February 22, 2005, Introduced by Reps. Palmer, Gosselin, Stahl, Schuitmaker, Casperson, Pastor, Moore, Huizenga, Nitz and Stakoe and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, Great Lakes, Land Use, and Environment.
A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled
"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"
by amending sections 30301 and 30307 (MCL 324.30301 and 324.30307),
section 30301 as amended by 2003 PA 14 and section 30307 as amended
by 2004 PA 325.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 30301. As used in this part:
(a) "Beach" means the area landward of the shoreline of the
Great Lakes as the term shoreline is defined in section 32301.
(b) "Beach maintenance activities" means any of the following
in the area of Great Lakes bottomlands lying below the ordinary
high-water mark and above the water's edge:
(i) Manual or mechanized leveling of sand.
(ii) Mowing of vegetation.
(iii) Manual de minimis removal of vegetation.
(iv) Grooming of soil.
(v) Construction and maintenance of a path.
(c) "Debris" means animal or fish carcasses, zebra mussel
shells, dead vegetation, trash, and discarded materials of human-
made origin.
(d) "Department" means the department of environmental
quality.
(e) "Director" means the director of the department.
(f) "Fill material" means soil, rocks, sand, waste of any
kind, or any other material that displaces soil or water or reduces
water retention potential.
(g) "Environmental area" means an environmental area as
defined in section 32301.
(h) "Grooming of soil" means raking or dragging, pushing, or
pulling metal teeth through the top 4 inches of soil without
disturbance of or destruction to plant roots, for the purpose of
removing debris.
(i) "Leveling of sand" means the relocation of sand within
areas being leveled that are predominantly free of vegetation,
including the redistribution, grading, and spreading of sand that
has been deposited through wind or wave action onto upland riparian
property.
(j) "Minor drainage" includes ditching and tiling for the
removal of excess soil moisture incidental to the planting,
cultivating, protecting, or harvesting of crops or improving the
productivity of land in established use for agriculture,
horticulture, silviculture, or lumbering.
(k) "Mowing of vegetation" means the cutting of vegetation to
a height of not less than 2 inches, without disturbance of soil or
plant roots.
(l) "Ordinary high-water mark" means that term as it is defined
in section 32502.
(m) "Path" means a temporary access walkway from the upland
riparian property directly to the shoreline across swales with
standing water, not exceeding 6 feet in bottom width and consisting
of sand and pebbles obtained from the exposed, nonvegetated
bottomlands or from the upland riparian property.
(n) "Person" means an individual, sole proprietorship,
partnership, corporation, association, municipality, this state, an
instrumentality or agency of this state, the federal government, an
instrumentality or agency of the federal government, or other legal
entity.
(o) "Removal of vegetation" means the manual or mechanized
removal of vegetation, other than the manual de minimis removal of
vegetation.
(p) "Wetland", except as provided in subdivision (q), means
land characterized by the presence of water at a frequency and
duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances
does support, wetland vegetation or aquatic life, and is commonly
referred
to as a bog, swamp, or marsh and which is any of the
following:
that is regulated by the federal government under
section 404(a) of the clean water act, 33 USC 1344, and rules
promulgated to implement that section.
(q) "Wetland", for the purposes of a local ordinance under
section 30307(4), means land characterized by the presence of water
at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under
normal circumstances does support, wetland vegetation or aquatic
life, and is commonly referred to as a bog, swamp, or marsh, and to
which 1 or more of the following apply:
(i) Contiguous Is contiguous to the Great Lakes
or Lake St.
Clair, an inland lake or pond, or a river or stream.
(ii) Not contiguous to the Great Lakes, an inland lake
or
pond,
or a river or stream; and more than 5 acres in size; except
this
subparagraph shall not be of effect, except for the purpose of
inventorying,
in counties of less than 100,000 population until the
department
certifies to the commission it has substantially
completed
its inventory of wetlands in that county.
(iii) Not contiguous to the Great Lakes, an inland lake or pond,
or
a river or stream; and 5 acres or less in size if the department
determines
that protection of the area
(ii) Is located in a county with a population of 100,000 or
more.
(iii) Is located in a county for which the department has
substantially completed its inventory of wetlands, as certified by
the department to the commission.
