Bill Text: MI HB4042 | 2011-2012 | 96th Legislature | Chaptered
Bill Title: Environmental protection; permit denial; require department to provide applicant with a specific, and to the extent applicable a scientific, rationale for the decision. Amends sec. 1307 of 1994 PA 451 (MCL 324.1307).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 5-0)
Status: (Passed) 2011-12-06 - Assigned Pa 236'11 With Immediate Effect [HB4042 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2011-HB4042-Chaptered.html
Act No. 236
Public Acts of 2011
Approved by the Governor
November 28, 2011
Filed with the Secretary of State
December 1, 2011
EFFECTIVE DATE: December 1, 2011
STATE OF MICHIGAN
96TH LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION OF 2011
Introduced by Reps. MacMaster, Shirkey, Tyler, Callton and Genetski
ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 4042
AN ACT to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled “An act to protect the environment and natural resources of the state; to codify, revise, consolidate, and classify laws relating to the environment and natural resources of the state; to regulate the discharge of certain substances into the environment; to regulate the use of certain lands, waters, and other natural resources of the state; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state and local agencies and officials; to provide for certain charges, fees, assessments, and donations; to provide certain appropriations; to prescribe penalties and provide remedies; and to repeal acts and parts of acts,” by amending section 1307 (MCL 324.1307), as added by 2004 PA 325.
The People of the State of Michigan enact:
Sec. 1307. (1) By the processing deadline, the department shall approve or deny an application for a permit. If requested by the permit applicant, the department may extend the processing period for a permit by not more than 20%.
(2) Approval of an application for a permit may be granted with conditions or modifications necessary to achieve compliance with the part or parts of this act under which the permit is issued.
(3) A denial of an application for a permit shall, to the extent practical, state with specificity all of the reasons for the denial, including both of the following:
(a) A specific reference to provisions of this act or rules promulgated under this act providing the basis for the denial.
(b) To the extent applicable, the scientific information providing the basis for the denial.
(4) Except for permits described in subsection (5), if the department fails to satisfy the requirements of subsection (1) with respect to an application for a permit, the department shall pay the applicant an amount equal to 15% of the greater of the following, as applicable:
(a) The amount of the application fee for that permit.
(b) If an assessment or other fee is charged on an annual or other periodic basis by the department to a person holding the permit for which the application was submitted, the amount of the first periodic charge of that assessment or other fee for that permit.
(5) If the department fails to satisfy the requirements of subsection (1) with respect to a permit required by section 11509, 11512, 30304, or 32603, the application shall be considered to be approved and the department shall be considered to have made any determination required for approval.
(6) The failure of the department to satisfy the requirements of subsection (1) or the fact that the department is required to make a payment under subsection (4) or is considered to have approved a permit under subsection (5) shall not be used by the department as the basis for discriminating against the applicant. If the department is required to make a payment under subsection (4), the application shall be processed in sequence with other applications for the same type of permit, based on the date on which the processing period began, unless the director determines on an application-by-application basis that the public interest is best served by processing in a different order.
(7) If the department fails to satisfy the requirements of subsection (1) with respect to 10% or more of the applications for a particular type of permit received during a quarter of the state fiscal year, the department shall immediately devote resources from that program to eliminate any backlog and satisfy the requirements of subsection (1) with respect to new applications for that type of permit within the next fiscal quarter.
(8) If the department fails to satisfy the requirements of subsection (1), the director shall notify the appropriations committees of the senate and house of representatives of the failure. The notification shall be in writing and shall include both of the following:
(a) An explanation of the reason for the failure.
(b) A statement of the amount the department was required to pay the applicant under subsection (4) or a statement that the department was required to consider the application to be approved under subsection (5), as applicable.
This act is ordered to take immediate effect.
Clerk of the House of Representatives
Secretary of the Senate
Approved
Governor
