HB 5937

substitute for
House BILL NO. 5937
A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled
"Natural resources and environmental protection
act,"
by amending sections 1301, 1305, and 3112 (MCL
324.1301, 324.1305, and 324.3112), section 1301 as amended by 2018 PA 451,
section 1305 as amended by 2011 PA 246, and section 3112 as amended by 2018 PA
667.
the peoplE of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 1301. As used in this part:
(a)
"Application period" means the period beginning
that begins when an application for a
permit is received by the this state and ending ends when the application is considered to be administratively complete under section 1305
and any applicable fee has been is paid.
(b)
"Department" means the department, agency, or officer authorized by
this act to approve or deny an application for a particular permit. As used in
sections 1315 to 1317, "department" means the department of environmental quality.environment,
Great Lakes, and energy.
(c)
"Director" means the director of the state department authorized
under this act to approve or deny an application for a particular permit or the
director's designee. As used in sections 1313 to 1317, "director"
means the director of the department of environmental
quality.environment, Great Lakes, and energy.
(d)
"Environmental permit review commission" or "commission"
means the environmental permit review commission established under section
1313(1).
(e)
"Environmental permit panel" or "panel" means a panel of
the environmental permit review commission, appointed under section 1315(2).
(f)
"Permit", except as provided in subdivision (g), means a permit,
operating license, or registration required by any of the following sections or
by rules promulgated thereunder, or, in the case of section 9112, by an
ordinance referred to in that section:
(i) Section 3104, floodplain alteration
permit.
(ii) Section 3503, permit for use of water in
mining iron ore.
(iii) Section 4105, sewerage system
construction permit.
(iv) Section 6516, vehicle testing license.
(v) Section 6521, motor vehicle fleet
testing permit.
(vi) Section 8310, restricted use pesticide
dealer license.
(vii) Section 8310a, agricultural pesticide
dealer license.
(viii) Section 8504, license to manufacture or
distribute fertilizer.
(ix) Section 9112, local soil erosion and
sedimentation control permit.
(x) Section 11509, solid waste disposal area
construction permit.
(xi) Section 11512, solid waste disposal area
operating license.
(xii) Section 11542, municipal solid waste
incinerator ash landfill operating license amendment.
(xiii) Section 11702, septage waste servicing
license or septage waste vehicle license.
(xiv) Section 11709, septage waste site
permit.
(xv) Section 30104, inland lakes and streams
project permit.
(xvi) Section 30304, state permit for
dredging, filling, or other activity in wetland. Permit includes an
authorization for a specific project to proceed under a general permit issued
under section 30312.
(xvii) Section 31509, dam construction, repair,
or removal permit.
(xviii) Section 32312, flood risk, high risk, or
environmental area permit.
(xix) Section 32512, permit for dredging and
filling bottomland.
(xx) Section 32603, permit for submerged log
removal from Great Lakes bottomlands.
(xxi) Section 35304, department permit for
critical dune area use.
(xxii) Section 36505, endangered species
permit.
(xxiii) Section 41329, nonnative aquatic species
sales registration.
(xxiv) Section 41702, game bird hunting
preserve license.
(xxv) Section 42101, dog training area permit.
(xxvi) Section 42501, fur dealer's license.
(xxvii) Section 42702, game dealer's license.
(xxviii) Section 44513, charter boat operating
permit under reciprocal agreement.
(xxix) Section 44516, boat livery operating
permit.
(xxx) Section 45902, game fish propagation
license.
(xxxi) Section 45906, game fish import license.
(xxxii) Section 48705, permit to take amphibians
and reptiles for scientific or educational use.
(xxxiii) Section 61525, oil or gas well drilling
permit.
(xxxiv) Section 62509, brine, storage, or waste
disposal well drilling or conversion permit or test well drilling permit.
(xxxv) Section 63103a, ferrous mineral mining
permit.
(xxxvi) Section 63514 or 63525, surface coal
mining and reclamation permit or revision of the permit, respectively.
(xxxvii) Section 63704, sand dune mining permit.
(xxxviii) Section 72108, use permits for a Pure
Michigan Trail.
(xxxix) Section 76109, sunken aircraft or
watercraft abandoned property recovery permit.
(xl) (xxxx) Section
76504, Mackinac Island motor vehicle and land use permits.
(xli) (xxxxi) Section
80159, buoy or beacon permit.
