ENVIRONMENTAL PERMIT: PRIVATE REVIEW S.B. 436 (S-1):
FLOOR SUMMARY
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Senate Bill 436 (Substitute S-1 as reported by the Committee of the Whole)
Sponsor: Senator Jud Gilbert, II
Committee: Economic Development and Regulatory Reform
CONTENT
The bill would add Section 1313 to Part 13 (Permits) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to do the following:
-- Allow a person to file a permit application or a proposed remedial action plan or corrective action plan with a licensed professional engineer (LPE) for review.
-- Require the LPE to report his or her findings and recommendations to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
-- Require the DEQ to process the application or proposed plan within 21 days after receiving the LPE's report or after a hearing or consultation; and, after a hearing or consultation, allow the deadline to be extended if agreed to by the permit applicant or person proposing the plan, and allow the DEQ to request additional information.
-- Provide that any processing fee would be 50% of the amount otherwise charged.
-- Provide that the LPE would have standing in an action to appeal the DEQ's grant or denial of the permit application or proposed plan.
-- Require the DEQ to maintain a list of eligible LPEs.
For purposes of Section 1313, "permit" would refer to one of the following: floodplain alteration permit; permit to discharge into waters of the State; air pollution permit to install or operate; inland lakes and streams project permit; wetland activity permit; dam construction, repair, or removal permit; bottomland dredging or spoils permit; water withdrawal permit; or critical dune area use permit.
The bill also would amend Part 13 to require a department, agency, or official to pay 50%, rather than 15%, of certain amounts if the department, agency, or official failed to approve or deny a permit application by the processing deadline.
MCL 324.1307 et al. Legislative Analyst: Suzanne Lowe
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on the Department of Environmental Quality. One provision would require the DEQ to refund 50%, rather than 15%, of an application fee or late fee when an application was not processed by the prescribed deadline. In a recent report to the Legislature, the Department reported that of 6,645 permit decisions made in a recent time period, 6,463, or 97%, were made within the required processing period. The bill also would allow a person to file with the DEQ an application that contained a review performed by a licensed professional engineer, and to pay a processing fee of 50% of the amount otherwise charged. It is not known whether this would reduce the time in which the DEQ could complete its own analysis of the application.
Date Completed: 6-17-09 Fiscal Analyst: Bruce Baker
floor\sb436 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.
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. sb436/0910