(iv) Is an area that the department has determined is essential
to the preservation of the natural resources of the state from
pollution,
impairment, or destruction, and if the department has
so
notified the owner. ; except this subparagraph may be utilized
regardless
of wetland size in a county in which subparagraph (ii) is
of
no effect; except for the purpose of inventorying, at the time.
Sec. 30307. (1) Within 60 days after receipt of the completed
application and fee, the department may hold a hearing. If a
hearing is held, it shall be held in the county where the wetland
to which the permit is to apply is located. Notice of the hearing
shall be made in the same manner as for the promulgation of rules
under the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL
24.201 to 24.328. The department may approve or disapprove a permit
application without a public hearing unless a person requests a
hearing in writing within 20 days after the mailing of notification
of the permit application as required by subsection (3) or unless
the department determines that the permit application is of
significant impact so as to warrant a public hearing.
(2) The action taken by the department on a permit application
under this part and part 13 may be appealed pursuant to the
administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to
24.328. A property owner may, after exhaustion of administrative
remedies, bring appropriate legal action in a court of competent
jurisdiction.
(3) A person who desires notification of pending permit
applications may make a written request to the department
accompanied by an annual fee of $25.00, which shall be credited to
the general fund of the state. The department shall prepare a
biweekly list of the applications made during the previous 2 weeks
and shall promptly mail copies of the list for the remainder of the
calendar year to the persons who requested notice. The biweekly
list shall state the name and address of each applicant, the
location of the wetland in the proposed use or development,
including the size of both the proposed use or development and of
the wetland affected, and a summary statement of the purpose of the
use or development.
(4) A local unit of government may regulate wetland within its
boundaries, by ordinance, only as provided under this part. This
subsection is supplemental to the existing authority of a local
unit of government. An ordinance adopted by a local unit of
government pursuant to this subsection shall comply with all of the
following:
(a) The ordinance shall not provide a different definition of
wetland
than is provided in this part , except that a wetland
ordinance
may regulate wetland of less than 5 acres in size for
the purpose of local ordinances.
(b) If the ordinance regulates wetland that is smaller than 2
acres in size, the ordinance shall comply with section 30309.
(c) The ordinance shall comply with sections 30308 and 30310.
(d) The ordinance shall not require a permit for uses that are
authorized without a permit under section 30305, and shall
otherwise comply with this part.
(5) Each local unit of government that adopts an ordinance
regulating wetlands under subsection (4) shall notify the
department.
(6) A local unit of government that adopts an ordinance
regulating wetlands shall use an application form supplied by the
department,
and each a person applying for a permit shall make
application
shall apply for a permit
directly to the local unit of
government. Upon receipt, the local unit of government shall
forward a copy of each application along with any state fees that
may have been submitted under section 30306 to the department. The
department shall begin reviewing the application as provided in
this part. The local unit of government shall review the
application pursuant to its ordinance and shall modify, approve, or
deny the application within 90 days after receipt. If a
municipality does not approve or disapprove the permit application
within the time period provided by this subsection, the permit
application shall be considered approved, and the municipality
shall be considered to have made the determinations as listed in
section 30311. The denial of a permit shall be accompanied by a
written statement of all reasons for denial. The failure to supply
complete information with a permit application may be reason for
denial
of a permit. The Upon
request, the department shall inform
any
interested a
person whether or not a local unit of government
has an ordinance regulating wetlands. If the department receives an
application with respect to a wetland located in a local unit of
government that has an ordinance regulating wetlands, the
department immediately shall forward the application to the local
unit of government, which shall modify, deny, or approve the
application under this subsection. The local unit of government
shall notify the department of its decision. The department shall
proceed as provided in this part.
(7) If a local unit of government does not have an ordinance
regulating wetlands, the department shall promptly send a copy of
the permit application to the local unit of government where the
wetland is located. The local unit of government may review the
application; may hold a hearing on the application; and may
recommend approval, modification, or denial of the application to
the department. The recommendations of the local unit of government
shall be made and returned to the department within 45 days after
the local unit of government's receipt of the permit application.
(8) In addition to the requirements of subsection (7), the
department
shall notify the a local unit of government that the
department has issued a permit under this part for activities
affecting a wetland located within the jurisdiction of that local
unit
of government within 15 days of after issuance of the
permit. The department shall enclose a copy of the permit with the
notice.