February 22, 2006, Introduced by Senator BROWN and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Tourism.
A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled
"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"
by amending sections 5301 and 5304 (MCL 324.5301 and 324.5304),
section 5301 as amended by 2005 PA 255 and section 5304 as amended
by 2002 PA 397; and to repeal acts and parts of acts.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 5301. As used in this part:
(a) "Assistance" means 1 or more of the following activities
to the extent authorized by the federal water pollution control
act:
(i) Provision of loans to municipalities for construction of
sewage treatment works projects, stormwater treatment projects, or
nonpoint source projects.
(ii) Project refinancing assistance.
(iii) The guarantee or purchase of insurance for local
obligations, if the guarantee or purchase action would improve
credit market access or reduce interest rates.
(iv) Use of the proceeds of the fund as a source of revenue or
security for the payment of principal and interest on revenue or
general obligation bonds issued by this state, if the proceeds of
the sale of the bonds will be deposited into the fund.
(v) Provision of loan guarantees for similar revolving funds
established by municipalities.
(vi) The use of deposited funds to earn interest on fund
accounts.
(vii) Provision for reasonable costs of administering and
conducting activities under title VI of the federal water pollution
control act, 33 USC 1381 to 1387.
(b) "Authority" means the Michigan municipal bond authority
created in the shared credit rating act, 1985 PA 227, MCL 141.1051
to 141.1076.
(c) "Capitalization grant" means the federal grant made to
this state by the United States environmental protection agency for
the purpose of establishing a state water pollution control
revolving fund, as provided in title VI of the federal water
pollution control act, 33 USC 1381 to 1387.
(d) "Construction activities" means any actions undertaken in
the planning, designing, or building of sewage treatment works
projects, stormwater treatment projects, or nonpoint source
projects. Construction activities include, but are not limited to,
all of the following:
(i) Project planning services.
(ii) Engineering services.
(iii) Legal services.
(iv) Financial services.
(v) Design of plans and specifications.
(vi) Acquisition of land or structural components, or both.
(vii) Building, erection, alteration, remodeling, or extension
of a sewage treatment works.
(viii) Building, erection, alteration, remodeling, or extension
of projects designed to control nonpoint source pollution,
consistent with section 319 of title III of the federal water
pollution control act, 33 USC 1329.
(ix) Building, erection, alteration, or remodeling of a
stormwater treatment project.
(x) Municipal supervision of the project activities described
in subparagraphs (i) to (ix).
(e) "Department" means the director of the department of
environmental quality. However, with respect to any provision of
this part applicable to an agricultural nonpoint source project,
department means the department of agriculture.
(f) (e)
"Federal water pollution control act"
means 33 USC
1251 to 1387.
(g) (f)
"Fund" means the state water pollution
control
revolving fund established under the shared credit rating act, 1985
PA 227, MCL 141.1051 to 141.1076, established pursuant to title VI
of the federal water pollution control act, 33 USC 1381 to 1387.
(h) (g)
"Fundable range" means those projects,
taken in
descending order on the priority lists, for which sufficient funds
are estimated by the department to exist to provide assistance at
the beginning of each annual funding cycle.
(i) (h)
"Municipality" means a city, village,
county,
township, authority, or other public body, including an
intermunicipal agency of 2 or more municipalities, authorized or
created under state law; or an Indian tribe that has jurisdiction
over construction and operation of sewage treatment works or other
projects qualifying under section 319 of title III of the federal
water pollution control act, 33 USC 1329.
(j) (i)
"Nonpoint source project" means
construction
activities designed to reduce nonpoint source pollution consistent
with the state nonpoint source management plan pursuant to section
319 of title III of the federal water pollution control act, 33 USC
1329.
(k) (j)
"Priority list" means the annual ranked
listing of
projects
developed by the department in section 5303. or used by
the
department pursuant to section 5315.
(l) (k)
"Project" means a sewage treatment works
project, a
stormwater treatment project, or a nonpoint source project, or a
combination of these.
(m) (l) "Project refinancing assistance" means
buying or
refinancing the debt obligations of municipalities within the state
if construction activities commenced after March 7, 1985 and the
debt obligation was incurred after March 7, 1985.
(n) (m)
"Sewage treatment works project" means
construction
activities on any device or system for the treatment, storage,
collection, conveyance, recycling, or reclamation of the sewage of
a municipality, including combined sewer overflow correction and
major rehabilitation of sewers.
(o) (n)
"Stormwater treatment project" means
construction
activities of a municipality on any device or system for the
treatment, storage, recycling, or reclamation of storm water that
is conveyed by a storm sewer that is separate from a sanitary
sewer.
(p) (o)
"Tier I project" means a project for which
assistance is sought or provided from funds made directly available
from the federal capitalization grant or from the Great Lakes water
quality bond fund pursuant to section 19708(1)(a).
(q) (p)
"Tier II project" means a project for
which
assistance is sought or provided from funds other than those made
directly available from the federal capitalization grant or from
the Great Lakes water quality bond fund pursuant to section
19708(1)(a).
Sec. 5304. Subject to sections 5309 and 5310, assistance
provided to municipalities to construct sewage treatment works
projects, stormwater projects, and nonpoint source projects shall
be in accordance with all of the following:
(a) Assistance for approved sewage treatment works projects
and stormwater treatment projects shall be provided for projects in
the fundable range of the priority list developed pursuant to 5303,
and to other projects that may become fundable pursuant to section
5310.
(b) Assistance for approved qualified nonpoint source projects
shall be provided for projects in the fundable range of the
priority list developed pursuant to section 5303. The director of
the department of environmental quality shall annually allocate at
least 2% of the available funds to the extent needed to provide
assistance to projects on the nonpoint source priority list. If
these funds are not awarded, the allocation shall revert to provide
assistance to projects on the sewage treatment works priority list.
Enacting section 1. Section 5315 of the natural resources and
environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.5315, is
repealed.
Enacting section 2. This amendatory act does not take effect
unless all of the following bills of the 93rd Legislature are
enacted into law:
(a) House Bill No. 5712.
(b) House Bill No. 5711.
(c) House Bill No. 5713.
(d) House Bill No. 5714.
(e) Senate Bill No. 1060.