MARQUETTE — State Rep. Sara Cambensy, D-Marquette, has joined a bill package with state Reps. Beth Griffin, R-Mattawan, and Dave Martin, R-Davison, to update the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to help more rural communities qualify, according to a news release from Cambensy’s office.

The proposed legislation comes as state loan programs “will see a significant increase in federal dollars from the American Rescue Fund Act this year that will allow local government the opportunity to replace and update water mains and lead service lines,” officials said in the release.

The bill package includes House bills 5890-5892.

Cambensy is the lead sponsor of House Bill 5892 and a cosponsor of House bills 5890 and 5891, according to the website legislature.gov.

Part 53 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act deals with clean water and Part 54 deals with drinking water, Cambensy said.

“The goal of this legislation is to align portions of both acts while reducing the burden of the application process that has severely limited our most rural communities from doing their infrastructure assessments and qualifying,” Cambensy said in a statement. “The scoring and eligibility criteria for these grants haven’t been updated in decades, and we wanted to make sure the communities that need this funding the most can compete for the dollars on a level playing field.”

According to Cambensy’s office, House bills 5890-5892 will attempt to:

— Allow more types of documents to qualify when applying for a project — at the Michigan Department of Energy, Great Lakes and Environment’s discretion — to avoid the need for costly engineering studies in all circumstances.

“Many communities cannot spend thousands of dollars on an engineering study for a smaller loan amount,” the release states. “Also, some projects are very straightforward and don’t need a lengthy study process, such as replacing old water mains or lead service lines.”

— Generate a streamlined public hearing process that is similar between parts 53 and 54 for projects.

— Allow greater flexibility for EGLE in loan forgiveness with the new influx of federal funds and allow the department to “more aggressively set rates at their discretion.”

— Update the disadvantaged community definition to reflect newer federal terminology, which now uses the term overburdened community and greater use of state revolving funds to aid communities with affordability issues.

— Allow EGLE to update the scoring criteria on a three-year basis “without a cumbersome rulemaking or statutory amendment process to reflect changing needs of communities. Current scoring criteria for loans are largely fixed in state law. For example, current law scores lead service line replacement among the lowest, when it’s one of the greatest needs in many communities.”

— Strike language that references outdated federal programs and requirements.

The bill package is the result of a work group that was put together to address many of the concerns of elected officials from around the state, particularly in the Upper Peninsula, according to Cambensy’s office.

Committee hearings on the bill package are expected to begin in April.