Bill Text: MI HB4607 | 2011-2012 | 96th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Environmental protection; permits; permit for dredging waterways; validate for 10 years. Amends secs. 30105 & 30107 of 1994 PA 451 (MCL 324.30105 & 324.30107).

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 26-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-05-04 - Printed Bill Filed 05/04/2011 [HB4607 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2011-HB4607-Introduced.html

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HOUSE BILL No. 4607

 

May 3, 2011, Introduced by Reps. Hughes, Pscholka, Daley, Lyons, Wayne Schmidt, Bumstead, Kowall, Franz, Crawford, Foster, Jacobsen, McMillin, Rogers, Heise, Yonker, Outman, Price, Nesbitt, LaFontaine, Haveman, Hooker, Pettalia, Zorn, Potvin, Denby and Ouimet and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation.

 

     A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled

 

"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"

 

by amending sections 30105 and 30107 (MCL 324.30105 and 324.30107),

 

section 30105 as amended by 2009 PA 120 and section 30107 as

 

amended by 2006 PA 531.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 30105. (1) The department shall post on its website all

 

of the following under this part:

 

     (a) A list of pending applications.

 

     (b) Public notices.

 

     (c) Public hearing schedules.

 

     (2) The department may hold a public hearing on pending

 

applications.

 

     (3) Except as otherwise provided in this section, upon

 

receiving an application, the department shall submit copies for

 

review to the director of the department of community health or the

 

local health department designated by the director of the

 

department of community health, to the city, village, or township

 

and the county where the project is to be located, to the local

 

conservation district, to the watershed council established under

 

part 311, if any, to the local port commission, if any. , and to

 

the persons required to be included in the application pursuant to

 

section 30104(1). Each copy of the application shall be accompanied

 

by a statement that unless a written request is filed with the

 

department within 20 days after the submission for review, the

 

department may grant the application without a public hearing where

 

the project is located. The department may hold a public hearing

 

upon the written request of the applicant or a riparian owner or a

 

person or governmental unit that is entitled to receive a copy of

 

the application pursuant to this subsection.

 

     (4) After completion of a project for which an application is

 

approved, the department may cause a final inspection to be made

 

and certify to the applicant that the applicant has complied with

 

the department's permit requirements.

 

     (5) At least 10 days' notice of a hearing to be held under

 

this section shall be given by publication in a newspaper

 

circulated in the county where the project is to be located, to the

 

person requesting the hearing, and to the persons and governmental

 

units that are entitled to receive a copy of the application

 

pursuant to subsection (3).

 

     (6) In an emergency, the department may issue a conditional

 

permit before the expiration of the 20-day period referred to in

 

subsection (3).

 

     (7) After providing notice and an opportunity for a public

 

hearing, the department shall establish minor project categories of

 

activities and projects that are similar in nature, have minimal

 

adverse environmental effects when performed separately, and will

 

have only minimal cumulative adverse effects on the environment.

 

The department may act upon an application received pursuant to

 

section 30104 for an activity or project within a minor project

 

category without providing notices pursuant to subsection (3). All

 

other provisions of this part, except provisions applicable only to

 

general permits, are applicable to a minor project.

 

     (8) The department, after notice and an opportunity for a

 

public hearing, shall issue general permits on a statewide basis or

 

within a local unit of government for projects that are similar in

 

nature, that will cause only minimal adverse environmental effects

 

when performed separately, and that will only have minimal

 

cumulative adverse effects on the environment. Before authorizing a

 

specific project to proceed under a general permit, the department

 

may provide notice pursuant to subsection (3) but shall not hold a

 

public hearing and shall not typically require a site inspection. A

 

general permit issued under this subsection shall not be valid for

 

more than 5 years, except for a permit authorizing dredging of

 

bottomland, which shall be valid for 10 years. Among the activities

 

the department may consider for general permit eligibility under

 

this subsection are the following:

 

     (a) The removal of qualifying small dams.

 

     (b) The maintenance or repair of an existing pipeline, if the

 

pipeline is maintained or repaired in a manner to ensure that any

 

adverse effects on the lake or stream will be minimized.

 

     (9) The department may issue, deny, or impose conditions on

 

project activities authorized under a minor project category or a

 

general permit if the conditions are designed to remove an

 

impairment to the lake or stream, to mitigate the effects of the

 

project, or to otherwise improve water quality. The department may

 

also establish a reasonable time when the proposed project is to be

 

completed or terminated.

 

     (10) If the department determines that activity in a proposed

 

project, although within a minor project category or a general

 

permit, is likely to cause more than minimal adverse environmental

 

effects, the department may require that the application be

 

processed according to subsection (3) and reviewed for compliance

 

with section 30106.

 

     (11) As used in this section, "qualifying small dam" means a

 

dam that meets all of the following conditions:

 

     (a) The height of the dam is less than 2 feet.

 

     (b) The impoundment from the dam covers less than 2 acres.

 

     (c) The dam does not serve as the first dam upstream from the

 

Great Lakes or their connecting waterways.

 

     (d) The dam is not serving as a sea lamprey barrier.

 

     (e) There are no threatened or endangered species that have

 

been identified in the area that will be affected by the project.

 

     (f) There are no known areas of contaminated sediments in the

 

area that will be affected by the project.

 

     (g) The department has received written permission for the

 

removal of the dam from all riparian property owners adjacent to

 

the dam's impoundment.

 

     Sec. 30107. (1) A permit is effective until revoked for cause

 

but not beyond its term and may be subject to renewal. A Subject to

 

subsection (2), a permit may specify the term and conditions under

 

which the work is to be carried out. A permit may be revoked after

 

a hearing for violation of any of its provisions, any provision of

 

this part, any rule promulgated under this part, or any

 

misrepresentation in application.

 

     (2) The term of a permit authorizing dredging of bottomland

 

shall be 10 years.

 

     (3) (2) A general permit may be modified or revoked if, after

 

opportunity for a public hearing, the department determines that

 

the activities authorized by the general permit have more than a

 

minimal adverse impact on the environment on an individual or

 

cumulative basis, or the activities generally would be more

 

appropriately processed according to section 30105(3) and reviewed

 

for compliance with section 30106.as otherwise provided in this

 

part.