|
MEC
Capitol Update
April 2, 2004
The
Legislature will be on break for the next two weeks.
Permits to pollute - no longer free
Only
six months into the fiscal year, the legislature finally passed
water discharge permit fees.
The
second conference committee report was adopted by both the
House and Senate. The law will:
-
Raise
approximately $3.0 million be year in new water discharge
fees. Industrial facilities pay between $150 and $8700.
Municipal wastewater treatment facilities pay between $1950
and $213,000 (City of Detroit).
-
The
fees sunset in October of 2009.
-
The
MDEQ loses its authorization to promulgate new rules as
of December 31, 2006.
-
Allows
parties being sued to remove the action to the county in
which their facility is located (at the same time, the Senate
passed the MDEQ budget cutting the funding authorized for
travel by MDEQ employees by 50%).
The
Senate passed the bill 34-4, no votes coming from Detroit
legislators due to the significant costs being allocated to
the wastewater facility in Detroit.
The
House passed the bill 74-31, no votes coming from Republicans
and Rep. Virgil Smith from Detroit.
Groundwater
program saved
The
conference committee report for groundwater fees (SB
560) was also passed by both chambers this week. The
bill will raise $1.7 million annually.
The
Senate passed the measure on a vote of 34-4.
The
House passed the measure by a vote of 56-49.
Director
Steve Chester last week notified permit holders that they
will discontinue the groundwater discharge permitting program
on April 23, 2004 if fees are not passed by April 1.
Senate
Passed:
SB
1066 --Department of Environmental Quality Budget
-- The full Appropriations Committee voted out the Senate
substitute he FY 2004-05 Budget for the Department of Environmental
Quality. General fund is reduced to $38 million next year,
down from $53 million last year, and $101 million in 2001.
Major
changes proposed by Governor Granholm included:
-
Eliminate
$16 million general fund for matching federal state revolving
fund dollars (used for sewer infrastructure). This action
may not have immediate impact due to reduced demand for
loans, but will have a continued impact through less money
available in the future.
-
Proposes
no new cleanup projects due to dwindling funding available
from state and federal sources for these efforts ($21,715,000
reduction).
Major
changes proposed in the Senate version include:
-
The
Senate version cut all travel for employees by 50%
and banned out-of-state travel. This action hurts enforcement
and compliance efforts by limiting the ability of staff
to do inspections of regulated facilities -- total savings
$617,300)
-
Cut
general fund support for Air Division by $1.2 million. This
results in a breach of the agreement with those that pay
air fees that they would not be used for purposes other
than Clean Air Act implementation in Michigan.
-
New
fees were added for inspecting water facilities at public
swimming pools and campgrounds, water and sewer facilities
at manufactured housing communities, and to assist local
health departments with inspection of septage waste facilities
-- approximately $1.2 million in total.
-
The
Senate added $50,000 for real-time water quality testing
for the City of Algonac (base of St. Clair River before
entering Lake St. Clair).
SB
1068 -- Department of Natural Resources Budget for
FY 2004-05.
The
Governor proposed the following major change:
-
Purchased
Land Payments In Lieu of Taxes-- Proposes replacing the
General Fund and State restricted dollars with a portion
of the sales tax revenue used for statutory revenue sharing
payments. The proposal would also cap the mills assessed
at the 2003 level, freeze the value of the property, and
establish a floor of $500 in order for jurisdictions to
receive a payment from the State. There would be a savings
of
$2,012,900
GF/GP and $8,272,500 Gross. The Senate concurred.
The Senate
made the following significant changes:
-
Travel
Reduction -- After the subcommittee recommended a 50% travel
reduction, the full Appropriation committee adopted a reduction
of 8%, or $753,100.
-
Added
Pork -- The Senate also provides a grant of $100,000 from
the Waterways Fund to the Sebewaing Harbor Commission, and
added $50,000 and one position to support a forester in
the southwest region of the State.
SB
977
-- A bill to improve the reporting of toxic spills to
insure local health officials receive timely information.
HB
5029 - a bill to establish a season for hunting mourning
doves in Michigan.
SR
224 - a resolution opposing new or revised administrative
rules for businesses that are more stringent than Federal
policies.
On
the calendar:
SB
217 - The bill to amend the drain code was
reported from the Agriculture Committee.
Recycling
bills:
SB
532 and
SB 533-- anti-littering legislation
SB
853 Reporting on the nature and the amount of litter
collected under the adopt-a-river program.
SB
854 - creates statewide recycling coordinator position
SB
855 - Reporting on the nature and the amount of litter
collected under the adopt-a-shoreline program
SB
856 - Requires the state to conduct a comprehensive
study on littering and create a marketing program to reduce
litter
SB
857 - Reporting on the nature and the amount of litter
collected under the adopt-a-trail program
SB
858 - Reporting on the nature and the amount of litter
collected under the adopt-a-park program
SB
860 - Establishes a 1-800 number for reporting littering
violations
SB
861
- Sets statewide goals for recycling rates (30% by 2009,
50% by 2014)
House
Passed:
SB
653 -- to extend the sunset on the baseline environmental
assessment fees.
HB
5671 - which requires notification to certain property
owners of scheduled public hearings for annexation.
On
the calendar:
SB
510 -- a bill to establish stormwater fees
HB
5312 -- allows hunters to donate an additional $1.00
when purchasing hunting or fishing licensing to support the
sportsmen against hunger program
SB
193 -- Provides for a specialty license plates for
ducks unlimited
|
