APPLYING SEWAGE SLUDGE H.B. 6071 (S-2): FLOOR ANALYSIS
House Bill 6071 (Substitute S-2 as reported) Sponsor: Representative Carl F. Gnodtke House Committee: Agriculture and Forestry Senate Committee: Agriculture and Forestry
The bill would amend Part 31 (Water Resources Protection) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to:
-- Require the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), by October 1, 1997, to promulgate rules on the land application of sewage sludge.
-- Impose on sewage sludge generators and distributors an annual sewage sludge land application fee beginning in the 1998 State fiscal year.
-- Require sewage sludge generators and distributors to report annually to the DEQ for each State fiscal year, beginning with the 1997 State fiscal year, on the amount of sludge generated or distributed and applied to the land in that fiscal year.
-- Create the “Sewage Sludge Land Application Fund” to be used for administration of the bill, including education about the land application of sewage sludge.
-- Specify that the bill would preempt a local ordinance, regulation, or resolution that duplicated or extended the bill’s provisions, and permit under certain circumstances a local unit to enact an ordinance prescribing standards more stringent that those contained in the bill.
-- Require the DEQ to hold a public hearing if a local government submitted a resolution identifying adverse effects on the environment or public health due to the operation of a sewage sludge land application site.
MCL 324.3101 et al. Legislative Analyst: L. Arasim
The bill would generate, once administrative rules were promulgated, approximately $650,000 in State revenue to be deposited into the “Sewage Sludge Application Fund”.
The bill designates that 10% of the Fund would be appropriated to the Department of Agriculture. The remainder would be used by the Department of Environmental Quality to administer the bill or would be carried forward to the next fiscal year.
Date Completed: 12-6-96 Fiscal Analyst: G. Cutler
floor\hb6071
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.