Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

HOUSE BILL NO. 5901
 July 31, 2024, Introduced by Reps. Aiyash and Paiz and referred to the Committee on Natural
    Resources, Environment, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation.
      A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled
"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"
by amending sections 1301, 1305, 1307, and 1311 (MCL 324.1301,
1305, 324.1307, and 324.1311), section 1301 as amended by 2018
PA 451, section 1305 as amended by 2011 PA 246, section 1307 as
amended by 2018 PA 631, and section 1311 as amended by 2018 PA 268,
and by adding sections 1331, 1333, 1335, 1337, 1339, and 1341; and
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     to repeal acts and parts of acts.
                  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
                                  SUBPART 1
                          PERMIT PROCESSING GENERALLY
       Sec. 1301. As used in this part:subpart:
       (a) "Application period" means the period beginning when an
 application for a permit is received by the state and ending when
 the application is considered to be administratively complete under
 section 1305 and any applicable fee has been paid.
       (b) "Department" means the department, agency, or officer
 authorized by this act to approve or deny an application for a
 particular permit. As used in sections 1315 to 1317, "department"
 means the department of environmental quality.
       (c) "Director" means the director of the state department
 authorized under this act to approve or deny an application for a
 particular permit or the director's designee. As used in sections
 1313 to 1317, "director" means the director of the department of
 environmental quality.
       (d) "Environmental permit review commission" or "commission"
 means the environmental permit review commission established under
 section 1313(1).
       (e) "Environmental permit panel" or "panel" means a panel of
 the environmental permit review commission, appointed under section
 1315(2).
       (d) (f) "Permit" , except as provided in subdivision (g) ,
 means a permit, operating license, or registration required by any
 of the following sections or by rules promulgated thereunder, or,
 in the case of section 9112, by an ordinance referred to in that
 section:
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       (i) Section 3104, floodplain alteration permit.
       (ii) Section 3503, permit for use of water in mining iron ore.
       (iii) Section 4105, sewerage system construction permit.
       (iv) Section 6516, vehicle testing license.
       (v) Section 6521, motor vehicle fleet testing permit.
       (vi) Section 8310, restricted use pesticide dealer license.
       (vii) Section 8310a, agricultural pesticide dealer license.
       (viii) Section 8504, license to manufacture or distribute
 fertilizer.
       (ix) Section 9112, local soil erosion and sedimentation control
 permit.
       (x) Section 11509, solid waste disposal area construction
 permit.
       (xi) Section 11512, solid waste disposal area operating
 license.
       (xii) Section 11542, municipal solid waste incinerator ash
 landfill operating license amendment.
       (xiii) Section 11702, septage waste servicing license or septage
 waste vehicle license.
       (xiv) Section 11709, septage waste site permit.
       (xv) Section 30104, inland lakes and streams project permit.
       (xvi) Section 30304, state permit for dredging, filling, or
 other activity in wetland. Permit includes an authorization for a
 specific project to proceed under a general permit issued under
 section 30312.
       (xvii) Section 31509, dam construction, repair, or removal
 permit.
       (xviii) Section 32312, flood risk, high risk, or environmental
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 area permit.
        (xix) Section 32512, permit for dredging and filling
 bottomland.
        (xx) Section 32603, permit for submerged log removal from Great
 Lakes bottomlands.
        (xxi) Section 35304, department permit for critical dune area
 use.
        (xxii) Section 36505, endangered species permit.
        (xxiii) Section 41329, nonnative aquatic species sales
 registration.
        (xxiv) Section 41702, game bird hunting preserve license.
        (xxv) Section 42101, dog training area permit.
        (xxvi) Section 42501, fur dealer's license.
        (xxvii) Section 42702, game dealer's license.
        (xxviii) Section 44513, charter boat operating permit under
 reciprocal agreement.
        (xxix) Section 44516, boat livery operating permit.
        (xxx) Section 45902, game fish propagation license.
        (xxxi) Section 45906, game fish import license.
        (xxxii) Section 48705, permit to take amphibians and reptiles
 for scientific or educational use.
        (xxxiii) Section 61525, oil or gas well drilling permit.
        (xxxiv) Section 62509, brine, storage, or waste disposal well
 drilling or conversion permit or test well drilling permit.
        (xxxv) Section 63103a, ferrous mineral mining permit.
        (xxxvi) Section 63514 or 63525, surface coal mining and
 reclamation permit or revision of the permit, respectively.
        (xxxvii) Section 63704, sand dune mining permit.
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       (xxxviii) Section 72108, use permits for a Pure Michigan Trail.
       (xxxix) Section 76109, sunken aircraft or watercraft abandoned
 property recovery permit.
       (xl) (xxxx) Section 76504, Mackinac Island motor vehicle and
 land use permits.
       (xli) (xxxxi) Section 80159, buoy or beacon permit.
       (g) "Permit", as used in sections 1313 to 1317, means any
 permit or operating license that meets both of the following
 conditions:
       (i) The applicant for the permit or operating license is not
 this state or a political subdivision of this state.
       (ii) The permit or operating license is issued by the
 department of environmental quality under this act or the rules
 promulgated under this act.
       (e) (h) "Processing deadline" means the last day of the
 processing period.
       (f) (i) "Processing period", subject to section 1307(2) and
 (3), means the following time period after the close of the
 application period, for the following permit, as applicable:
       (i) Twenty days for a permit under section 61525 or 62509.
       (ii) Thirty days for a permit under section 9112 or 44516.
       (iii) Thirty days after the department consults with the
 underwater salvage and preserve committee created under section
 76103, for a permit under section 76109.
