September 15, 2016, Introduced by Reps. Whiteford, Rendon, Goike, Forlini, Kivela, Smiley, Brunner, McBroom, Victory and Poleski and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources.
A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled
"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"
by amending section 51501 (MCL 324.51501), as amended by 2004 PA
529, and by adding section 51503c.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 51501. As used in this part:
(a) "Certified prescribed burn manager" means an individual
who has successfully completed the certification program of the
department under section 51513 and possesses a valid certification
number.
(b) "Department" means the department of natural resources.
(c) "Domestic purposes" refers to burning that is any of the
following:
(i) A fire within the curtilage of a dwelling where the
material being burned has been properly placed in a debris burner
constructed of metal or masonry, with a metal covering device with
openings no larger than 3/4 of an inch.
(ii) A campfire.
(iii) Any fire within a building.
(d) "Extinguished", in reference to prescribed burning, means
that there is no longer any spreading flame.
(e) "Forest land", subject to subdivision (f), means any of
the following:
(i) Timber land, potential timber-producing land, or cutover
or burned timber land.
(ii) Wetland.
(iii) Prairie or other land dominated by grasses or forbes.
(f) "Forest land" does not include land devoted to
agriculture.
(g) "Flammable material" means any substance that will burn,
including, but not limited to, refuse, debris, waste forest
material, brush, stumps, logs, rubbish, fallen timber, grass,
stubble, leaves, fallow land, slash, crops, or crop residue.
(h) "Prescribed burn" or "prescribed burning" means the
burning, in compliance with a prescription and to meet planned fire
or land management objectives, of a continuous cover of fuels.
(i) "Prescription" means a written plan establishing the
criteria necessary for starting, controlling, and extinguishing a
burn.
(j) "Primary public safety answering point" means that term as
defined in section 102 of the emergency 9-1-1 service enabling act,
1986 PA 32, MCL 484.1102.
(k) (j)
"Wetland" 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.
Sec. 51503c. (1) At least 24 hours before conducting a
prescribed burn, the department shall notify by telephone the
township supervisor and primary public safety answering point of
each township where the prescribed burn is to take place. The
notice shall include all of the following:
(a) The location, expected date, and estimated number of acres
of the prescribed burn.
(b) The name, electronic mail address, and telephone number of
the person in charge of the prescribed burn.
(2) A violation of this section is not subject to section
51506 or 51512.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days
after the date it is enacted into law.