2006-PA-0275.htm

Act No. 275

Public Acts of 2006

Approved by the Governor

July 7, 2006

Filed with the Secretary of State

July 7, 2006

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 7, 2006

STATE OF MICHIGAN

93RD LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2006

Introduced by Senator Birkholz

ENROLLED SENATE BILL No. 1040

AN ACT to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled "An act to protect the environment and natural resources of the state; to codify, revise, consolidate, and classify laws relating to the environment and natural resources of the state; to regulate the discharge of certain substances into the environment; to regulate the use of certain lands, waters, and other natural resources of the state; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state and local agencies and officials; to provide for certain charges, fees, assessments, and donations; to provide certain appropriations; to prescribe penalties and provide remedies; and to repeal acts and parts of acts," by amending sections 30101, 30104, and 30105 (MCL 324.30101, 324.30104, and 324.30105), section 30101 as amended by 1999 PA 106 and sections 30104 and 30105 as amended by 2004 PA 325.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 30101. As used in this part:

(a) "Bottomland" means the land area of an inland lake or stream that lies below the ordinary high-water mark and that may or may not be covered by water.

(b) "Bulkhead line" means a line that is established pursuant to this part beyond which dredging, filling, or construction of any kind is not allowed without a permit.

(c) "Dam" means an artificial barrier, including dikes, embankments, and appurtenant works, that impounds, diverts, or is designed to impound or divert water.

(d) "Department" means the department of environmental quality.

(e) "Fund" means the land and water management permit fee fund created in section 30113.

(f) "Height of the dam" means the difference in elevation measured vertically between the natural bed of an inland lake or stream at the downstream toe of the dam, or, if it is not across a stream channel or watercourse, from the lowest elevation of the downstream toe of the dam, to the design flood elevation or to the lowest point of the top of the dam, whichever is less.

(g) "Impoundment" means water held back by a dam, dike, floodgate, or other barrier.

(h) "Inland lake or stream" means a natural or artificial lake, pond, or impoundment; a river, stream, or creek which may or may not be serving as a drain as defined by the drain code of 1956, 1956 PA 40, MCL 280.1 to 280.630; or any other body of water that has definite banks, a bed, and visible evidence of a continued flow or continued occurrence of water, including the St. Marys, St. Clair, and Detroit rivers. Inland lake or stream does not include the Great Lakes, Lake St. Clair, or a lake or pond that has a surface area of less than 5 acres.

(i) "Marina" means a facility that is owned or operated by a person, extends into or over an inland lake or stream, and offers service to the public or members of the marina for docking, loading, or other servicing of recreational watercraft.

(j) "Minor offense" means either of the following violations of this part if the project involved in the offense is a minor project as listed in R281.816 of the Michigan administrative code or the department determines that restoration of the affected property is not required:

(i) The failure to obtain a permit under this part.

(ii) A violation of a permit issued under this part.

(k) "Ordinary high-water mark" means the line between upland and bottomland that persists through successive changes in water levels, below which the presence and action of the water is so common or recurrent that the character of the land is marked distinctly from the upland and is apparent in the soil itself, the configuration of the surface of the soil, and the vegetation. On an inland lake that has a level established by law, it means the high established level. Where water returns to its natural level as the result of the permanent removal or abandonment of a dam, it means the natural ordinary high-water mark.

(l) "Project" means an activity that requires a permit pursuant to section 30102.

(m) "Property owners' association" means any group of organized property owners publishing a directory of their membership, the majority of which are riparian owners and are located on the inland lake or stream that is affected by the proposed project.

(n) "Riparian owner" means a person who has riparian rights.

(o) "Riparian rights" means those rights which are associated with the ownership of the bank or shore of an inland lake or stream.

(p) "Seasonal structure" includes any type of dock, boat hoist, ramp, raft, or other recreational structure that is placed into an inland lake or stream and removed at the end of the boating season.

(q) "Structure" includes a marina, wharf, dock, pier, dam, weir, stream deflector, breakwater, groin, jetty, sewer, pipeline, cable, and bridge.

(r) "Upland" means the land area that lies above the ordinary high-water mark.

Sec. 30104. (1) A person shall not undertake a project subject to this part except as authorized by a permit issued by the department pursuant to part 13. An application for a permit shall include any information that may be required by the department. If a project includes activities at multiple locations, 1 application may be filed for the combined activities.

(2) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4), until October 1, 2008, an application for a permit shall be accompanied by a fee based on an administrative cost in accordance with the following schedule:

(a) For a minor project listed in R281.816 of the Michigan administrative code, or a seasonal drawdown or the associated reflooding, or both, of a dam or impoundment for the purpose of weed control, a fee of $50.00. However, for a permit for a seasonal drawdown or associated reflooding, or both, of a dam or impoundment for the purpose of weed control that is issued for the first time after October 9, 1995, an initial fee of $500.00 with subsequent permits for the same purpose being assessed a $50.00 fee.

(b) For authorization under a general permit for the removal of a qualifying small dam under section 30105(8), a $50.00 fee.

