide certain appropriations; to prescribe penalties and provide remedies; and to repeal acts and parts of acts," by amending sections 21556 and 21559 (MCL 324.21556 and 324.21559), section 21556 as added by 2006 PA 321 and section 21559 as added by 2006 PA 322.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 21556. (1) To be considered for eligibility for reimbursement under the first round of the temporary reimbursement program, a person shall submit to the department a completed first round precertification application on a form provided by the department. A person may submit more than 1 first round precertification application if he or she possesses more than 1 approved claim for releases that meet the eligibility requirements in subsection (3)(a) to(d).

(2) To be considered for approval, first round precertification applications shall be received by the department at or before 5 p.m. on the one hundred eightieth day following the department's initiation date of the application period.

(3) In order for a person to be eligible for reimbursement under the first round of the temporary reimbursement program, the completed first round precertification application shall demonstrate all of the following:

(a) That the person was the owner or operator who submitted and had an approved claim or that the person received a valid assignment of an approved claim in accordance with section 21516.

(b) That the release for which the approved claim was obtained has not been closed pursuant to part 213.

(c) That the release for which the approved claim was obtained caused the site to be classified as a class 1 or class 2 site, based on the most recently submitted data or reports prior to May 9, 2005, or as otherwise determined by the department prior to May 9, 2005.

(d) For underground storage tank systems that are operating at the location from which the release occurred, that the owner or operator, if he or she is the applicant, is currently in compliance with the registration and fee requirements of part 211.

(4) All applications for the temporary reimbursement program shall be considered on a first-come, first-served basis. If the first round precertification application received by the department successfully demonstrates eligibility in accordance with subsections (2) and (3), the department shall approve the first round precertification application. Not more than 900 precertification applications shall be approved by the department.

(5) Only corrective action costs incurred after the date of approval of the precertification application and up to September 30, 2009 shall be considered for reimbursement by the department. Corrective action costs incurred after September 30, 2009 are not eligible for reimbursement.

(6) An eligible person may receive up to $50,000.00 or such additional amount as may be made available pursuant to section 21557(8), for approved corrective action costs for each approved precertification application.

(7) An eligible person shall submit all work invoices for which reimbursement is being sought to the department not later than December 29, 2009. An eligible person shall not submit a request for reimbursement that totals less than $3,000.00 for the costs of corrective action, except for the last reimbursement request.

(8) Eligible persons shall receive reimbursement of 80% of the amount of each approved work invoice until the maximum reimbursement amount is reached. The remaining 20% shall be considered the co-pay amount. Proof of payment of the co-pay amount is required with each work invoice submittal.

(9) Corrective actions for which reimbursement is sought shall conform to the requirements of part 213 and section21558. Requests for reimbursement are subject to sections 21559 to 21561.

(10) Any allocated amount for reimbursement in the first round that is not expended, but subject to appeal pursuant to section 21561, shall be held in reserve until the appeal is exhausted and a final reimbursement determination is made.

Sec. 21559. (1) For an eligible person to receive money under the temporary reimbursement program for corrective action, all of the following conditions shall be met:

(a) The eligible person, and the consultant retained by the eligible person, shall follow the procedures outlined in this section and shall submit reports, work plans, feasibility analyses, hydrogeological studies, and corrective action plans prepared under part 213 to the department, and shall provide other information required by the department relevant to determining compliance with this part and part 213.

(b) The eligible person shall submit a work invoice to the department, with an attached summary report of the work performed under the invoice and results of the work performed, including, but not limited to, laboratory results, soil boring logs, construction logs, site investigation results, and other information that may be requested by the department.

(c) Work invoices shall comply with all of the following:

(i) Be submitted on a standardized work invoice form provided by the department.

(ii) Contain complete information in accordance with the form and the requirements of this section and as requested by the department.

(iii) Be in an amount consistent with the requirements of section 21556.

(2) Upon receipt of a work invoice pursuant to subsection (1), the department shall make all of the following determinations:

(a) Whether the work performed is necessary and appropriate considering conditions at the site of the release.

(b) Whether the cost of performing the work is reasonable.

(c) Whether the eligible person is eligible to receive funding under this part.

(d) Whether the consultant retained by the eligible person has complied with section 21558.

(3) The department shall deny payment of a work invoice if the department determines that the corrective action work performed is not consistent with the requirements of part 213 or does not comply with the requirements of this part.

(4) Within 45 days after receipt of a work invoice, the department shall determine whether the work invoice complies with subsections (1) to (3). The department shall notify the eligible person in writing of such a determination.

(5) The department shall keep records of approved precertification applications and work invoices. If the eligible person has not exceeded the allowable amount of expenditure provided in sections 21556 and 21557, the department shall forward an approved payment voucher to the state treasurer within 45 days after approval of the work invoice.

(6) Except as provided in subsection (7) or as otherwise provided in this subsection, upon receipt of an approved payment voucher, the state treasurer shall make a payment jointly to the eligible person and the consultant within 30days. However, the eligible person may submit to the department a signed affidavit stating that the consultant listed on a work invoice has been paid in full. The affidavit shall list the work invoice number and precertification application to which the affidavit applies, a statement that the eligible person has mailed a copy of the affidavit by first-class mail to the consultant listed on the work invoice, and the date that the affidavit was mailed to the consultant. The department is not required to verify affidavits submitted under this subsection. If, within 14 days after the affidavit was mailed to the consultant under this subsection, the department has not received an objection in writing from the consultant listed on the work invoice, the state treasurer shall make the payment directly to the eligible person. If a check has already been issued to the eligible person and the consultant, the eligible person shall return the original check to the department along with the affidavit. If, within 14 days after the affidavit was mailed to the consultant, the department has not received an objection from the consultant listed on the check, the state treasurer shall reissue a check to the eligible person. If a consultant objects to an affidavit received under this subsection and notifies the department in writing within 14 days after the affidavit was mailed to the consultant, the department shall notify the state treasurer, and the state treasurer shall issue or reissue the check to the eligible person and the consultant. The grounds for an objection by a consultant under this subsection shall be that the consultant has not been paid in full and the objection shall be made by affidavit. The state treasurer shall issue checks under this subsection within 60 days after an affidavit has been received by the department. Once payment has been made under this section, the refined petroleum fund is not liable for any claim on the basis of that payment.

(7) The temporary reimbursement program is subject to section 21548.

(8) Upon direction of the department, the state treasurer may withhold partial payment of money on payment vouchers if there is reasonable cause to believe that there are violations of section 21548 or if necessary to assure acceptable completion of the corrective actions.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Secretary of the Senate

Clerk of the House of Representatives

Approved

Governor