SEWAGE DISCHARGE - S.B. 1201: FLOOR ANALYSIS
Senate Bill 1201 (as reported with amendment)
Sponsor: Senator Shirley Johnson
Committee: Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs
CONTENT
The bill would amend Part 31 (Water Resources Protection) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to apply the sewage discharge notification requirements to the discharge of untreated or partially treated sewage from any sewage system, rather than just from a combined sewer system.
Under Part 31, if untreated sewage has been discharged into waters of the State, the responsible municipality must notify the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), local health departments, and daily newspapers. The notification requirements apply if "sewage that has not received all treatment that is available and utilized under ordinary dry weather conditions is discharged from a combined sewer system". The bill, instead, would require the responsible municipality to make the notifications "if untreated or partially treated sewage" were discharged. The bill would delete reference to a combined sewer system.
In addition to the information that presently must be contained in the notification, the bill would include the waters or land area, or both, receiving the discharge. Also, the notification currently must contain the amount of the discharge as measured pursuant to procedures approved by the DEQ. The bill, instead, would refer to the volume and quality of the discharge as measured pursuant to procedures and analytical methods approved by the DEQ.
In addition, the bill would require the DEQ to promptly post notification on its website upon being notified of a untreated or partially treated sewage discharge.
("Partially treated sewage" would mean any sewage, sewage and storm water, or sewage and wastewater, from domestic or industrial sources that was not treated to national secondary treatment standards for wastewater or that was treated to a level less that required by a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit.)
MCL 324.3112a - Legislative Analyst: N. Nagata
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would extend current local government reporting and testing to discharges from all sewer systems, rather than from combined sewer systems only. The bill, therefore, could result in an indeterminate increase in local government reporting and testing costs, in the event a discharge occurred from any sewer system other than a combined sewer system.
Date Completed: 5-3-00 - Fiscal Analyst: P. Grahamfloor\sb1201 - Analysis available @ http://www.michiganlegislature.org
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.