Refinance Water Pollution Control Program

Currently, the water pollution control statute categorizes the various sources that pay fees pursuant to the statute within different sectors, specifies the amount of each fee that the subcategories within each sector pay, and credits all fees from all sectors to the water quality control fund. Section 1 of the act repeals this fund, creates a separate cash fund for each of the sectors (commerce and industry, construction, pesticides, municipal separate storm sewer system, public and private utilities, and water quality certifications), and allocates the fees from each sector to that sector's cash fund. If the money derived from a particular sector is inadequate to cover the direct and indirect costs of the department of public health and environment in administering that sector, the general assembly may appropriate money from any of the funds for the department's direct and indirect costs in administering that sector. The department will conduct a stakeholder process regarding the appropriate and necessary fees that each subcategory of each sector should pay to enable each sector to be adequately funded by fees collected from that sector, and the department will then submit a legislative proposal to the joint budget committee by November 1, 2016, concerning its conclusions regarding the fees. The department must annually report to the joint budget committee, accounting separately for its expenditures by fund source and revenues by fund and sector source.

$1,208,007 is appropriated from the water quality improvement fund to the department of public health and environment for use by the water quality control division to implement the act.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)