League Meets with DEQ Director

DEQ Director Dan Wyant has re-instituted the regular meetings with stakeholders. This morning, I met with the Director along with members of other stakeholders (MMA, Chemistry Council, MTA, SEMCOG, Petroleum Association, MAHB, and others.

We first discussed implementation of the Part 201 changes. Some at the table voiced concern that the changes from last year were being blocked by staff. The Director assured the group that the changes will be made, but that it will take time to implement all the changes. He said that there would be proper reviews throughout the Department, and that changes are being made to satisfy the desires of the new Governor and Administration. He assured us all that the changes would include consultation with stakeholder partners.

There was also significant discussion about the potential elimination of the Brownfield credits and how that will impact clean-ups. The MMA and others indicated significant support for the need to clean up inner cities to fix the state, and we talked about how to accomplish this within the Governor's budget and tax plans.

We also discussed the federal government cuts and how they will impact state programs. The Director and his staff recently met with the EPA and other Region 5 members (which had significant turnover in Governors and DEQ-equivalent directors). They are looking at passing a resolution against the federal cuts and working with our members of Congress. Approximately 36% of the funding comes from the federal government for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. Cuts in this program had been anticipated for years and have been held off. The Director said that they are watching the federal actions closely and the Department is starting to plan for the cuts. They also indicated that the SRF current projects should not be affected by the cuts. The SRF can fund projects on the list for the next 3 years. If that proves untrue, the State will sell bonds.  In addition, the fundable range is going up, according to law.  So, more projects will be funded as long as they are ready.

There was also discussions about fees sunsetting and getting legislative support to continue them. That is ongoing, as the Legislature is educated. Fees include air permitting fees, solid waste fees, and others. DEQ indicated that communications from the business community will be helpful. They also said that if the fees aren't extended, the statutes regulating programs will be repealed (as they can't do the regulation without the fees).

Other topics discussed include: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks, outcomes based approaches by SEMCOG, and other updates. These meetings are expected to happen every other month.

Andy Schor is the Assistant Director of State Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League. Contact him at (517) 908-0300 or by email at aschor@mml.org.