October 11, 2011, Introduced by Senators KOWALL, PROOS and PAPPAGEORGE and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, Environment and Great Lakes.
A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled
"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"
by amending section 1307 (MCL 324.1307), as added by 2004 PA 325.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1307. (1) By the processing deadline, the department
shall approve or deny an application for a permit. If requested by
the
permit applicant, the department may shall extend the
processing
period for a permit by not more than 20%. 120 days, as
specified by the applicant. If requested by the permit applicant,
the department may extend the processing period beyond the
additional 120 days. However, a processing period shall not be
extended under this subsection to a date later than 1 year after
the application period ends. Approval of an application for a
permit may be granted with conditions or modifications necessary to
achieve compliance with the part or parts of this act under which
the permit is issued.
(2) A denial of an application for a permit shall include an
explanation of the reasons for denial and make specific reference
to provisions of this act or rules promulgated under this act
providing the basis for denial.
(3) Except for permits described in subsection (4), if the
department fails to satisfy the requirements of subsection (1) with
respect to an application for a permit, the department shall pay
the applicant an amount equal to 15% of the greater of the
following, as applicable:
(a) The amount of the application fee for that permit.
(b) If an assessment or other fee is charged on an annual or
other periodic basis by the department to a person holding the
permit for which the application was submitted, the amount of the
first periodic charge of that assessment or other fee for that
permit.
(4) If the department fails to satisfy the requirements of
subsection (1) with respect to a permit under section 11509, 11512,
or
30307, 30304, the application shall be considered to be approved
and the department shall be considered to have made any
determination required for approval.
(5) The failure of the department to satisfy the requirements
of subsection (1) or the fact that the department is required to
make a payment under subsection (3) or is considered to have
approved a permit under subsection (4) shall not be used by the
department as the basis for discriminating against the applicant.
If the department is required to make a payment under subsection
(3), the application shall be processed in sequence with other
applications for the same type of permit, based on the date on
which the processing period began, unless the director determines
on an application-by-application basis that the public interest is
best served by processing in a different order.
(6) If the department fails to satisfy the requirements of
subsection (1), the director shall notify the appropriations
committees of the senate and house of representatives of the
failure. The notification shall be in writing and shall include
both of the following:
(a) An explanation of the reason for the failure.
(b) A statement of the amount the department was required to
pay the applicant under subsection (3) or a statement that the
department was required to consider the application to be approved
under subsection (4), as applicable.