SB-1063, As Passed Senate, November 13, 2008

SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE BILL NO. 1063

     A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled

"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"

by amending section 3112a (MCL 324.3112a), as amended by 2004 PA

72.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

     Sec. 3112a. (1) Except for sewer systems described in

subsection (8) (9), if untreated sewage or partially treated sewage

is directly or indirectly discharged from a sewer system onto land

or into the waters of the state, the person responsible for the

sewer system shall immediately, but not more than 24 hours after

the discharge begins, notify the department; local health

departments as defined in section 1105 of the public health code,

1978 PA 368, MCL 333.1105; a daily newspaper of general circulation

in the county or counties in which a municipality notified pursuant

to subsection (4) is located; and a daily newspaper of general

circulation in the county in which the discharge occurred or is

occurring of all of the following:

     (a) Promptly after the discharge starts, by telephone or in

another manner required by the department, that the discharge is

occurring.

     (b) At the conclusion of the discharge, in writing or in

another manner required by the department, all of the following:

     (i) The volume and quality of the discharge as measured

pursuant to procedures and analytical methods approved by the

department.

     (ii) The reason for the discharge.

     (iii) The waters or land area, or both, receiving the discharge.

     (iv) The time the discharge began and ended as measured

pursuant to procedures approved by the department.

     (v) Verification of the person's compliance status with the

requirements of its national pollutant discharge elimination system

permit or groundwater discharge permit and applicable state and

federal statutes, rules, and orders.

     (2) Upon being notified of a discharge under subsection (1),

the department shall promptly post the notification on its website.

     (3) Each time a discharge to surface waters occurs under

subsection (1), the person responsible for the sewer system shall

test the affected waters for E. coli to assess the risk to the

public health as a result of the discharge and shall provide the

test results to the affected local county health departments and to

the department. The testing shall be done at locations specified by

each affected local county health department but shall not exceed

10 tests for each separate discharge event. The requirement for

this testing may be waived by the affected local county health

department if the affected local county health department

determines that such testing is not needed to assess the risk to

the public health as a result of the discharge event. This

subsection does not apply to a discharge of treated wastewater from

a wastewater treatment plant or a combined sewer overflow

authorized by a wastewater discharge permit issued under this part

if the discharge is in compliance with the final effluent limits

for microorganisms in the facility's permit.

     (4) A person responsible for a sewer system that may discharge

untreated sewage or partially treated sewage into the waters of the

state shall annually contact each municipality whose jurisdiction

contains waters that may be affected by the discharge. If those

contacted municipalities wish to be notified in the same manner as

provided in subsection (1), the person responsible for the sewer

system shall provide that notification.

     (5) By February 1 of each year, a local health department as

defined in section 1105 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL

333.1105, shall compile and post on its website or provide to each

entity required to be notified under subsection (1) and each

municipality within the local health department's jurisdiction an

annual report summarizing and providing a total amount of discharge

reported under subsection (1) during the previous calendar year.

(6) (5) A person who is responsible for a discharge of

untreated sewage or partially treated sewage from a sewer system

into the waters of the state shall comply with the requirements of

its national pollutant discharge elimination system permit or

groundwater discharge permit and applicable state and federal

statutes, rules, and orders.

(7) (6) This section does not authorize the discharge of

untreated sewage or partially treated sewage into the waters of the

state or limit the state from bringing legal action as otherwise

authorized by this part.

(8) (7) The penalties and fines provided for in section 3115

apply to a violation of this section.

(9) (8) For sewer systems that discharge to the groundwater

via a subsurface disposal system, that do not have a groundwater

discharge permit issued by the department, and the discharge of

untreated sewage or partially treated sewage is not to surface

waters, the person responsible for the sewer system shall notify

the local health department in accordance with subsection (1)(a)

and (b), but the requirements of subsections (2), (3), (4), and (5)

(6) do not apply.

(10) (9) As used in this section:

     (a) "Combined sewer overflow" means a release of untreated or

partially treated sewage from a combined sewer system, designed to

carry both sanitary sewage and storm water.

(b) (a) "Partially treated sewage" means any sewage, sewage

and storm water, or sewage and wastewater, from domestic or

industrial sources that meets 1 or more of the following:

     (i) Is not treated to national secondary treatment standards

for wastewater or that is treated to a level less than that

required by the person's national pollutant discharge elimination

system permit.

     (ii) Is treated to a level less than that required by the

person's groundwater discharge permit.

     (i) Is a treated combined sewer overflow.

     (ii) Is a discharge from a wastewater treatment facility

permitted under this part or part 41 if the discharge does not

receive treatment through all wastewater treatment units that are

installed to provide treatment. In applying this subparagraph,

treatment units that are designed and installed for redundancy

shall not be considered. In applying this subparagraph, treatment

units that are designed and installed to be operated only during

part of the year to meet more restrictive seasonal permit effluent

limits shall not be considered unless the discharge occurs during

the part of the year that these treatment units are designed to be

operated.

     (iii) Is a discharge to surface water from a wastewater

stabilization lagoon during a period that the wastewater

stabilization lagoon is not authorized to discharge.

(iv) (iii) Is found on the ground surface unless this situation

is part of a disposal practice authorized in a wastewater discharge

permit issued under this part.

(c) (b) "Sewer system" means a public or privately owned sewer

system designed and used to convey or treat sanitary sewage or

sanitary sewage and storm water. Sewer system does not include an

on-site wastewater treatment system serving 1 residential unit or

duplex.

(d) (c) "Surface water" means all of the following, but does

not include drainage ways and ponds used solely for wastewater

conveyance, treatment, or control:

     (i) The Great Lakes and their connecting waters.

     (ii) Inland lakes.

     (iii) Rivers.

     (iv) Streams.

     (v) Impoundments.

     (vi) Open drains.

     (vii) Other surface bodies of water.

     (e) "Wastewater stabilization lagoon" means a type of

treatment system constructed of ponds or basins designed to

receive, hold, and treat sanitary wastewater for a predetermined

amount of time through a physical, biological, or chemical process

or any combination thereof.