(g)
"Permit", as used in sections 1313 to 1317, means any permit or
operating license that meets both of the following conditions:
(i) The applicant for the permit or
operating license is not this state or a political subdivision of this state.
(ii) The permit or operating license is
issued by the department of environmental quality environment, Great Lakes, and energy under this act
or the rules promulgated under this act.
(h)
"Processing deadline" means the last day of the processing period.
(i)
"Processing period", subject to section 1307(2) and (3), means the
following time period after the close of the application period, for the
following permit, as applicable:
(i) Twenty days for a permit under section
61525 or 62509.
(ii) Thirty days for a permit under section 9112
or 44516.
(iii) Thirty days after the department
consults with the underwater salvage and preserve committee created under
section 76103, for a permit under section 76109.
(iv) Thirty days or, if a hearing is held, 90 days for a permit under section
30304.
(v) (iv) Sixty days , for a permit
under section 30104 for a minor project established under section 30105(7) or
32512a(1), or an authorization for a specific project to proceed under a
general permit issued under section 30105(8) or 32512a(2), or for a permit
under section 32312 or 41329.
(vi) (v) Sixty days
or, if a hearing is held, 90 days for a permit under section 35304.
(vii) (vi) Sixty days
or, if a hearing is held, 120 days for a permit under section 30104, other than
a permit or authorization described in subparagraph (ii) or (iv), or for a permit under section 31509.
(viii) (vii) Ninety
days for a permit under section 11512, a revision of a surface coal mining and
reclamation permit under section 63525, or a permit under section 72108.
(ix) (viii) Ninety
days or, if a hearing is held, 150 days for a permit under section 3104, or 30304, or a
permit under section 32512 other than a permit described in subparagraph (iv).
(x) (ix) Ninety days after the close of the review or comment period under
section 32604, or if a public hearing is held, 90 days after the date of the
public hearing for a permit under section 32603.
(xi) (x)
One hundred twenty
days for a permit under section 11509, 11542, 63103a, 63514, or 63704.
(xii) (xi) One hundred
fifty days for a permit under section 36505. However, if a site inspection or
federal approval is required, the 150-day period is tolled pending completion
of the inspection or receipt of the federal approval.
(xiii) (xii) For
any other permit, 150 days or, if a hearing is held, 90 days after the hearing,
whichever is later.
Sec. 1305. (1) After a department receives
an application for a permit, the department shall determine whether the
application is administratively complete. Unless the department proceeds as
provided under subsection (2), the application shall
be is considered to be administratively
complete when the department makes that determination or 30 7 days after
the state department
receives the application, whichever is first.
(2) If, before the
expiration of the 30-day 7-day period under subsection (1), the department
notifies the applicant that the application is not administratively complete , specifying and specifies the information necessary to make the
application administratively complete, or notifies the applicant that a fee
required to accompany the application has not been paid , specifying and specifies the amount due, the running of the 30-day 7-day period
under subsection (1) is tolled until the applicant submits to the department
the specified information or fee amount due. The notice shall must be
given in writing or by electronic notification.
(3) Subject to
subsection (4), after an application for a permit is considered to be administratively complete under this
section, the department shall not request from the applicant any new or
additional information that is not specified in the list required under section
1303(2)(a) unless the request includes a detailed explanation of why the
information is needed. The applicant is not required to provide the requested
information as a condition for approval of the permit.
(4) After an
application for a permit is considered to be administratively
complete under this section, the department may request the applicant to
clarify, amplify, or correct the information required for the application. The
applicant shall provide the requested information.
Sec. 3112. (1) A person shall not
discharge any waste or waste effluent into the waters of this the state
unless the person is in possession of a valid permit from the department.
(2) An application
for a permit under subsection (1) shall must be submitted to the department. Within 30 Not later than
7 days after an application for a new or increased use is received, the
department shall determine whether the application is administratively
complete. Within 90 Not later than 7 days after an application for
reissuance of a permit is received, the department shall determine whether the
application is administratively complete. If the department determines that an
application is not administratively complete,
the department shall notify the applicant in writing within the applicable time
period. If the department does not make a determination as to whether the
application is administratively complete within
the applicable time period, the application shall
be is considered to be complete.
