June 8, 2006, Introduced by Reps. Pastor, Moore, Garfield, Gosselin, Stakoe, Hansen, Brandenburg, Shaffer, Amos, Marleau, Jones, Stahl, Elsenheimer, Hoogendyk, Palmer, Sheen, Wenke, Booher, Vander Veen, Casperson, Caul, Moolenaar, Acciavatti and Baxter 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 section 30321 (MCL 324.30321), as amended by 1996 PA
530.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 30321. (1) The department shall make or cause to be made
a preliminary inventory of all wetland in this state on a county by
county
basis and file the inventory with the
agricultural
extension
office, Michigan state university
cooperative extension
service, the register of deeds, and the county clerk.
(2) At
The department shall hold at
least 2 hearings shall
be
held in each state planning and development region
created by
Executive
Directive No. 1973-1 . The hearing shall be held by the
department
after publication and due notice so that interested
parties may comment on the inventory. The department shall publish
due notice of each hearing. After the hearings, the department
shall
issue a final inventory. which shall be sent and kept by the
agricultural
extension office, The
department shall send a copy of
the final inventory to the Michigan state university cooperative
extension service, the register of deeds, and the county clerk, and
each
of these shall retain its respective copy. Legislators
shall
receive
The department shall send
each legislator a copy of an
inventory
of a county or regional classification for their
districts
region included in whole or in
part in his or her
district including both preliminary and final inventories unless
the
legislators request legislator
requests not to receive the
materials
inventory.
(3) Before an inventory is made of a county, a person who owns
or leases a parcel of property located in that county may request
that
the department of environmental quality assess
whether the
parcel of property or a portion of the parcel is wetland. The
request shall satisfy all of the following requirements:
(a) Be made on a form provided by the department.
(b) Be signed by the person who owns or leases the property.
(c) Contain a legal description of the parcel and, if only a
portion of the parcel is to be assessed, a description of the
portion to be assessed.
(d) Include a map showing the location of the parcel.
(e) Grant the department or its agent permission to enter on
the parcel for the purpose of conducting the assessment.
(4) If the request under subsection (3) requests that the
department conduct any on-site assessment in the presence of a
wetlands consultant retained by the person making the request, and
specifies the consultant's name, address, and telephone number, the
department shall conduct any on-site assessment in the presence of
the consultant.
(5) (4)
The department shall assess the parcel within a
reasonable time after the request is made. The department may enter
upon the parcel to conduct the assessment. Upon completion of the
assessment, the department shall provide the person who made the
request with a written assessment report. The assessment report
shall do all of the following:
(a) Identify in detail the location of any wetland in the area
assessed.
(b) If wetland is present in the area assessed, describe the
types of activities that require a permit under this part.
(c) If the assessment report determines that the area assessed
or part of the area assessed is not wetland, state that the
department lacks jurisdiction under this part as to the area that
the report determines is not wetland and that this determination is
binding on the department for 3 years from the date of the
assessment.
(d) Contain the date of the assessment.
(e) Advise that the person may request the department to
reassess the parcel or any part of the parcel that the person
believes was erroneously determined to be wetland if the request is
accompanied by evidence pertaining to wetland vegetation, soils, or
hydrology that is different from or in addition to the information
relied upon by the department.
(f) Advise that the assessment report does not constitute a
determination of wetland that may be regulated under local
ordinance or wetland areas that may be regulated under federal law
and advise how a determination of wetland areas regulated under
federal law may be obtained.
(g) List regulatory programs that may limit land use
activities on the parcel, advise that the list is not exhaustive,
and advise that the assessment report does not constitute a
determination of jurisdiction under those programs. The regulatory
programs listed shall be those under the following parts:
(i) Part 31, with respect to floodplains and floodways.
(ii) Part 91.
(iii) Part 301.
(iv) Part 323.
(v) Part 325.
(vi) Part 353.
(6) (5)
A person may request the department to reassess any
area
assessed under subsections (3) and (4) subsection (3),
subsection (4) if applicable, and subsection (5) that the person
believes
the department erroneously determined to be wetland. The
requirements
of subsections (3) and (4) Subsections
(3) to (5)
apply to the request, assessment, and assessment report. However,
the request shall be accompanied by evidence pertaining to wetland
vegetation, soils, or hydrology that is different from or in
addition to the information relied upon by the department. The
assessment report shall not contain the information required by
subsection (4)(e)
(5)(e).
(7) (6)
If an assessment report determines that the area
assessed or part of the area assessed is not a wetland regulated by
the department under this part, then the area determined by the
assessment report not to be a wetland is not a wetland regulated by
the department under this part for a period of 3 years after the
date of the assessment.
(8) (7)
The department may charge a fee for an assessment
requested under subsection (3) based upon the cost to the
department of conducting an assessment, including, if applicable,
any costs incurred in complying with a request under subsection
(4).