EGLE officials warn hazardous waste program faces shortfall without fee increases or federal grant

LANSING — Tracy Cascametti, acting director of the Materials Management Division at the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), told the Michigan House Appropriations Subcommittee on Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy on Monday that the division’s hazardous waste program would face funding and staffing shortfalls if user fees and a federal EPA grant are not sustained or increased.

Cascametti and Travis Boleskull, deputy director at EGLE, briefed the subcommittee on the division’s three broad program areas — regulatory waste management, sustainability (including recycling and pollution prevention) and radiological protection — and highlighted several budget risks. “The point of the hazardous waste program is to not have contaminated sites in Michigan,” Cascametti said, describing the program as “preventative” and resource-intensive.

The nut of the presentation: the hazardous waste program is funded roughly half by program fees and half by an EPA grant. Cascametti said fees that support the program are tied to waste volumes and that several fees will sunset on Oct. 1; the executive budget proposes increasing user fees, in some cases roughly doubling longstanding amounts, to generate about $5 million and to finance additional staff. Boleskull warned that if the EPA categorical grant were eliminated next year — roughly $2.5 million annually, by his account — “we won’t be able to make payroll” for hazardous waste staff and the state would struggle to meet federally delegated obligations.

Subcommittee members pressed officials on how user-fee changes and other revenue sources would be used. Cascametti described the fee…