WATER MGMT PERMIT EXCEPTION                                                           S.B. 840 (S-1):

                                                                                                    SUMMARY OF BILL

                                                                                      REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE

Senate Bill 840 (Substitute S-1 as reported)

Sponsor:  Senator Tom Casperson

Committee:  Natural Resources

CONTENT

The bill would amend the Part 301 (Inland Lakes and Streams) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to allow, without a permit, maintenance and operation of a waste collection or treatment facility either ordered to be constructed or approved for operation under a State or a Federal water pollution control law and Part 301.

The Act prohibits a person without a permit from the Department of Environmental Quality from modifying the inland lakes and streams of Michigan in certain ways, including the dredging or filling of bottomland or the construction, enlargement, extension, removal, or placement of a structure on bottomland.

The permit requirements do not apply to various activities or structures, including a waste collection or treatment facility that is ordered to be constructed or is approved for construction under State or Federal water pollution control law, if constructed in upland.

Under the bill, instead, a permit would not be required for maintenance and operation of a waste collection or treatment facility that was ordered to be constructed or was approved for operation as a waste treatment facility under a State or a Federal water pollution control law and Part 301. "Operation" would include dredging, filling, or construction and placement of structures in the waste collection or treatment facility in compliance with the Act.

MCL 324.30103                                                        Legislative Analyst:  Nathan Leaman

FISCAL IMPACT

The bill would not have a significant fiscal impact on the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) or local units of government.  Department staff have indicated that the bill would affect only one or two facilities at this time.  The loss of revenue and the reduction in DEQ permitting costs associated with exempting those facilities from the requirement to obtain a Part 301 permit would not significantly affect the operations of the DEQ.

Date Completed:  3-8-18                                                       Fiscal Analyst:  Josh Sefton

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.