After many months of silence, the aggregate industry is again trying to solve aggregate supply chain issues while eliminating all local authority over sand and gravel mines and silencing residents. The bills were introduced without any stakeholder engagement that could result in more balanced legislation that would solve the real issues. It is presented as a compromise that protects the environment, communities and residents, but the bills do none of that. These bills put profit over people, ignoring the local governments, residents and property owners.

The three bill package was introduced yesterday in the house: HB 4526, 4527 & 4528 (also see links below along with links to the Bill Sponsors and the committee members)

HB 4526 - Amends criminal procedure and sentencing guidelines for violation of intentional false statement in a mining permit application or report.

HB 4527 - Amends the MZEA declaring in Sec. 205 that sand and gravel is not a natural resource

HB 4528 - Creates a new Part 639 in the NREPA specifically for sand and gravel mining

The following legislative analysis was provided by our friends and partners at the MML. Both MML and MTA, along with MAP any many others, strongly oppose this legislation.

These bills will:

• Prohibit municipalities and affected residents or businesses from requesting any permit modifications, silencing the community on issues impacting their daily lives and livelihood, but allows EGLE to grant modifications requested by the mine operator only.
• Allow 70-foot-high aggregate stockpiles just 50 feet from property lines—an obvious impact on neighboring property owners.
• Hold neighboring properties hostage for years by allowing mines to bank sites for up to a decade. 
• Artificially limit required financial assurances at levels that do not provide for proper protections for amounts needed for land reclamation.
• Codify operation hours for activities such as truck loading, blasting and crushing to begin by at least at 6 a.m. six days per week—and allows for hours beyond that time for state or county contract.
• Limit local government and resident input only through public comment periods at the state level (EGLE) and removes any right of referendum by impacted residents.
• Proscribe noise levels required for worker safety hearing protection only and weighted over eight hours—with no considerations for impact of noise to nearby homes, businesses, schools and property.  
• Vacates previous judicial and administration opinions related to all mining permit applications—including those previously submitted to a local unit of government.

The House Regulatory Reform committee will report the bills on Tuesday May 9, 2023 at 10:30 a.m. and it is expected that the bills will be voted out the following week, Tuesday, May 16

Here are the bill sponsors and the committee members. Each name is hyperlinked to the representatives' email.

House Bill 4526 (2023) 

Pat Outman (district 91)

Graham Filler, Brenda Carter, Will Snyder, Angela Witwer, Tyrone Carter, Amos O'Neal, Andrew Beeler, 

Cynthia Neeley, Bryan Posthumus, Helena Scott, Tom Kunse, Bill Schuette, Luke Meerman, Tullio Liberati, 

Curtis VanderWall

House Bill 4527 (2023) 

Tyrone Carter (district 1)

Graham Filler, Brenda Carter, Will Snyder, Angela Witwer, Amos O'Neal, Pat Outman, Andrew Beeler, 

Cynthia Neeley, Bryan Posthumus, Helena Scott, Tom Kunse, Bill Schuette, Luke Meerman, Tullio Liberati, 

Curtis VanderWall

House Bill 4528 (2023) 

Angela Witwer (district 76)

Graham Filler, Brenda Carter, Will Snyder, Tyrone Carter, Pat Outman, Amos O'Neal, Andrew Beeler, 

Cynthia Neeley, Bryan Posthumus, Helena Scott, Tom Kunse, Bill Schuette, Luke Meerman, Tullio Liberati, 

Curtis VanderWall

Please send opposition letters, or phone the representatives, or come to the meeting to testify on May 9, Room 519, Anderson House Office Building, 124 N. Capitol Avenue, Lansing.

Please find a link to a press release developed by MTA, MML, MAC, and Semcog. And finally, our advocacy partners at the Michigan Township Association developed an online petition to log your opposition to these damaging aggregate bills.  

We hope to take a list hundreds of opposition signers to the hearings on May 9 and on May 16. Please share this link and the support information with your networks.  

Sincerely,

Andrea Brown, AICP

MAP Executive Director