SENATE BILL No. 444

 

 

June 20, 2013, Introduced by Senators CASPERSON, ROBERTSON, HANSEN, GREEN and BOOHER 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 sections 3306, 3307, 3309, and 3311 (MCL 324.3306,

 

324.3307, 324.3309, and 324.3311), section 3306 as amended by 2011

 

PA 90 and sections 3307, 3309, and 3311 as added by 2004 PA 246,

 

and by adding section 3315.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 3306. (1) Until October 1, 2015, 2018, an application for

 

a certificate of coverage under this part shall be accompanied by a

 

fee of $75.00. Until October 1, 2015, 2018, and subject to

 

subsection (2), an application for an individual permit under this

 

part shall be accompanied by the following fee, based on the size

 

of the area of impact:

 


     (a) Less than 1/2 acre, $75.00.

 

     (b) One-half 1/2 acre or more but less than 5 acres, $200.00.

 

     (c) Five 5 acres or more but less than 20 acres, $400.00.

 

     (d) Twenty 20 acres or more but less than 100 acres, $800.00.

 

     (e) One hundred 100 acres or more, $1,500.00.

 

     (2) A fee under this section or section 3309 may be paid by

 

credit or debit card or electronic fund transfer. The department

 

shall determine which major credit and debit cards may be used to

 

pay a fee. If a fee is paid by credit or debit card, the department

 

may collect a service assessment from the user of the credit or

 

debit card. The service assessment shall not exceed the actual cost

 

to the department of the credit or debit card transaction or the

 

amount appropriated to cover service assessments, whichever is

 

less.

 

     (3) (2) The department shall forward fees collected under this

 

section to the state treasurer for deposit in the land and water

 

management permit fee fund created in section 30113.

 

     (4) The department shall not charge a fee for an amendment to

 

an application for a certificate of coverage or permit, including

 

an amendment to an application after that application has been

 

resubmitted under section 3307(7).

 

     Sec. 3307. (1) An application for a certificate of coverage or

 

permit may be submitted electronically.

 

     (2) (1) The department shall either approve or deny an

 

application for a certificate of coverage by May 1 or within the

 

later of the following dates:

 

     (a) April 1.

 


     (b) 15 working days after receipt of a complete application. ,

 

whichever is later.

 

     (3) If the department denies an application for a certificate

 

of coverage, the department shall notify the applicant, in writing,

 

of the reasons for the denial.

 

     (4) (2) The department shall approve an application for a

 

permit in whole or part and issue the permit, or shall deny the

 

application, by May 1 or within the latest of the following dates:

 

     (a) April 1.

 

     (b) 30 working days after receipt of a complete application. ,

 

whichever is later.This subdivision does not apply if subdivision

 

(c) applies.

 

     (c) 15 working days after receipt of a complete application if

 

the water body is listed on the registry under subsection (9) as

 

being infested with the particular aquatic nuisance species that

 

the applicant proposes to control under the permit.

 

     (5) The department shall not delay processing an application

 

for a permit or certificate of coverage because the department has

 

not completed processing of the fee payment accompanying the

 

application.

 

     (6) If the department approves the application for a permit in

 

part or denies the application, the department shall, by the same

 

deadline for approval or denial of the application, notify the

 

applicant, in writing, of the reasons for the partial approval or

 

denial.

 

     (7) The department shall not deny an application for a

 

certificate of coverage or a permit because it was submitted after

 


a certain date in the year in which treatment is proposed. If the

 

department approves an application in part or denies an

 

application, the applicant may resubmit the application with

 

amendments to address the reasons for partial approval or denial.

 

The resubmitted application is not subject to an additional fee.

 

     (8) (3) If the department fails to satisfy the requirements of

 

subsection (1) or (2) subsections (2) to (7) with respect to an

 

application for a certificate of coverage or a permit, the all of

 

the following apply:

 

     (a) The department shall pay the applicant an amount equal to

 

15% of the application fee specified in section 3306 for that

 

certificate of coverage or permit.

 

     (b) The application shall be considered to be approved and the

 

department shall be considered to have made any determination

 

required for approval if all of the following apply:

 

     (i) The proposed area of impact is the same as or entirely

 

contained within the area of impact approved in a previous permit.

 

     (ii) The active ingredient or trade name of each chemical

 

proposed to be applied is the same as approved in a previous permit

 

and each chemical is currently approved for use by the department.

 

     (iii) The application rate and number of treatments do not

 

exceed those approved in the previous permit.

 

     (iv) The minimum length of time between treatments is not less

 

than that approved in the previous permit.

 

     (9) The department shall post and maintain on its website a

 

registry of water bodies infested by aquatic nuisance species and

 

the particular aquatic nuisance species infesting each water body.

 


The registry shall be based on information from all of the

 

following:

 

     (a) Permits and certificates of coverage issued under this

 

part.

 

     (b) Reports received by the department from any of the

 

following:

 

     (i) Certified applicators or registered applicators under part

 

83.

 

     (ii) Representatives of public or private institutions of

 

higher education.

 

     (iii) Representatives of any other state, local, or federal

 

agency with responsibility for the environment or natural

 

resources.

 

     Sec. 3309. (1) A permit under this part shall, at a minimum,

 

include all of the following information:

 

     (a) The active ingredient or the trade name of each chemical

 

to be applied.

 

     (b) The application rate of each chemical.

