SB 154 Summary

• Establishes a Water Resources Commission within the Department of Environmental Quality composed of 13 members: the directors of DEQ and Natural Resources, plus 11 gubernatorial appointees representing commerce, medical expertise, local government, environmental organizations, and the general public.

• Grants the commission supervisory authority over permit issuance, denial, revocation, and modification; rule promulgation; and policy development, with department actions requiring commission approval.

• Empowers the commission to receive water pollution complaints and direct the department to take investigatory or enforcement action, or request the Attorney General to commence legal action.

• Requires oceangoing vessels operating in Michigan to obtain permits demonstrating they will not discharge aquatic nuisance species or will use environmentally sound ballast water treatment methods approved by the department.

• Changes petition filing procedures for permit disputes to direct complaints to the commission rather than the department for contested case hearings under the Administrative Procedures Act.