       (iv) Sixty days, for a permit under section 30104 or 32512 for
 a project in a minor project category established under section
 30105(7) or 32512a(1), or respectively, for an authorization for a
 specific project to proceed under a general permit issued under
 section 30105(8) or 32512a(2), or for a permit under section 32312
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 or 41329.
       (v) Sixty days or, if a hearing is held, 90 days for a permit
 under section 35304.
       (vi) Sixty days or, if a hearing is held, 120 days for a permit
 under section 30104, other than a permit or authorization described
 in subparagraph (ii) or (iv), or for a permit under section 31509.
       (vii) Ninety days for a permit under section 11512, a revision
 of a surface coal mining and reclamation permit under section
 63525, or a permit under section 72108.
       (viii) Ninety days or, if a hearing is held, 150 days for a
 permit under section 3104 or 30304, or a permit under section 32512
 other than a permit described in subparagraph (iv).
       (ix) Ninety days after the close of the review or comment
 period under section 32604, 32605, or if a public hearing is held,
 90 days after the date of the public hearing for a permit under
 section 32603.
       (x) One hundred twenty days for a permit under section 11509,
 11542, 63103a, 63514, or 63704.
       (xi) One hundred fifty days for a permit under section 36505.
 However, if a site inspection or federal approval is required, the
 150-day period is tolled pending completion of the inspection or
 receipt of the federal approval.
       (xii) For any other permit, 150 days or, if a hearing is held,
 90 days after the hearing, whichever is later.
       Sec. 1305. (1) After a department receives an application for
 a permit, the department shall determine whether the application is
 administratively complete. Unless Subject to section 1335, unless
 the department proceeds as provided under subsection (2), the
 application shall be considered to be administratively complete
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 when the department makes that determination or 30 days after the
 state receives the application, whichever is first.
       (2) If, before the expiration of the 30-day period under
 subsection (1), the department notifies the applicant that the
 application is not administratively complete, specifying the
 information necessary to make the application administratively
 complete, or notifies the applicant that a fee required to
 accompany the application has not been paid, specifying the amount
 due, the running of the 30-day period under subsection (1) is
 tolled until the applicant submits to the department the specified
 information or fee amount due. The notice shall be given in writing
 or by electronic notification.
       (3) Subject to subsection (4), after an application for a
 permit is considered to be administratively complete under this
 section, the department shall not request from the applicant any
 new or additional information that is not specified in the list
 required under section 1303(2)(a) unless the request includes a
 detailed explanation of why the information is needed. The
 applicant is not required to provide the requested information as a
 condition for approval of the permit.
       (4) After an application for a permit is considered to be
 administratively complete under this section, the department may
 request the applicant to clarify, amplify, or correct the
 information required for the application. The applicant shall
 provide the requested information.
       Sec. 1307. (1) By the processing deadline, the department
 shall approve or deny an application for a permit.
       (2) If requested by the permit applicant, the department shall
 extend the processing period for a permit by not more than 120
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 days, as specified by the applicant. If requested by the permit
 applicant, the department may extend the processing period beyond
 the additional 120 days. However, a processing period shall not be
 extended under this subsection to a date later than 1 year after
 the application period ends.
       (3) A processing period is tolled from the date that a permit
 applicant submits a petition under section 1315(1) until the date
 that a decision of the director is made under section 1315(6). If a
 permit applicant submits a petition under section 1315(1), the
 department shall not approve or deny the application for the permit
 under subsection (1) until after the director issues a decision
 under section 1315(6).
       (3) (4) The approval or denial of an application for a permit
 shall be in writing and shall be based upon evidence that would
 meet the standards in section 75 of the administrative procedures
 act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.275.
       (4) (5) 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.
       (5) (6) A denial of an application for a permit or, for a
 permit under part 301 or 303, an approval with modification of an
 application for a permit shall document, and any review upholding
 the denial or modification shall determine, to the extent
 practical, all of the following:
       (a) That the decision is based on specifically cited
 provisions of this act or rules promulgated under this act.
       (b) That the decision is based upon sufficient facts or data,
 which are recorded in the file.
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       (c) To the extent applicable, all of the following:
       (i) That the decision is the product of reliable scientific
 principles and methods.
       (ii) That the decision has applied the principles and methods
 reliably to the facts.
       (d) In the case of denial of an application for a permit under
 part 301 or 303, suggestions on changes to allow the permit to be
 approved.
       (6) (7) Except for permits described in subsection (8), (7),
 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.
       (7) (8) 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.
       (8) (9) 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 (7) (6) or is
 considered to have approved a permit under subsection (8) (7) shall
 not be used by the department as the basis for discriminating
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 against the applicant. If the department is required to make a
 payment under subsection (7), (6), 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.
       (9) (10) 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.
       (10) (11) 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 (7) (6) or a statement that the
 department was required to consider the application to be approved
 under subsection (8), (7), as applicable.
       Sec. 1311. By December 1 each year, the director shall submit
 a report to the standing committees and appropriations
 subcommittees of the senate and house of representatives with
 primary responsibility for issues under the jurisdiction of that
 department. The department shall post the current report on its
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 website. The report shall include all of the following information
 for each type of permit for the preceding fiscal year:
       (a) The number of applications for permits the department
 received.
       (b) The number of applications approved, the number of
 applications approved by the processing deadline, the number of
 applications approved after the processing deadline, and the
 average times for the department to determine administrative
 completeness and to approve or disapprove applications.
       (c) The number of applications denied, the number of
 applications denied by the processing deadline, and the number of
 applicatio