Governor Gretchen Whitmer has issued an Executive Directive aiming to expedite the state permitting process, which could benefit Michigan farms and agribusinesses.
According to the Whitmer administration the directive aims to make state permitting processes, “more predictable, transparent, and efficient and require state government to reimburse applicants for missed deadlines, where possible.”
“Accountability is important; farmers and other members of the regulated community need timely answers and consistent communication from the state agencies they work with,” said Laura Campbell, MFB’s senior conservation and regulatory relations specialist.
“One tool to increase this accountability is to implement a penalty in the form of refunding fees for failing to timely complete permit actions.”
The directive requires agencies like the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to refund fees for failing to comply with permit response and decision-making timelines.
Some of the permits relevant to farms and agribusiness that would be subject to the Governor’s new service standards include groundwater discharge, biosolids, NPDES, wetland, and others.
While the initiative looks like a positive development on paper, Michigan Farm Bureau’s regulatory expert said time will tell if the directive has the intended effect.
“Farmers and other permit applicants frequently run into other challenges when seeking permits from state agencies, including the amount of time and information it takes to complete an application and changes in submissions and information required to seek it,” Campbell added.
“Additionally, without independent review of the state permitting programs subject to these new requirements, the State of Michigan risks missing problems that may go unreported by the agencies subject to the refund requirement.”
Whitmer’s office is also taking inventory; the directive instructs the agencies to submit a report including a list of permits it issues, processing times, and related fees.
After the reports are received, the Governor’s office will “establish recommended times for the efficient processing of applications for each type of permit. The times will be provided to the departments and agencies to make publicly available…”
Exceptions are outlined on page four of the directive.
“Permitting delays can increase costs and uncertainty for communities and businesses,” Whitmer said.
“That’s why today, I am signing an executive order aimed at speeding up state permitting and refunding permit application fees for missed deadlines whenever possible. Those applying for a state permit must know how long the process will take and that when the state commits to a deadline, we will meet it. The bipartisan budget I recently signed also included resources to further reduce permitting wait times and improve the permitting process. I will keep working hard to lower the cost of doing business and make Michigan more competitive for projects that create good-paying jobs and transform communities.”
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