H.B. 4884 (H-2) & 4885 (H-2): ADOPT-A-RIVER/SHORELINE COMMITTEE SUMMARY
House Bills 4884 (Substitute H-2) and 4885 (Substitute H-2) Sponsor: Representative James Middaugh
House Committee: Conservation, Environment and Great Lakes Senate Committee: Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs
Date Completed: 11-28-95
The bills would amend the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to require the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to administer programs entitled the “Adopt-A- River Program” and the “Adopt-A-Shoreline Program”, which would have to be designed to remove litter from and to beautify the State’s rivers and shorelines and public land along the State’s rivers and shorelines. The programs would have to include public informational activities, but be directed primarily toward encouraging and facilitating the involvement of volunteer groups in litter cleanup and assigning each group to a specific river or stream segment, or shoreline or shoreline segment. House Bill 4884 (H-2) pertains to rivers, and House Bill 4885 (H-2) pertains to shorelines.
The DNR would be required to enter into agreements with volunteer groups to implement the programs. These agreements would have to include, but would not be limited to, all of the following:
-- Identification of the designated river or stream segment, or shoreline or shoreline segment. A volunteer group could request a specific segment it wished to adopt, but the assignment would be at the DNR’s discretion. In assigning sections of a river or shoreline, the Department would have to coordinate and cooperate with affected Federal, State, and local management agencies and private landowners.
-- Specification of the duties of the volunteer group, which would have to involve the removal of litter along the designated river or stream segment, or shoreline or shoreline segment, at least once each year.
-- Specification of the responsibilities of the volunteer group, including its agreement to abide by all rules related to the program that were adopted by the DNR.
-- A specific designation of the length of time the group contracted to care for the designated river or stream segment, or shoreline or shoreline segment, which would have to be for at least two years.
In implementing the bills and the programs, the DNR would have to do all of the following:
-- Create a recognition program that acknowledged the efforts of volunteer groups and members of the groups that participated in the programs.
-- Provide safety information and assistance to the participating groups.
-- Facilitate the removal of large or heavy items from a river or stream segment, or shoreline or shoreline segment, if those items were found by a volunteer group.
The DNR also would have to provide volunteer groups with data information sheets and request that the groups record on the sheets the types of trash collected during their cleanup efforts. The DNR would have to request that the data information be forwarded to the Department upon completion. The DNR would have to compile this information and include the information in its report to legislative committees.
The DNR would have to report annually to the standing committees of the Legislature that primarily consider issues pertaining to the protection of natural resources and the environment on the implementation and progress of the Adopt-A-River and Adopt-A-Shoreline Programs.
The Department could promulgate rules as necessary to implement the programs.
Proposed MCL 324.35901-324.35904 (H.B. 4884) Legislative Analyst: S. Margules Proposed MCL 324.35801-324.35804 (H.B. 4885)
The bills would have an indeterminate fiscal impact depending on the number of organizations and volunteers interested in adopting a river or shoreline.
The Department of Natural Resources currently operates an Adopt-A-Park program with approximately .5 FTE. The bills could represent a considerable expansion of these duties.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) operates the Adopt-A-Highway program. Fiscal information from the DOT is not available at this time.
Fiscal Analyst: G. Cutler
S9596\S4884SA
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.