January 28, 2003, Introduced by Reps. Bradstreet, Hager, Casperson, Pappageorge and Drolet and referred to the Committee on Land Use and Environment.
A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled
"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"
by amending sections 30301 and 30321 (MCL 324.30301 and
324.30321), section 30301 as added by 1995 PA 59 and
section 30321 as amended by 1996 PA 530.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
1 Sec. 30301. As used in this part:
2 (a) "Fill material" means soil, rocks, sand, waste of any
3 kind, or any other material that displaces soil or water or
4 reduces water retention potential.
5 (b) "Minor drainage" includes ditching and tiling for the
6 removal of excess soil moisture incidental to the planting,
7 cultivating, protecting, or harvesting of crops or improving the
8 productivity of land in established use for agriculture,
9 horticulture, silviculture, or lumbering.
1 (c) "Person" means an individual, sole proprietorship,
2 partnership, corporation, association, municipality, this state,
3 and an instrumentality or agency of this state,
the federal
4 government, or an
instrumentality or agency of the federal
5 government, or other legal entity.
6 (d) "Wetland", subject to subdivision (e), means land
7 characterized by the presence of water at a frequency and
8 duration sufficient to support, and that under normal
9 circumstances does support, wetland vegetation or aquatic life,
10 and is commonly referred
to as a bog, swamp, or marsh and which
11 that is any of the following:
12 (i) Contiguous to the Great Lakes or Lake St. Clair, an
13 inland lake or pond, or a river or stream.
14 (ii) Not contiguous to the Great Lakes, an inland lake or
15 pond, or a river or
stream; and more than 5 acres in size. ;
16 except this
subparagraph shall not be of effect, except for the
17 purpose of
inventorying, in counties of less than 100,000
18 population until the
department certifies to the commission it
19 has substantially
completed its inventory of wetlands in that
20 county.
21 (iii) Not contiguous to the Great Lakes, an inland lake or
22 pond, or a river or stream; and 5 acres or less in size if the
23 department determines that protection of the area is essential to
24 the preservation of the natural resources of the state from
25 pollution, impairment, or destruction and the department has so
26 notified the owner.
; except this subparagraph may be utilized
27 regardless of wetland
size in a county in which subparagraph (ii)
1 is of no effect;
except for the purpose of inventorying, at the
2 time.
3 (e) "Wetland", except for the purpose of inventorying under
4 section 30321, does not include land located in a particular
5 county unless the department has certified to the commission that
6 the department has issued its final inventory of wetlands in that
7 county.
8 Sec. 30321. (1) The department shall make or cause to be
9 made a preliminary inventory of all wetland in this state on a
10 county by county basis and file the inventory with the
11 agricultural extension office, register of deeds, and county
12 clerk.
13 (2) At least 2 hearings shall be held in each state planning
14 and development region created by Executive Directive
15 No. 1973-1. The hearing shall be held by the department after
16 publication and due notice so that interested parties may comment
17 on the inventory. After the hearings, the department shall issue
18 a final inventory which shall be sent and kept by the
19 agricultural extension office, register of deeds, and county
20 clerk. Legislators shall receive an inventory of a county or
21 regional classification for their districts including both
22 preliminary and final inventories unless the legislators request
23 not to receive the materials.
24 (3) Before an
inventory is made of a county, a person who
25 owns or leases a
parcel of property located in that county may
26 request that the
department of environmental quality assess
27 whether the parcel of
property or a portion of the parcel is
1 wetland. The request
shall satisfy all of the following
2 requirements:
3 (a) Be made on a
form provided by the department.
4 (b) Be signed by
the person who owns or leases the property.
5 (c) Contain a
legal description of the parcel and, if only a
6 portion of the parcel
is to be assessed, a description of the
7 portion to be
assessed.
8 (d) Include a map
showing the location of the parcel.
9 (e) Grant the
department or its agent permission to enter on
10 the parcel for the
purpose of conducting the assessment.
11 (4) The department
shall assess the parcel within a
12 reasonable time after
the request is made. The department may
13 enter upon the parcel
to conduct the assessment. Upon completion
14 of the assessment, the
department shall provide the person with a
15 written assessment
report. The assessment report shall do all of
16 the following:
17 (a) Identify in
detail the location of any wetland in the
18 area assessed.
19 (b) If wetland is
present in the area assessed, describe the
20 types of activities that
require a permit under this part.
21 (c) If the
assessment report determines that the area
22 assessed or part of
the area assessed is not wetland, state that
23 the department lacks
jurisdiction under this part as to the area
24 that the report
determines is not wetland and that this
25 determination is
binding on the department for 3 years from the
26 date of the
assessment.
27 (d) Contain the
date of the assessment.
1 (e) Advise that
the person may request the department to
2 reassess the parcel or
any part of the parcel that the person
3 believes was
erroneously determined to be wetland if the request
4 is accompanied by
evidence pertaining to wetland vegetation,
5 soils, or hydrology
that is different from or in addition to the
6 information relied
upon by the department.
7 (f) Advise that
the assessment report does not constitute a
8 determination of
wetland that may be regulated under local
9 ordinance or wetland
areas that may be regulated under federal
10 law and advise how a
determination of wetland areas regulated
11 under federal law may
be obtained.
12 (g) List
regulatory programs that may limit land use
13 activities on the
parcel, advise that the list is not exhaustive,
14 and advise that the
assessment report does not constitute a
15 determination of
jurisdiction under those programs. The
16 regulatory programs
listed shall be those under the following
17 parts:
18 (i) Part 31, with respect to floodplains and floodways.
19 (ii) Part 91.
20 (iii) Part 301.
21 (iv) Part 323.
22 (v) Part 325.
23 (vi) Part 353.
24 (5) A person may
request the department to reassess any area
25 assessed under
subsections (3) and (4) that the person believes
26 the department
erroneously determined to be wetland. The
27 requirements of
subsections (3) and (4) apply to the request,
1 assessment, and
assessment report. However, the request shall be
2 accompanied by
evidence pertaining to wetland vegetation, soils,
3 or hydrology that is
different from or in addition to the
4 information relied
upon by the department. The assessment report
5 shall not contain the
information required by subsection (4)(e).
6 (6) If an
assessment report determines that the area assessed
7 or part of the area
assessed is not a wetland regulated by the
8 department under this
part, then the area determined by the
9 assessment report not
to be a wetland is not a wetland regulated
10 by the department
under this part for a period of 3 years after
11 the date of the
assessment.
12 (7) The department
may charge a fee for an assessment
13 requested under
subsection (3) based upon the cost to the
14 department of
conducting an assessment.