House Bill 4510 Summary

• Amends the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (1994 PA 451) to add definitions and modify water discharge requirements.

• Allows public water treatment plants using drainage ways or ponds permitted before January 1, 2013 for water-softening residuals disposal to continue operating without obtaining new wastewater discharge permits for the duration of the facilities' useful life.

• Requires persons responsible for sewer systems discharging untreated or partially treated sewage to notify the Department of Environmental Quality, local health departments, and newspapers within 24 hours of discharge and provide detailed information about volume, quality, duration, and reason for discharge.

• Mandates testing of affected surface waters for E. coli after each discharge event to assess public health risk, with results reported to local health departments (up to 10 tests per discharge event, waivable by county health departments).

• Exempts subsurface disposal systems that discharge to groundwater without a permit from certain notification and testing requirements if the discharge does not reach surface waters.