Two bills were introduced in the Senate recently to allow a portion of the 2002 voter-approved sewer bond revenue to be used for grants to assist communities with pre-application costs for wastewater loan projects, to fund some non-point source clean-up projects at orphan brownfield sites, and to create an advisory committee to make recommendations to the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment on how to reform Michigan's Clean Water Revolving Fund (also known as SRF) to be accessible to more communities and to reduce the cost of financing for municipal wastewater operations.
Senate Bills 1442 and 1443 were introduced by Sen. Patricia Birkholz (R-Saugatuck) and Sen. Jud Gilbert (R-Algonac). These two bills are tied into a larger package of bills that seek to reform and streamline the whole Part 201 process for brownfield clean-up projects.
Senate Bill 1442 adds a new category to the Strategic Water Quality Initiatives Fund (SWQIF) that allows for bond revenues to be used for “response activities to address nonpoint source water pollution…”. The bill will allow up to $200 million to be spent for orphan brownfield site clean-up activities, with half of the funding becoming available in 2013. The bill also provides $25 million for brownfield redevelopment grants and loans to municipalities and brownfield redevelopment authorities. In total, the $1 billion that voters approved in 2002 is divided into two amounts, $675 million for direct support of the SRF and $325 million for the activities related to the SWQIF.
Within Senate Bill 1443, $40 million of grant funding is made available to assist municipalities with the costs associated with filing an application for sewer project loan financing. The bill also creates a State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund Advisory Committee to assist the DNRE in re-engineering the current SRF program, with an eye towards encouraging more community participation, reduced application cost, and reduced red tape. As written, the advisory council would include three separate MML appointees (urban, suburban and rural communities which operate sewage treatment works systems), along with representatives from other local government, engineering and environmental groups. Recommendations from this council are due by August 1, 2011.
The League has been working closely with the sponsors of this legislation and support the bills as they were introduced. Senate committee action on these bills is likely before the end of August. Please let me know if you have any questions on this proposal.
Chris Hackbarth handles environmental issues for the Michigan Municipal League. Chris can be reached at 517-908-0303, or by email at chackbarth@mml.org.
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