 

     (c) The maximum amount of each chemical to be applied per

 

treatment.

 

     (d) Minimum length of time between treatments for each

 

chemical.

 

     (e) A map or maps that clearly delineate the approved area of

 

impact.

 

     (f) The term of the permit, which shall not be less than 3

 

years.

 

     (2) A permit under this part shall authorize chemical

 


treatment in each year covered by the permit. This subsection does

 

not apply to a chemical if its annual use was restricted in rules

 

in effect on the effective date of the amendatory act that added

 

this subsection.

 

     (3) By April 1 of the second and each subsequent year of a

 

permit, the permittee shall pay the department an annual fee. The

 

annual fee shall equal the permit application fee for that permit

 

under section 3306 including, for annual fees due after the initial

 

treatment of an expanded area of impact under section 3311(3), the

 

additional fee under section 3311(3)(d). However, the last annual

 

fee is subject to a discount equal to 5% multiplied by the number

 

of years in the term of the permit in excess of 1 year. If an

 

annual fee is not received by the department by April 1, the permit

 

is suspended until the annual fee is paid. When the application fee

 

for a permit is paid, an applicant may choose to also pay in

 

advance all the annual fees that will become due under this

 

subsection if the permit is granted for the term requested by the

 

applicant. If the application is denied or is granted for a shorter

 

period than the applicant requested, the department shall refund

 

those annual fees that will not become due.

 

     (4) (2) The Subject to subsection (1)(f), the department may

 

impose additional conditions on a permit under this part to protect

 

the natural resources or the public health, to prevent economic

 

loss or impairment of recreational uses, to protect nontarget

 

organisms, or to help ensure control of the aquatic nuisance.

 

     Sec. 3311. (1) The department may make minor revisions to a

 

permit under this part, to minimize the impacts to the natural

 


resources, public health, and safety , or to improve aquatic

 

nuisance control, if the proposed revisions do not involve a change

 

in the scope of the project , and the permittee requests the

 

revisions in writing. The department shall not charge a fee for a

 

request for revisions to a permit. The department shall approve a

 

request for revisions to a permit in whole or in part or deny the

 

request within 2 business days after the request is received. The

 

request shall include all of the following information:

 

     (a) The proposed changes to the permit.

 

     (b) An explanation of the necessity for the proposed changes.

 

     (c) Maps that clearly delineate any proposed changes to the

 

area of impact.

 

     (d) Additional information that would help the department

 

reach a decision on a permit amendment.

 

     (2) If the permittee has written authorization to act on

 

behalf of a person described in section 3303(4)(a), (b), or (c),

 

upon written request of the person, the department shall transfer

 

the permit to a new permittee with written authorization to act on

 

behalf of that person. The department shall notify the original

 

permittee of the transfer of the permit.

 

     (3) A permittee may, without a revision to the permit or

 

certificate of coverage, expand the area of impact beyond that

 

authorized in the permit or certificate of coverage to include

 

adjacent waters that become infested after the application for the

 

permit or certificate of coverage was submitted to the department.

 

The permittee may increase the amount of chemicals, as authorized

 

in the permit or certificate of coverage, according to the approved

 


product label to match the expansion in the area of impact. The

 

permittee shall, within 15 business days after the initial

 

treatment of the expanded area of impact, provide the department

 

with all of the following:

 

     (a) A written explanation of the necessity for the expansion

 

of the area of impact.

 

     (b) A map that clearly delineates the changes to the area of

 

impact.

 

     (c) A written statement specifying the increase in the amount

 

of chemicals used or to be used as a result of the expansion of the

 

area of impact.

 

     (d) If the permit application fee under section 3306 would

 

have been higher if the expanded area of impact had been included

 

in the permit application, a fee equal to the difference between

 

the application fee paid and the application fee that would have

 

been due.

 

     Sec. 3315. (1) A local unit of government may adopt an

 

ordinance for the prevention, control, or eradication of aquatic

 

nuisances in a waterbody, other than a Great Lake or connecting

 

water, that lies in whole or in part within the boundaries of the

 

local unit of government.

 

     (2) An ordinance under this section may require the payment of

 

a fee for the launching or use of a vessel in the waterbody if the

 

fee is used exclusively for the purposes described in subsection

 

(1) and the costs of administering and enforcing the ordinance.

 

However, the fee shall not be charged unless the department has

 

determined in writing, such as by issuance of a permit under this

 


part, that the waterbody is infested with an aquatic nuisance. The

 

fee shall not be charged after the aquatic nuisances in the

 

waterbody have been eradicated. The ordinance may exempt a

 

pesticide applicator, lake management consultant, or other person

 

engaged in aquatic nuisance management activities; a government

 

entity; or a nonprofit organization from the fee. Not more than 5%

 

of the revenue collected from the fee shall be used for

 

administration.

 

     (3) An ordinance under this section is not enforceable unless

 

1 of the following applies:

 

     (a) The same ordinance is adopted by least 50% of the cities

 

and townships within which the waterbody is located and at least

 

2/3 of the shoreline of the waterbody is located within those

 

cities and townships.

 

     (b) The same ordinance is adopted by least 50% of the counties

 

within which the waterbody is located and at least 2/3 of the

 

shoreline of the waterbody is located within those counties.

 

     (4) An ordinance adopted under this section shall not conflict

 

with state law.