Sponsors and industry push rollback of groundwater discharge fee increases; EGLE warns of staff, service impacts

Representatives sponsoring House Bills 4192 and 4193 told the House Committee on Natural Resources and Tourism that a 2023 change to groundwater discharge permit fees has sharply increased costs for small manufactured-housing communities and campgrounds and that the Legislature should restore parity with small municipalities.

Representative Van Werkom, one of the sponsors of HB4192, said the rule change reclassified many manufactured-housing communities, RV parks and campgrounds into the highest fee category. "As of 2023, EGLE redefined their fee structure to classify manufactured housing communities, RV parks, and campgrounds as group 1 ... doubling their fees and lumping them into the same class as large corporations, cities, and groups with significantly higher volumes of wastewater," Van Werkom said. Representative Snyder, the co-sponsor for HB4193, said the bills would let communities with fewer than 1,000 sites or residents be treated like municipalities of the same size and pay the lower group‑2 annual fee of $1,800 instead of the group‑1 fee of $7,500.

Why it matters: Sponsors and industry witnesses told the committee that 33 manufactured-housing communities and five campgrounds (38 total facilities, by one account) now pay the higher group‑1 rate and that the…