(i) $50.00 for an expansion of 1-10 slips to an existing permitted marina.

(ii) $100.00 for a new marina with 1-10 proposed marina slips.

(iii) $250.00 for an expansion of 11-50 slips to an existing permitted marina, plus $10.00 for each slip over 50.

(iv) $500.00 for a new marina with 11-50 proposed marina slips, plus $10.00 for each slip over 50.

(v) $1,500.00 if an existing permitted marina proposes maintenance dredging of 10,000 cubic yards or more or the addition of seawalls, bulkheads, or revetments of 500 feet or more.

(d) For renewal of a marina operating permit, a fee of $50.00.

(e) For major projects other than a project described in subdivision (c)(v), involving any of the following, a fee of $2,000.00:

(i) Dredging of 10,000 cubic yards or more.

(ii) Filling of 10,000 cubic yards or more.

(iii) Seawalls, bulkheads, or revetments of 500 feet or more.

(iv) Filling or draining of 1 acre or more of wetland contiguous to a lake or stream.

(v) New dredging or upland boat basin excavation in areas of suspected contamination.

(vi) Shore projections, such as groins and underwater stabilizers, that extend 150 feet or more into a lake or stream.

(vii) New commercial docks or wharves of 300 feet or more in length.

(viii) Stream enclosures 100 feet or more in length.

(ix) Stream relocations 500 feet or more in length.

(x) New golf courses.

(xi) Subdivisions.

(xii) Condominiums.

(f) For all other projects not listed in subdivisions (a) through (e), a fee of $500.00.

(3) A project that requires review and approval under this part and 1 or more of the following acts or parts of acts is subject to only the single highest permit fee required under this part or the following acts or parts of acts:

(a) Part 303.

(b) Part 323.

(d) Section 3104.

(e) Section 117 of the land division act, 1967 PA 288, MCL 560.117.

(4) If work has been done in violation of a permit requirement under this part and restoration is not ordered by the department, the department may accept an application for a permit if the application is accompanied by a fee equal to 2 times the permit fee required under this section.

Sec. 30105. (1) The department shall post on its website all of the following under this part:

(a) A list of pending applications.

(b) Public notices.

(2) The department may hold a public hearing on pending applications.

(3) Except as otherwise provided in this section, upon receiving an application, the department shall submit copies for review to the director of the department of community health or the local health department designated by the director of the department of community health, to the city, village, or township and the county where the project is to be located, to the local conservation district, to the watershed council organized under part 311, if any, to the local port commission, if any, and to the persons required to be included in the application pursuant to section 30104(1). Each copy of the application shall be accompanied by a statement that unless a written request is filed with the department within 20 days after the submission for review, the department may grant the application without a public hearing where the project is located. The department may hold a public hearing upon the written request of the applicant or a riparian owner or a person or governmental unit that is entitled to receive a copy of the application pursuant to this subsection.

(4) After completion of a project for which an application is approved, the department may cause a final inspection to be made and certify to the applicant that the applicant has complied with the department's permit requirements.

(5) At least 10 days' notice of a hearing to be held under this section shall be given by publication in a newspaper circulated in the county where the project is to be located, to the person requesting the hearing, and to the persons and governmental units that are entitled to receive a copy of the application pursuant to subsection (3).

(6) In an emergency, the department may issue a conditional permit before the expiration of the 20-day period referred to in subsection (3).

(7) The department, by rule promulgated under section 30110(1), may establish minor project categories of activities and projects that are similar in nature and have minimal adverse environmental impact. The department may act upon an application received pursuant to section 30104 for an activity or project within a minor project category without providing notices or holding a public hearing pursuant to subsection (3). A final inspection or certification of a project completed under a permit granted pursuant to this subsection is not required, but all other provisions of this part are applicable to a minor project.

(8) The department, after notice and an opportunity for a public hearing, may issue a general permit on a statewide basis or within a local unit of government for projects that are similar in nature for the removal of qualifying small dams that will cause only minimal adverse environmental effects when performed separately and that will only have minimal cumulative adverse effect on the environment. A general permit issued under this subsection shall not be valid for more than 5 years. The department may impose conditions on the removal of a small dam authorized under a general permit if the conditions are designed to remove an impairment to the lake or stream, to mitigate the impact of the project, or to otherwise restore or rehabilitate the lake or stream. The department may also establish a reasonable time when the proposed project is to be completed or terminated. As used in this subsection, "qualifying small dam" means a dam that meets all of the following conditions:

(a) The height of the dam is less than 2 feet.

(b) The impoundment from the dam covers less than 2 acres.

(d) The dam is not serving as a sea lamprey barrier.

(e) There are no threatened or endangered species that have been identified in the area that will be impacted by the project.

(f) There are no known areas of contaminated sediments in the area that will be impacted by the project.

(g) The department has received written permission for the removal of the dam from all riparian property owners adjacent to the dam's impoundment.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Secretary of the Senate

Clerk of the House of Representatives

Approved

Governor