(3) The department
shall condition the continued validity of a permit upon
on the permittee's
permittee meeting the effluent
requirements that the department considers necessary to prevent unlawful
pollution by the dates that the department considers to be reasonable and necessary and to ensure
compliance with applicable federal law. If the department finds that the terms
of a permit have been, are being, or may be violated, it the department may
modify, suspend, or revoke the permit or grant the permittee a reasonable
period of time in which to comply with the permit. The department may reissue a
revoked permit upon on a showing satisfactory to the department that the
permittee has corrected the violation. A person who
that has had a permit revoked may apply
for a new permit.
(4) If the
department determines that a person is causing or is about to cause unlawful
pollution of the waters of this the state, the department may notify the alleged
offender of its the
department's determination and enter an order requiring that requires the
person to abate the pollution or may refer the matter to the attorney general
for legal action, or both.
(5) A person who that is
aggrieved by an order of abatement of the department or by the reissuance,
modification, suspension, or revocation of an existing permit of the department
executed pursuant to under this section may file a sworn petition with the
department setting that
sets forth the grounds and reasons for the complaint and requesting requests a
contested case hearing on the matter pursuant to under the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969
PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328. A petition filed more than 60 days after action
on the order or permit may be rejected by the department as being untimely.
(6) All oceangoing
vessels engaging in port operations in this state shall obtain a permit from
the department. The department shall issue a permit for an oceangoing vessel
only if the applicant can demonstrate that the oceangoing vessel complies with
33 CFR 151.1510 as then in effect or the oceangoing vessel will utilize
environmentally sound technology and methods approved by the department that
prevent the discharge of aquatic nuisance species. However, all of the
following shall apply:
(a) The grant by
the coast guard of an extension to the implementation schedule under 33 CFR
151.1513 or the exchange of ballast water under 33 CFR 151.1510(a)(1) or
saltwater flushing under 33 CFR 401.30 alone is not considered compliance with
the federal aquatic nuisance rule for the purposes of this section.
(b) A vessel
discharging ballast water must employ a ballast water management system
approved pursuant to under 33 CFR 151.1510(A)(3)
151.1510(a)(3) or a ballast water
treatment method approved by the department.
(c) A vessel must
carry out an exchange of ballast water or saltwater flushing and comply with
other applicable requirements of 33 CFR part 151, subpart C, and 33 CFR 401.30.
(d) A vessel using
water from a public water system under 33 CFR 151.1510(a)(4) shall must utilize
a method to sufficiently clean ballast water tanks prior
to before using water from a public
water supply system as ballast water as approved by the department.
(e) A discharge
that may cause or contribute to a violation of a water quality standard is not
authorized by a permit described in this subsection.
(f) If the federal
aquatic nuisance rule is amended after the
enactment date of the 2018 amendatory act that added subsection (7), December 28, 2018, and the director determines that
the amended version of the federal aquatic nuisance rule is less protective of
the waters of this the
state from aquatic nuisance species, the applicant shall demonstrate
that the oceangoing vessel complies with the federal aquatic nuisance rule as
in effect immediately before the effective date of that amendment to the
federal aquatic nuisance rule.
(g) If pursuant to in accordance
with a compact of Great Lakes states of which this state is a part, this
state adopts standards more protective of the waters of this the state
from aquatic nuisance species than the version of the federal aquatic nuisance
rule otherwise applicable under this subsection, the standards adopted pursuant to in accordance
with the compact apply.
(7) The intent of
the legislature in adopting in part the federal aquatic nuisance rule by
reference is to help harmonize regulatory programs in Great Lakes states for
preventing the introduction and spread of aquatic nuisance species in the Great
Lakes, including ballast water management programs, and to allow regulatory
agencies to cooperate in developing stronger programs.
(8) Permit fees for
permits under subsection (6) shall must be assessed as provided in section 3120. The
permit fees for an individual permit issued under subsection (6) are the fees
specified in section 3120(1)(a) and (5)(a). The permit fees for a general
permit issued under subsection (6) are the fees specified in section 3120(1)(c)
and (5)(b)(i). Permits under subsection (6) shall must be issued in accordance with the timelines
provided in section 3120. The department may promulgate rules to implement subsections
(6) to (8).
(9) As used in this
section, "federal aquatic nuisance rule" means 33 CFR part 151,
subpart C, and applicable requirements of 33 CFR 151.2050, 151.2060, and
151.2070.
Enacting section 1.
This amendatory act does not take effect unless all of the following bills of
the 103rd Legislature are enacted into law:
(a) House Bill No. 5936.
(b) House Bill No. 5938.
(c) House Bill No. 6038.