Michigan Laws 324.3109 – Discharge into state waters; prohibitions; exception; violation; penalties; abatement; “on-site wastewater treatment system” defined
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Terms Used In Michigan Laws 324.3109
- Ballast water: means water and associated solids taken on board a vessel to control or maintain trim, draft, stability, or stresses on the vessel, without regard to the manner in which it is carried. See Michigan Laws 324.3101
- Department: means the director of the department of natural resources or his or her designee to whom the director delegates a power or duty by written instrument. See Michigan Laws 324.301
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- in writing: shall be construed to include printing, engraving, and lithographing; except that if the written signature of a person is required by law, the signature shall be the proper handwriting of the person or, if the person is unable to write, the person's proper mark, which may be, unless otherwise expressly prohibited by law, a clear and classifiable fingerprint of the person made with ink or another substance. See Michigan Laws 8.3q
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Municipality: means this state, a county, city, village, or township, or an agency or instrumentality of any of these entities. See Michigan Laws 324.3101
- Oceangoing vessel: means a vessel that operates on the Great Lakes or the St. See Michigan Laws 324.3101
- Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental entity, or other legal entity. See Michigan Laws 324.301
- Rule: means a rule promulgated pursuant to the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24. See Michigan Laws 324.301
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories belonging to the United States; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o
- Waters of the state: means groundwaters, lakes, rivers, and streams and all other watercourses and waters, including the Great Lakes, within the jurisdiction of this state. See Michigan Laws 324.3101
(1) A person shall not directly or indirectly discharge into the waters of the state a substance that is or may become injurious to any of the following:
(a) To the public health, safety, or welfare.
(b) To domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, or other uses that are being made or may be made of such waters.
(c) To the value or utility of riparian lands.
(d) To livestock, wild animals, birds, fish, aquatic life, or plants or to their growth or propagation.
(e) To the value of fish and game.
(2) The discharge of any raw sewage of human origin, directly or indirectly, into any of the waters of the state shall be considered prima facie evidence of a violation of this part by the municipality in which the discharge originated unless the discharge is permitted by an order or rule of the department. If the discharge is not the subject of a valid permit issued by the department, a municipality responsible for the discharge may be subject to the remedies provided in section 3115. If the discharge is the subject of a valid permit issued by the department pursuant to section 3112, and is in violation of that permit, a municipality responsible for the discharge is subject to the penalties prescribed in section 3115.
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), a municipality is not responsible or subject to the remedies or penalties provided in section 3115 under either of the following circumstances:
(a) The discharge is an unauthorized discharge from a sewerage system as defined in section 4101 that is permitted under this part and owned by a party other than the municipality, unless the municipality has accepted responsibility in writing for the sewerage system and, with respect to the civil fine and penalty under section 3115, the municipality has been notified in writing by the department of its responsibility for the sewerage system.
(b) The discharge is from 3 or fewer on-site wastewater treatment systems.
(4) Unless authorized by a permit, order, or rule of the department, the discharge into the waters of this state of any medical waste, as defined in part 138 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.13801 to 333.13832, is prima facie evidence of a violation of this part and subjects the responsible person to the penalties prescribed in section 3115.
(5) Unless a discharge is authorized by a permit, order, or rule of the department, the discharge into the waters of this state from an oceangoing vessel of any ballast water is prima facie evidence of a violation of this part and subjects the responsible person to the penalties prescribed in section 3115.
(6) A violation of this section is prima facie evidence of the existence of a public nuisance and in addition to the remedies provided for in this part may be abated according to law in an action brought by the attorney general in a court of competent jurisdiction.
(7) As used in this section, “on-site wastewater treatment system” means a system of components, other than a sewerage system as defined in section 4101, used to collect and treat sanitary sewage or domestic equivalent wastewater from 1 or more dwellings, buildings, or structures and discharge the resulting effluent to a soil dispersal system on property owned by or under the control of the same individual or entity that owns or controls the dwellings, buildings, or structures.