MDE Permitting Authority Act

The Need for the MDE Permitting Authority Act

What the Bill Will Do

1.      Require MDE to conduct an environmental justice evaluation for covered pollution permits in covered communities:

• Covered communities include any community with an EJ Score above 75. If a census tract scores this high, it means the census tract is in the top quarter of the state for four key indicators including pollution burden exposure, pollution burden environmental effects, sensitive population, and sociodemographic data. Communities scoring in this range face the greatest health and wealth disparities, compared to the rest of the state.

• Covered pollution permits include new and/or renewal individual permits for the six categories of permits (below) whenever a facility proposes to pollute above an established pollution threshold:

1. New or renewal water discharge permits for industrial facilities and other entities, like sand and gravel operations, power plants, wastewater treatment plants, trash incinerators, petroleum refinery manufacturing plants, ports or terminals, coal mines, coal ash facilities, regasification LNG facilities, kerosene or diesel refineries, large agricultural operations, or future ethanol plants, among others.

2. New water discharge permits for construction activities (disturbing 5 acres or more), such as a waste manufacturing plant, shopping mall, or large residential development.

3. New or renewal permits to own, operate, establish, or maintain:

A.      Controlled hazardous substance facilities, like chemical treatment or above-ground storage tanks, and medical waste incinerators, used to treat, store, or dispose of hazardous waste, OR

B.      Low-level nuclear waste facilities contaminated with radioactive materials or radioactive exposure at minimum thresholds.

4. New or altered/modified permits to construct or install solid waste facilities, including (1) various types of landfill systems, (2) incinerators for public use, OR (3) facilities that store sewage sludge and/or compost waste.

5. New or altered/modified air pollution permits to construct industrial facilities, like a cement processing and manufacturing plant, OR replacements, upgrades, or modifications to those industrial facilities, like the proposed installation of a “trommel” at a sheetrock manufacturing plant.

6. New or renewal potable reuse permits for drinking water treatment facilities proposing to use reclaimed water as a source for drinking water.

2. Enable MDE the authority to:

• DENY or IMPOSE CONDITIONS on any covered NEW or RENEWAL permits proposed in covered communities where there would be an increase in pollution to address environmental justice impacts.

• IMPOSE CONDITIONS on any covered RENEWAL PERMIT to address environmental justice concerns proposed in covered communities, even where there would be no increase in pollution.

3. Require MDE to create a webpage of covered pending permits in covered communities and allows MDE to increase permit fees to cover the costs of implementation.

4. Require MDE to consult with various stakeholders, including the regulated community, local governments, underserved and overburdened communities, public health experts, and environmental justice advocacy groups to:

• Define the scope and parameters of the environmental justice evaluation.

• Determine the applicability of any permit fees established.

• Identify the potential conditions that could be placed on applicable permits

• Consider mitigating and aggravating factors for determining when MDE may place a condition on a permit or deny a permit, such as the facility's past violation history.

• Explore ways to integrate environmental justice considerations into general permits during their next renewal period."