Summary — HB 4638 (1969 PA 306; amends MCL 24.207)
Status and timeline
- Introduced: March 12, 2025 (Rep. Noah Arbit and others).
- Enacted: Signed by Governor June 20, 2025.
- Effective date: September 1, 2025.
- Related/tie-bar bills: HB 4640 and HB 4636 (bill text originally made enactment contingent on those bills); companion Senate bill SB 2336.
Purpose / intent
- HB 4638 amends the Administrative Procedures Act of 1969 (sec. 7, MCL 24.207) to specify that certain materials developed by the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) are not “rules” subject to the Michigan Administrative Procedures Act (APA). Specifically, it excludes “cleanup criteria and target detection limits developed by the department…under part 201 of the natural resources and environmental protection act” from the statutory definition of “rule.”
Key provisions
- Amendment to the definition of “rule” (MCL 24.207): adds an exclusion stating that cleanup criteria and target detection limits established by EGLE under Part 201 (MCL 324.20101–324.20142) are not rules under the APA.
- The statutory change means those EGLE-developed cleanup criteria and target detection limits are not subject to the APA’s rulemaking procedures (e.g., notice-and-comment rulemaking, public hearings, legislative review processes tied to rule promulgation).
Who is affected
- Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE): gains ability to develop or revise Part 201 cleanup criteria and target detection limits outside the APA rulemaking framework.
- Regulated parties: responsible parties for contaminated sites (private and municipal), consultants, environmental remediation firms, and permittees who rely on Part 201 standards.
- Public and stakeholders: environmental and community groups, local governments, and citizens concerned with groundwater and surface water cleanup standards and contamination monitoring.
- Administrative/legal processes: regulatory oversight, transparency, opportunities for public input, and procedural avenues for challenge or review may be altered for these specific criteria.
Potential impacts (practical effects)
- Administrative flexibility: EGLE could adopt or adjust cleanup criteria and target detection limits more quickly and without formal APA procedures.
- Reduced procedural requirements: public notice, formal comment periods, and certain legislative oversight associated with rulemaking would not automatically apply to these items.
- Effects on transparency and accountability: stakeholders may have fewer formal opportunities to comment on or contest changes to cleanup standards; legal routes tied to APA-defined rules may be narrower.
- Regulatory certainty: changes could produce faster updates to remediation metrics, but may also raise concerns about predictability for regulated entities and consistency of environmental protections.
Text and statutory reference
- Amends: Administrative Procedures Act of 1969, Section 7 (MCL 24.207), as amended by 2022 PA 134. The excluded materials are described as those developed under Part 201 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (MCL 324.20101–324.20142).
