2003 Senate Bill 560 ↩

House Roll Call 558: Passed

To authorize annual groundwater discharge permit fees for certain facilities that discharge wastewater onto the ground or into groundwater. It would apply to facilities which discharge water, even if the water is clean or is only moved from one place to another. However, farms, schools, small businesses, nonprofit organizations, small municipalities, and houses of worship would be exempt from the new fees. The House version also contains a requirement that 90 percent of any money remaining in the Groundwater Discharge Permit Fee Fund at the close of the fiscal year would be used to reduce fees in the next year, and a requirement that the DEQ and the governor must notify those required to apply for a groundwater discharge permit of the new and higher fees. It also streamlines the permit application process, and requires permit fees to be discounted if the state takes longer than a specified period of time to issue the permit. This bill is one of many authorizing fee increases proposed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm to close gaps between state spending and expected revenue.