SENATE BILL NO. 1169
October 01, 2020, Introduced by Senator CHANG
and referred to the Committee on Environmental Quality.
A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled
"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"
(MCL 324.101 to 324.90106) by adding section 5506b.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 5506b. (1) Subject to subsection (5), this section applies to an
application for a permit under this part for a facility that is or will be located within 500 feet of an occupied
dwelling, school building, health facility, or senior citizens center, or in an
environmental protection community.
(2) Before approving
or disapproving an application for a permit described in subsection (1), the
department shall provide reasonable notice to area residents of a public
comment period and shall receive and consider public comments. The notice shall solicit input on,
and the department's review process shall include analysis of, all of the
following:
(a) Whether the
permit would authorize emissions that have a disproportionate impact on an
environmental protection community.
(b) Whether
additional air monitoring is needed near the occupied dwelling, school
building, health facility, or senior citizens center or in the environmental
protection community. If
additional monitoring is needed, the department shall
determine the locations of air monitors and the substances monitored in consultation with individuals who reside or attend school or whose children attend school in the area.
(c) The measure described
in subsection (3) to be required in the permit, if issued.
(3) A permit
described in subsection (1) shall require the owner or operator of the facility
to do 1 of the following:
(a) Maintain a
vegetative buffer. The owner or operator of the facility shall determine the
distance between the buffer and the facility and between the buffer and the
closest occupied dwelling, school building, health facility, or senior citizens
center in consultation with the department,
individuals who reside or attend school or whose
children attend school in the area, and public health or environmental
experts.
(b) Offer to purchase at fair market value
any dwelling that is located within 500 feet of the facility, subject to subsection (5), and is occupied when the
permit is issued. The owner or operator of the
facility shall not use land purchased under this subdivision for residential
purposes. If the owner or operator of the
facility sells land purchased under this subdivision, the deed shall prohibit
the use of the land for residential purposes while the facility is in
operation.
(4) The department may disapprove an application for a permit described in
subsection (1) if there is clear evidence that issuance of the permit will have
a detrimental effect on public health or the quality of life of individuals who
reside in or attend school in the area. This subsection does not affect any
other basis for the denial of a permit.
(5)
The department may increase the 500-foot
distance under subsection (1) or (3)(b) on a
case-by-case basis, if the increase is necessary for the protection of individuals
who reside in or attend school in an environmental protection community from emissions from the facility.
(6) Within
1 year after the effective date of this section, the department shall
promulgate rules to implement this section pursuant to the administrative
procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328.
(7)
As used in this section:
(a)
"Environmental protection community" means a geographic area that the
department, using tools such as the United States Environmental Protection
Agency's EJSCREEN, has identified as a community facing a disproportionate
environmental burden using indicators such as sensitive populations,
socioeconomic factors, exposures, and environmental effects.
(b)
"Facility" means an industrial facility, landfill, port, or
distribution center.
(c)
"Vegetative buffer" means a variety of species of trees, shrubs, and
other vegetation planted around a pollution source, or between a pollution
source and an occupied dwelling, school building, health facility, or senior
citizens center, to separate people from sources of pollution and trap air pollutants
by absorption through the stomata or deposition on the surfaces of the
vegetation.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days after
the date it is enacted into law.