MEC Capitol
Update
November 15, 2003
The
legislature will be on break until December 2nd.
Conference
Committees
Seven
weeks into the new fiscal year and permits to pollute are
still free. The conference committees on SB 252 and 560 took
no action this week.
SB
252 - Water Pollution Discharge Fees - The MDEQ budget
bill authorizes $3.0 million in fees. The House substitute
includes approximately $3 million in fees. However, the bill
has been weakened by a provision that prevents the department
from promulgating any new rules to protect water resources,
exempts agricultural operations as does nothing to insure
more enforcement or pollution prevention. The provision that
eliminates the Critical Materials Registry / Annual Wastewater
Reporting program was removed.
The Senate
named Sens. McManus, Birkholz and Brater to the conference
committee. The House named Reps. Koetje, Howell and Tobocman.
SB
560 - Groundwater Discharge Fees - The Senate noncurred
with the House changes sending the bill to conference committee.
The Senate
bill 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. The House amended the bill to provide
exemptions to small businesses, non profits, agricultural
facilities resulting in the bill only raising $330,000. The
bill now goes to the Senate for further action.
Senate
Passed:
HB
4284 - provides for joint planning commissions.
HB
4666-68 - Provides for noncontiguous open spaces to be
included with a planned unit development.
SB
805-6 - Establishes a Clean Michigan Initiative grant
and revolving loan program for municipalities and reallocates
$75 million in authorized bond money for those purposes.
SB
833 - Allows the $1 billion in bonds authorized by Proposal
2 (sewer infrastructure bond approved by the votes in November
2002) to be spent over five years instead of ten years.
HB
4011 - Removes Sunday hunting ban in Washtenaw County.
HB
5027 - Revises allocations from the snowmobile trail improvement
fund.
On
the calendar:
HB
4480, HB
4481, HB
4482, HB
4483, HB
4484, and HB
4488 - establishes land banks and delineates a procedure
for clearing title on abandoned properties.
Committee
action:
Appropriations
- Subcommittee on Natural Resources will meet on Tuesday (12/4)
at 12:00 PM for an Advice and Consent hearing on Curtis Hertel,
Sr., Janet Mansfield, and Carol Oakley, appointees to the
Michigan State Waterways Commission and Land Management Strategy:
Presentation by the Natural Resources Commission.
House
Passed:
SB
805-6 - Establishes a Clean Michigan Initiative grant
and revolving loan program for municipalities and reallocates
$75 million in authorized bond money for those purposes.
HB
4296 - Bans cathode ray tubes from landfills starting
in 2006.
HB
5235 - Requires that solid waste haulers notify their
customers of the list of banned items.
SB
557 - Require landfills to report remaining capacity to
the state.
SB
506 - Establishes a two year moratorium on the construction
of new landfill capacity in Michigan with certain (very broad)
exceptions.
HB
5145 - Allows for an extension for the time frame for
required connections to available public sewer line at the
consent of the local unit of government and as long as the
septic systems is in good repair.
HB
4896 to repeal the sunset on the taking of falcons for
falconry hunting.
On
the calendar:
The solid
waste package was reported by the House Land Use and Environment
Committee on Thursday. The Michigan Environmental Council
supports the package except where noted:
HB
4297 - Bans cathode ray tubes from incinerators one year
after the effective date of the bill.
HB
4688 - Deletes a provision in law that prohibits the disposal
of out-of-county solid waste unless provided for in county
solid waste management plan. The U.S. Supreme Court nullified
provision as it applies to out-of-state waste. This bill eliminates
the requirement to have out-of-county waste in the solid waste
management plan. This was the closest vote, coming out 6-4.
The Michigan Environmental Council opposes the legislation.
HB
5234 - Regulates the disposal of solid waste in landfills
to limit waste that does not meet our standards - similar
to SB 502 as passed by the Senate -- the bill was amended
to replace homogenous with reference to uniform materials
or substances.
HB
5236 - Requires voter approval for a local unit of government
to impose a waste reduction fee or recycling surcharge on
its residents. The fee is actually voluntary unless approved
by the voters (due to a Michigan Supreme Court decision).
The Michigan Environmental Council opposes this legislation.
HB
5237 - Limits the imposition of any recycling or waste
reduction fee to actual households and not vacant property.
Amended in committee to include commercial facilities in payment
of the fee.
SB
57 - Allows the Director of the MDEQ to issue an order
limited the movement of solid waste within the state or from
outside the state if it poses a "substantial" health
risk to Michigan residents
SB
497 - Defines beverage container for purposes of the proposed
ban.
SB
498 - Establishes a list of banned items from landfills.
The committee added three amendments:
1) New
de minimis standard for beverage containers, yard waste and
scrap tires.
2) An
exemption for green glass -- with a task force required to
make recommendations
by December 31, 2004 -- if the legislature doesn't adopt the
recommendations by June 1, 2007 the exemption is removed.
3) Another
amendment was added that allows the director to make a determination
that a safe, sanitary alternative disposal method is not available
for medical waste, beverage containers, scrap tires or yard
waste -- allowing it to be landfilled. SB
499 - Provides for an inspection program for Michigan
landfills.
SB
500 - Increases the fines and penalties for certain solid
waste law violations without the civil infraction authority
in the Senate version. The Michigan Environmental Council
opposed the removal of civil infraction authority.
SB
502 - Allows for the establishment and compilation of
a list of jurisdictions that ban the same items from landfills
that Michigan does. New provisions allow an individual to
petition for inclusion of the "approved" list of
jurisdictions on behalf of his/her jurisdiction -- ability
to enforce must be comparable to our laws
SB
715 - Allows for local unit of government to assist the
department in enforcement efforts.
Other
bills on the calendar:
HB
4702 -- Property tax; assessments; sale of certain agricultural
property; exclude from sales ratio studies under certain circumstances.
