EGLE water resources officials brief House subcommittee on permits, staffing, PFAS and dam safety

Officials from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) outlined the scope and priorities of the department's Water Resources Division during a briefing to the Michigan House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. EGLE described permitting workloads, staffing trends, grant programs and actions on dredging, PFAS testing and dam safety.

Jared Sanders, director of EGLE's Water Resources Division, said Michigan and the Great Lakes Basin are uniquely water-rich and that that context shapes the division's work. "The basin itself, Great Lakes Basin, is 70% of North America's fresh surface water, about 21% of the world," Sanders said, adding that Michigan has about 3,300 miles of Great Lakes coastline, roughly 11,000 inland lakes, about 50,000 river miles and about 6,000,000 acres of wetlands.

Sanders told the subcommittee the division issues roughly 9,000 to 10,000 permit decisions per year, conducts about 7,000 inspections annually (about 5,500 focused on compliance), and opens about 2,000 compliance actions; fewer than 100 escalated enforcement actions are pursued each year. He said the division receives roughly 2,500 complaints and 2,500 service requests annually and that approximately 15,000 regulatory work items are handled across programs.

Why it matters: EGLE said those workloads intersect with staffing and funding issues that affect turnaround times and enforcement capacity. Sanders said fee schedules that fund parts of the division have not been updated in decades (one major fee program last revised in 2004 and another about 30 years ago), which has reduced fee purchasing power. He said federal funds, state general fund dollars and fees are the main budget sources and that about 20% to 25% of the division's budget is passed through as grants to local communities and groups.

Staffing and permitting priorities: Sanders said about 41% of division staff have fewer than five years' experience; excluding senior supervisors and statewide specialists, that proportion rises to about 57% among staff doing field and permitting work. The division has reduced average permitting timeframes by about 9 to 10 days over the last three years (a roughly 14% reduction), and Sanders listed continuing priorities as improving permitting efficiency, building compliance capacity for resource programs (for example wetlands and dredge-and-fill), retention and training, and better public communication.

Programs and nonregulatory work: EGLE described regulatory and nonregulatory efforts. On the water quality side, the division implements the federal Clean Water Act Section 402 program for wastewater and stormwater permits and conducts monitoring and assessment cycles tied to five-year permit terms. Sanders said the division collected about 1,500 fish tissue samples last year to support fish-consumption advisories for contaminants such as mercury, PCBs and PFAS. On the resource side, EGLE implements Clean Water Act Section 404 (dredge-and-fill) programs, coastal management, flood-plain review, and a dam-safety program. Sanders said wetlands protection is essential for water quality, flood control and habitat protection.

Dam safety and grant funding: Sanders described Michigan's dam inventory as aging and noted the state has been distributing a dam risk reduction grant fund created after mid-Michigan dam failures. He said the program initially provided a one-time $45,000,000 pot and that the last tranche of funding was structured as $15,000,000 a year over three years; the most recent pot is being allocated. Sanders flagged dam age (average older than design life) and the public risk associated with degrading dams.

PFAS and harbor dredging: When committee members asked about dredging and PFAS, Sanders said EGLE uses Clean Water Act Section 401 certification for dredging projects and that testing dredged material for PFAS is costly. He said PFAS is likely to be a concern in a relatively small number of harbors and that testing will be targeted to areas with suspected contamination. Sanders said EGLE either has issued or is close to issuing certification for Menomonee River dredging tied to a manufacturing project and that Grand Haven is another large project under review. He said fewer than 20 of roughly 70 harbors maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have a PFAS site or potential contamination nearby.

Beach nourishment and coastal work: Sanders said beach nourishment is not categorically opposed by EGLE but is a "right place, right time" decision that requires assessment of material and local conditions; EGLE issues certifications for appropriate projects. He highlighted coastal resiliency work, including education and technical assistance through partnerships such as the Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership.

Federal coordination and FERC-regulated dams: On coordination with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Sanders said EGLE regularly communicates with FERC but that information sharing can be limited in transitions between federal and state jurisdiction. He said some mid-Michigan dam situations illustrated challenges when timely information is not available as a facility moves from FERC jurisdiction back to state oversight.

Outreach and education: Sanders said the division runs frequent educational sessions for the regulated community and the public (about 10,000 attendees last year), operator certification programs for wastewater and construction personnel, and coastal planning technical assistance for local governments.

Committee action: Early in the meeting, Representative Markkanen moved to approve the minutes from May 13; the committee approved the minutes by voice with no objections.

What's next: Sanders closed by listing division priorities: further reducing permitting time, expanding compliance capacity for resource programs, improving communication and continuing staff training and retention efforts. He invited committee members to ask follow-up questions and to request more detailed materials on specific programs such as harbor dredging lists and PFAS test plans.

Sources and attributions: The article is based on statements by Jared Sanders, director, Water Resources Division, EGLE, and remarks made during the subcommittee briefing. Other committee procedural actions (approval of minutes) were taken on the record.