Bill > HB5485

This bill updates and strengthens Michigan's dam safety regulations within the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act by introducing comprehensive new planning, monitoring, and administrative requirements for dam owners while establishing dedicated financial support programs. Specifically, the legislation requires dam owners to maintain and regularly update detailed operations and maintenance records, surveillance and monitoring plans, operation and maintenance plans, and safety and security plans, while also mandating the creation, annual review, and regular emergency exercising of emergency action plans for high and significant hazard potential dams. To help fund these and related safety measures, the bill establishes a new Dam Safety Emergency Fund to allow the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (referred to as the department) to take urgent corrective actions when an owner is unable or unwilling to do so, alongside a Dam Risk Reduction Grant Program that provides grants requiring at least a 10% match from owners for dam repairs, alterations, removals, or related engineering studies. Furthermore, the legislation modifies the permitting process by updating application and fee structures—including tying future fee adjustments to the Detroit Consumer Price Index starting in 2029—expanding public notification procedures through website postings and email alerts, giving the department clearer authority to issue emergency orders and limit dam operations, and protecting critical energy infrastructure documents from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which is a state law guaranteeing public access to government records.