Section 324.21515 - Receiving money from fund or bond proceeds account for corrective action; procedures.
NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT (EXCERPT)
Act 451 of 1994
324.21515 Receiving money from fund or bond proceeds account for corrective action; procedures.
Sec. 21515.
(1) To receive money from the fund or bond proceeds account for corrective action, the owner or operator, or a consultant retained by the owner or operator, shall follow the procedures outlined in this section and shall submit reports, work plans, feasibility analyses, hydrogeological studies, and corrective action plans prepared under part 213 and rules promulgated under that part to the department, and shall provide other information required by the administrator relevant to determining compliance with this part.
(2) To receive money from the fund for corrective action, an owner or operator shall submit a claim to the administrator. An owner or operator shall not submit a claim until work invoices in excess of $5,000.00 of the costs of corrective action have been incurred.
(3) Upon receipt of a completed claim pursuant to subsection (2), the administrator shall make all of the following determinations:
(a) Whether the department of environmental quality, underground storage tank division has objected to payment on the claim because the work performed or proposed to be performed is not consistent with the requirements of part 213 and rules promulgated under that part.
(b) Whether the work performed is necessary and appropriate considering conditions at the site of the release.
(c) Whether the cost of performing the work is reasonable.
(d) Whether the owner or operator is eligible to receive funding under this part.
(e) Whether the consultant retained by the owner or operator has complied with section 21517.
(4) If the administrator fails to make the determinations required under this section within 30 days after receipt of certification from the department of environmental quality, underground storage tank division that the owner or operator has met the requirements of section 21510(1)(b) and (c), the claim is considered to be approved.
(5) If the administrator determines under subsection (3) that the work invoices included with the claim are necessary and appropriate considering conditions at the site of the release and reasonable in terms of cost and the owner or operator is eligible for funding under this part, the administrator shall approve the claim and notify the owner or operator who submitted the claim of the approval. If the administrator determines that the work described on the work invoices submitted was not necessary or appropriate or the cost of the work is not reasonable, or that the owner or operator is not eligible for funding under this part, the administrator shall deny the claim or any portion of the work invoices submitted and give notice of the denial to the owner or operator who submitted the claim.
(6) The owner or operator may submit additional work invoices to the administrator after approval of a claim under subsection (5). Within 45 days after receipt of a work invoice, the administrator shall make the following determinations:
(a) Whether the work invoice complies with subsection (3).
(b) Whether the owner or operator is currently in compliance with the registration and fee requirements of part 211 and the rules promulgated under that part for the underground storage tank system from which the release occurred.
(7) If the administrator determines that the work invoice does not meet the requirements of subsection (6), he or she shall deny the work invoice and give written notice of the denial to the owner or operator who submitted the work invoice.
(8) The administrator shall keep records of approved work invoices. If the owner or operator has not exceeded the allowable amount of expenditure provided in section 21512, the administrator shall forward payment vouchers to the state treasurer within 45 days of making the determinations under subsection (6).
(9) The administrator may approve a reimbursement for a work invoice that was submitted by an owner or operator for corrective action taken if the work invoice meets the requirements of this part for an approved claim and an approved work invoice.
(10) Except as provided in subsection (11) or as otherwise provided in this subsection, upon receipt of a payment voucher, the state treasurer or the authority shall make a payment jointly to the owner or operator and the consultant within 30 days if sufficient money exists in the fund or a bond proceeds account. However, the owner or operator may submit to the fund administrator a signed affidavit stating that the consultant listed on a work invoice has been paid in full. The affidavit shall list the work invoice and claim to which the affidavit applies, a statement that the owner or operator has mailed a copy of the affidavit by first-class mail to the consultant listed on the work invoice, and the date that the affidavit was mailed to the consultant. The department is not required to verify affidavits submitted under this subsection. If, within 14 days after the affidavit was mailed to the consultant under this subsection, the fund administrator has not received an objection in writing from the consultant listed on the work invoice, the state treasurer or the authority shall make the payment directly to the owner or operator. If a check has already been issued to the owner or operator and the consultant, the owner or operator may return the original check to the fund administrator along with the affidavit. If within 14 days after the affidavit was mailed to the consultant the fund administrator has not received an objection from the consultant listed on the check, the state treasurer or the authority shall reissue a check to the owner or operator. If a consultant objects to an affidavit received under this subsection, and notifies the fund administrator in writing within 14 days after the affidavit was mailed to the consultant, the fund administrator shall notify the state treasurer and the authority, and the state treasurer or the authority shall issue or reissue the check to the owner or operator and the consultant. The grounds for an objection by a consultant under this subsection must be that the consultant has not been paid in full and the objection must be made by affidavit. The state treasurer or the authority shall issue checks under this subsection within 60 days after an affidavit has been received by the fund administrator. Once payment has been made under this section, the fund is not liable for any claim on the basis of that payment.
(11) Upon direction of the administrator, the state treasurer or the authority may withhold partial payment of money on payment vouchers if there is reasonable cause to believe that there are suspected violations of section 21548 or if necessary to assure acceptable completion of the proposed work.
(12) The department of environmental quality shall prepare and make available to owners and operators and consultants standardized claim and work invoice forms.
History: 1994, Act 451, Eff. Mar. 30, 1995 ;-- Am. 1995, Act 269, Imd. Eff. Jan. 8, 1996 ;-- Am. 1996, Act 181, Imd. Eff. May 3, 1996
Popular Name: Act 451
Popular Name: NREPA