The House Natural Resources Committee passed Senate
Bill 444 Tuesday on a 6-3 vote. The bill would require the Department of
Environmental Quality (DEQ) to issue permits for eradicating aquatic invasive
species no later than April 15, 2015 or 30 working days after the application
for the permit had been submitted. The bill put a 15 business day maximum on
permit distribution when the body of water is on a list of water sources being
crowded by a species. New restrictions added to the permit include: narrowing
down the water source from a channel of water to a specific body of water, more
requirements when a body of water is being chemically treated, and puts a new term
of three years on the permits.
The term length was an issue for
Representative Scott Dianda (D-Calumet) as he believed a one-and-a-half or two-year
permit would be better suited. The DEQ’s Legislative Affairs Director said that
the three year length worked best for the Department as it allowed more time
for staff to get out on the water and observe the effects of the treatment.
During the committee meeting SB
20 and SB
613 were also reported. SB
20 would allow for denial of DEQ hazardous waste operating licenses to
anyone with a criminal record while SB
613 would drop the salvaging permit requirement for wildlife killed by
vehicles. Senator Darwin Booher (R-Evart) is the sponsor of SB
613, and believes that the bill would help law enforcement as they do not
have the time to deal with small matters like road kill and that the bill would
allow for easy collection of road kill by the public. Representative Bruce
Rendon (R-Lake City) believes that this bill will lead to cleaner roadways and
that this legislation is in great need as there is a statewide problem with
dead animals on the roads. The Department of Natural Resources and the Michigan
Conservation Club said that with major concerns they were going to stay neutral
on the bill. Both groups believed that the passage of this law could lead to
poachers purposefully hitting animals in their cars.