MEC Capitol Update
July 11, 2003

The legislature has been on break this week.
The following meeting are currently scheduled for next week:

House of Representatives

Government Operations Committee has scheduled a meeting for Tuesday, July 15th at 9:00 am. The agenda has not been announced, but the following fee bills await action by the committee.

Water Pollution Discharge Fees - SB 252 - At the first meeting (6/24) businesses and local units of government opposed the Senate passed version of SB 252. These same groups supported the bill coming out of Senate committee when it was $3.0 million (but opposed it as it passed the Senate at $3.4 million, with $400,000 dedicated toward enforcement). Note: Illinois has recently passed water discharge fee legislation authorizing approximately $20 million in water discharge fees. Michigan is now the only Great Lakes state that does not charge for water pollution discharge permits.

The bill used the formula designed by the regulated industry (that generally has small dischargers subsidizing large ones). The bill now raises $3.4 million dollars (the Governor had asked for $7.2 million to run a credible program). The MDEQ budget adds $2.0 million in general fund -- leaving the state $1.8 million below that identified as necessary to run an adequate water protection program.

The environmental community ran ads in the Oakland Press and Macomb Daily this week educating residents on this issue.

SB 561 - Landfill Inspection Fees - Concurs with the Governor recommendation of $2.6 million in additional fees to fund solid waste management activities. The committee amended the bill to extend operating licenses from 2 years to 3 years. This will reduce the funding that comes to the state to cleanup leaking landfills after their closure. .

SB 560 - Groundwater Discharge Fees - Included $1.38 million in new groundwater discharge fees. The Governor had proposed $3.58 million in fees. These new fees will keep this program under funded with chronic non-compliance remaining a problem.

SB 510 - Stormwater Discharge Fees - Concurs with the Governor's recommendation for $1.16 million in new stormwater discharge fees.

Land Use & Environment Committee

Rescheduled its hearing on HB 4284 to establish multi-jurisdictional planning entities for July 15th at 9:00 am.

Budget bills:

No conference committees have been scheduled at this time. Work is expected to recommence sometime next week.

HB 4393 - MDEQ - The Senate passed this budget after adding amendment to earmark $425,000 for enforcement activities, prepare a NPDES enforcement report, report on out-of-state trash, add an additional $1.7 million for Lake St. Clair related cleanups and monitoring. The bill also reflects the $3.4 million in NPDES permit fees. The bill is $3.2 million above Governor Granholm's recommendation.

The House did not concur with the Senate changes and the bill has been sent to conference. House conferees: Pastor, Walker, Brown, Senate conferees: McManus, Goschka and Barcia. (Walker replacing Newall)

HB 4400 - MDNR Budget - The most controversial item
was the use of restricted funds (Game and Fish funds) to make up in a shortfall in payments in lieu of taxes payments (PILT) to local units of government. Senator McManus has introduced SB 521 to change how these payments are handled in the future.

The House did not concur with the Senate changes and the bill has been sent to conference. House conferees: Pastor, Schaffer, and Brown, Senate conferees: McManus, Johnson and Barcia.

Michigan Land Use Leadership Council - With a draft document in hand, The Michigan Land Use Leadership Council is slogging through a line-by-line review of the recommendations and language that have been put forth for the final report, due August 15. The group’s next-to-last meeting on Monday, July 7, was marked by compromise and negotiation on a range of topics, including proposed Commerce Centers to spark urban redevelopment and Agricultural Security Areas (ASAs) to promote farmland protection. The Council worked into the evening but was unable to make their way through the entire draft document, so a tentative afternoon
session has been added to the tight schedule.

The last meeting, where final language must be agreed upon, is scheduled for August 4, with an additional afternoon session added on August 3.

The public comment portion of Monday’s meeting was dominated by citizens
who, after discussions with MEC and Sierra Club, came out to ask for
limitations on potential expansion of polluting, industrial-scale Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) under proposed ASA language.

Correction: SB 537 - Raises State Park fees, but DOES NOT turn over authority for future increase to the Natural Resources Commission.