News - Environmental

On March 16, 2018, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) announced that the $36 million in funding earmarked for the Legacy Release Program (LRP) barely 6 months ago (via the passage of Public Act 130 of 2017) has been completely allocated to approved... CONTINUE READING

House Bill 4583 was recently signed into law by Governor Snyder.  This Bill creates the “Legacy Release Program”, establishes new options to demonstrate financial responsibility for cleanup fund deductibles, and provides for reimbursement of local units of government (LUG) for certain corrective action costs.... CONTINUE READING

2016 closed out with some good news for underground storage tank (UST) owners in Michigan. On December 21, 2016, Governor Snyder signed House Bill 5599 into law (PA 380 of 2016), amending UST corrective action funding provisions of Part 215 of Michigan’s Natural Resources... CONTINUE READING

On May 27, 2016, Region 5 of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved Michigan’s Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund (the Fund) as an acceptable partial coverage financial responsibility mechanism for owners and operators (O/O) of USTs within the State of Michigan. After payment of... CONTINUE READING

House Bill 4604, recently passed by the Michigan Legislature and signed into law by Governor Snyder on January 26, 2016, provides permit exemptions under Part 91 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA) for certain earth changes that are associated with specific... CONTINUE READING

The Michigan Underground Storage Tank Authority (MUSTA) just released statistics on the operation of the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund (Fund) to date, as well as data regarding the number of UST facilities submitting information to MUSTA to utilize the Fund (see below). While... CONTINUE READING

The Michigan Biofuels Infrastructure Partnership (BIP) Program was developed as a result of a $3 million grant from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD). The Corn Marketing Program of Michigan (CMPM) was tasked as... CONTINUE READING

In December of 2015, the Michigan legislature passed Senate Bill 400, amending Part 121 (Liquid Industrial Wastes) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA), making the following significant changes: The title of Part 121 was changed to “Liquid Industrial By-Products” and all... CONTINUE READING

At MUSTA’s January 19, 2016 meeting in Lansing, a decision was made to extend the Underground Storage Tank (UST) Cleanup Fund deductible buy-down deadline from January 31, 2016 to March 31, 2016. Part 215 of Michigan’s Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA), Section... CONTINUE READING

Several business categories, such as coin-operated laundromats and public car washes, are the beneficiaries of new legislation that will reduce the annual groundwater discharge permit fees for the next few years. On December 31, 2015, Governor Snyder approved Senate Bill 552, which amends Part... CONTINUE READING