HOUSE BILL No. 4256

 

 

February 21, 2017, Introduced by Reps. Chang, Hammoud, Rabhi, Pagan, Hoadley, Phelps, Yanez, Green, Gay-Dagnogo, Inman and Geiss and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources.

 

     A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled

 

"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"

 

(MCL 324.101 to 324.90106) by adding section 5543.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 5543. (1) As used in this section:

 

     (a) "AQI" means the air quality index required to be reported

 

under 40 CFR 58.50.

 

     (b) "PM 2.5" means particles with an aerodynamic diameter of

 

less than or equal to a nominal 2.5 micrometers.

 

     (c) "Thermal inversion" means a weather condition in which a

 

layer of warm air overlies a layer of cooler air near the ground

 

and acts like a lid, limiting vertical mixing and thereby trapping

 

pollutants near the ground.

 

     (2) The department shall make forecasts of the AQI and

 

publicize the forecasts on its website and through other means. The

 


forecasts must be made at least 24 hours in advance using the most

 

accurate and reasonable procedures considering meteorology,

 

topography, availability of data, and forecasting expertise.

 

     (3) The department shall do both of the following:

 

     (a) Declare 1 or more action days for a geographic area of

 

this state when, as determined by the department's AQI reporting

 

and forecasting program, the department expects in that geographic

 

area an air quality index or a PM 2.5 subindex in the moderate

 

category, or worse.

 

     (b) Designate an action day as a "winter thermal inversion

 

action day" if the action day is the result of a thermal inversion

 

anytime during the period of November through March.

 

     (4) Within 180 days after the effective date of the amendatory

 

act that added this section, the department shall review its AQI

 

reporting and forecasting program and, if indicated by the review,

 

do 1 or more of the following:

 

     (a) Revise the ozone or PM 2.5 standards to account for

 

thermal inversions when declaring action days.

 

     (b) Revise voluntary pollution prevention measures requested

 

on action days or when action days are forecast.

 

     (c) Further restrict industry emissions of PM 2.5 or industry

 

emissions contributing to ozone when the department forecasts a

 

thermal inversion.

 

     (5) The director of the department shall convene a workgroup

 

to study thermal inversions and recommend any actions that should

 

be taken by this state to improve air quality and protect public

 

health during thermal inversions. The workgroup shall include 1 or


more public health experts, air quality experts, representatives of

 

environmental protection organizations, and residents of geographic

 

areas of this state with higher levels of air pollution. Within 1

 

year after the effective date of the amendatory act that added this

 

section, the workgroup shall submit a report on its findings and

 

recommendations to the director of the department and to the

 

standing committees of the senate and house of representatives with

 

primary responsibility for environmental and public health issues.

 

The workgroup is dissolved 90 days after the report is due.

 

     Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days

 

after the date it is enacted into law.