WATER FUNDING ASSISTANCE; MODIFY                                     H.B. 5890 (H-1), 5891, & 5892 (H-1):

                                                                                                                                                                                                      SUMMARY OF BILL

                                                                                                                                                                                                  ON THIRD READING

House Bill 5890 (Substitute H-1 as reported by the Committee of the Whole)

House Bill 5891 (as reported by the Committee of the Whole)

House Bill 5892 (Substitute H-2 as reported by the Committee of the Whole)

Sponsor:   Representative Beth Griffin (H.B. 5890)

                            Representative David Martin (H.B. 5891)

                            Representative Sara Cambensy (H.B. 5892)

House Committee:   Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation

Senate Committee:   Environmental Quality

CONTENT

House Bill 5890 (H-1) would amend Part 53 (Clean Water Assistance) and Part 54 (Safe Drinking Water Assistance) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA) to do the following:

 --       Modify the requirements and review process for a planning document created by a municipality or a water supplier when seeking funding assistance from Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) for sewage treatment work projects, stormwater projects, and nonpoint source projects under Part 53 and for the planning, designing, construction or alteration of a waterworks system under Part 54.

 --       Require EGLE to develop scoring criteria that considered certain aspects of a project under Parts 53 and 54, such as the project's impact on overburdened and significantly overburdened communities, and to use that scoring criteria to create priority lists for projects.

 --       Require EGLE to conduct an environmental review of a planning document for each project under Part 53 that was in the fundable range of the priority list and allow EGLE to take certain actions based on the review.

 --       Modify the requirements of an intended use plan prepared by EGLE under Parts 53 and 54 for the proposed annual use of the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund and the State Drinking Water Revolving Fund.

 --       Modify the process for EGLE to bypass a project in the fundable range of a priority list for failing to meet certain requirements under Part 53.

 --       Require EGLE to establish annually the interest rates to be assessed for projects receiving assistance under Parts 53 and 54.

 --       Specify that a municipality and water supplier would be responsible for obtaining any Federal, State, or local permits necessary for a project using funding assistance under Parts 53 and 54 and require them to perform any surveys or studies that were required under the permits, among other responsibilities.

 --       Create the "State Revolving Administration Fund" within the State Treasury and require EGLE to spend money in the Fund only for the reasonable costs of administering and conducting activities under Parts 53 and 54.

House Bill 5891 would amend the Shared Credit Rating Act to specify that the definition of "capitalization grant" would include a Federal grant made to the State by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the purpose of establishing a State Drinking Water Revolving Fund as provided in the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act. House Bill 5892 (H-1)

would amend the Administrative Procedures Act to specify the definition of "rule" would not include the scoring criteria and