HB-6123, As Passed House, December 21, 2018
HB-6123, As Passed Senate, December 20, 2018
SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 6123
A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled
"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"
by amending sections 32801 and 32803 (MCL 324.32801 and 324.32803),
as amended by 2008 PA 189.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 32801. As used in this part:
(a) "Annex 2001" means the Great Lakes charter annex signed by
the governors and premiers of the Great Lakes region on June 18,
2001.
(b) "Aquifer" means any water bearing bed or stratum of earth
or rock capable of yielding groundwater to a water well in
sufficient quantities that can be withdrawn.
(c) "Assessment tool" means the water withdrawal assessment
tool provided for in part 327.
(d) (c)
"Base flow" means
groundwater discharge to rivers and
streams.
(e) (d)
"Conflict areas" means an
aquifer or a portion of an
aquifer in which the department has determined that there is
reasonable, scientifically based evidence of a pattern of
groundwater withdrawal conflicts or a single extended groundwater
withdrawal conflict.
(f) (e)
"Council" means the water
resources conservation use
advisory council created under section 32803.
(g) (f)
"Department" means the
department of environmental
quality.
(h) (g)
"Director" means the
director of the department.
(i) (h)
"Groundwater" means water
below the land surface in a
zone of saturation.
(j) (i)
"Groundwater withdrawal
conflict" means the failure of
an existing water well that was constructed in compliance with part
127 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.12701 to
333.12771, to furnish its normal supply of groundwater because of a
progressive decline of the static water level within the aquifer
due to the withdrawal of groundwater from the aquifer by a high-
capacity well or sump, as determined based on reasonable,
scientifically based evidence.
(k) (j)
"Static water level"
means the distance between the
ground surface and the water level within a well that is not being
pumped.
Sec.
32803. (1) The water resources conservation use advisory
council
is created within the department. of natural resources. The
council shall consist of all of the following members:
(a) Four individuals appointed by the senate majority leader
as follows:
(i) One individual representing business and manufacturing
interests.
(ii) One individual representing public utilities.
(iii) One individual representing a statewide angler
association.
(iv) One individual representing a statewide agricultural
organization.
(b) Four individuals appointed by the speaker of the house of
representatives as follows:
(i) One individual representing registered well drilling
contractors with hydrology and drilling field experience.
(ii) One individual representing local units of government.
(iii) One individual representing agricultural
interests.irrigators.
(iv) One individual with knowledge and expertise in
limnology.representing wetlands conservation
organizations.
(c) Five individuals appointed by the governor as follows:
(i) One individual representing municipal water suppliers.
(ii) One individual representing a statewide conservation
organization.
(iii) One individual representing a statewide riparian
landowners association.
(iv) One individual representing a statewide tourism
organization.professional hydrologists and hydrogeologists,
as
defined in section 32706c, with hydrogeology field experience.
(v) One individual representing Indian tribes.
(d) Four individuals appointed by the director as follows:
(i) One individual representing nonagriculture irrigators.
(ii) One individual representing the aggregate industry.
(iii) One individual representing environmental organizations.
(iv) One
individual representing the general public.local
watershed councils.
(e)
Four Six individuals serving
as ex officio, nonvoting
members, representing the department, the department of agriculture
and rural development, the department of natural resources, the
office of the Great Lakes, the Michigan geological survey, and the
attorney general.
(2) The appointments to the council under subsection (1) shall
be
made not later than 30 60 days after the effective date of the
2018
amendatory act that added this
subsection. amended this
section.
The person individual making the appointment under
subsection (1) shall give consideration and deference to
individuals
who served currently
serving on the former groundwater
conservation
department's water use advisory council.
(3) An individual appointed to the council shall serve for a
term of 4 years, and may be reappointed. Individuals appointed to
the council serve without compensation. A vacancy on the council
shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
(4) The council may elect co-chairs, form committees, set
meeting schedules and work plans to address the council's
responsibilities as provided by law, address charges from the
department, and establish priorities. Members of the council may
participate in any committees created by the council. Members of
the council shall strive to make recommendations by consensus vote,
and may submit opposition statements that must be included in the
council's report under subsection (7).
