Environmental protection: permits; denial of or imposition of additional conditions on; provide for when projects are located in environmentally overburdened communities, and repeal environmental permit review commission provisions. Amends secs. 1301, 1305, 1307 & 1311 of 1994 PA 451 (MCL 324.1301 et seq.); designates secs. 1301 - 1311 as subpt. 1; adds subpt. 2 to pt. 13 & repeals secs. 1313 - 1317 of 1994 PA 451 (MCL 324.1313 - 324.1317).

Key provisions

• Requires environmental justice impact assessments for permit applications in overburdened communities.
• Mandates public hearings in overburdened communities for permit applications.
• Establishes criteria for determining which communities are considered ‘overburdened,’ including factors like income, minority populations, and limited English proficiency.
• Creates a process for the department to deny permit applications that would be ‘discriminatory’ – meaning they would likely worsen environmental or public health stressors in overburdened communities.
• Allows the department to impose conditions on permits to mitigate potential negative impacts on overburdened communities.
• Designates sections 1301-1311 as subpart 1 and adds subpart 2 to part 13, reorganizing the permit review process.
• Repeals sections 1313-1317 of 1994 PA 451, which dealt with the Environmental Permit Review Commission.
• Requires the department to publish a list of overburdened communities and update it every two years.