(5) (3)
The council shall may appoint
a technical advisory
committee
of individuals advisors with specific scientific,
technical, and
legal, and similar expertise relevant to the
council's responsibilities. Technical advisors may participate in
any council meetings, committees, or subgroups created by the
council but shall not vote on recommendations made by the council
to the department or legislature under subsection (7).
(6) A meeting of the council must be held in compliance with
the open meetings act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 to 15.275.
(7) (4)
The council shall do all of the
following:
(a)
Not later than 6 months after the effective date of the
amendatory
act that added this subdivision, study and make
recommendations
to the senate majority leader, the speaker of the
house
of representatives, and the standing committees of the
legislature
with jurisdiction primarily related to natural
resources
and the environment, and the department on how the
assessment
tool could be updated to reconcile differences between
baseline
capacity and actual withdrawal amounts to assure the
accuracy
of the assessment tool's determinations.
(b)
When the department makes the assessment tool available
for
testing and evaluation, conduct testing and evaluate the
operation
and the accuracy of the assessment tool, including
implications
of section 32706e. Not later than 9 months after the
effective
date of the amendatory act that added this subdivision,
submit
a report to the senate majority leader, the speaker of the
house
of representatives, and the standing committees of the
legislature
with jurisdiction primarily related to natural
resources
and the environment, and the department that contains the
results
of its testing and evaluation and any recommendations that
the
council has to improve the operation of the assessment tool.
(a) Make recommendations to the department, the department of
agriculture and rural development, the department of natural
resources, and the legislature on the implementation of part 327,
including all of the following:
(i) Strategies for collection, verification, and use of data,
including geology, aquifer characteristics, and groundwater and
surface water hydrology.
(ii) Improvement, verification, regionalization, and
integration of models used in the water withdrawal assessment tool
and site-specific review, including models developed by private and
public entities, organizations, or individuals.
(iii) Identification of research, public-private partnerships,
training, and changes to the water withdrawal assessment tool
needed to improve the department's ability to implement part 327
and to improve the water withdrawal assessment process under part
327.
(b) (c)
Study and make recommendations, as needed or as
requested by the relevant standing committees of the legislature or
the department, regarding the development and refinement of the
water
withdrawal assessment tool.process under part 327.
(d)
Study and make recommendations on whether and how the
definition
of adverse resource impact in section 32701 should be
modified
to more specifically address potential impacts to the
Great
Lakes, inland lakes, and other aquatic systems due to large
quantity
withdrawals.
(c) (e)
Make recommendations on reconciling
conflicts in state
laws related to the use of the waters of the state.
(f)
Make recommendations on the development and implementation
of
the state's water conservation and efficiency program under
section
4.2 of the compact.
(g)
Develop a framework for evaluating preventative measures
designed
to prevent adverse resource impacts.
(h)
In consultation with academic institutions and other
nonprofit
organizations, make recommendations regarding educational
materials
related to the use and availability of water resources.
(d) (i)
Not earlier than 3 At least
every 2 years after the
effective
date of the 2018 amendatory act that added amended this
subdivision,
submit section, provide a report to the senate
majority leader, the speaker of the house of representatives, and
the standing committees of the legislature with jurisdiction
primarily related to natural resources and the environment that
makes recommendations regarding how the water withdrawal assessment
process
under part 327 could be improved. in order to more
accurately
assess adverse resource impacts. The
report shall
contain specific recommendations on the use of the assessment tool,
the site-specific review process, the permitting process, the
staffing, budgetary, software, and other resources required by the
departments to successfully implement part 327, and any other
measure that the council determines would improve the water
withdrawal assessment process under part 327.
(5)
The council shall submit the following reports, approved
by
a majority of the voting members of the council, to the senate
majority
leader, the speaker of the house of representatives, and
the
standing committees of the legislature with jurisdiction
primarily
related to natural resources and the environment and to
the
department:
(a)
Not later than February 8, 2009, a progress report on the
council's
findings and recommendations under subsection (4)(c) to
(h)
as of that date.
(b)
Not later than August 8, 2009, the council's final report
on
its findings and recommendations under subsection (4)(c) to (h).
(6)
As used in this section, "assessment tool" means the water
withdrawal
assessment tool provided for in part 327.