April 13, 2011, Introduced by Reps. MacMaster, Huuki, Foster, Horn, Opsommer, Rutledge, McBroom, Johnson, Hughes, Wayne Schmidt, Haugh and Yonker and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation.
A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled
"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"
by amending sections 32601, 32603, 32604, 32606, 32607, and 32609
(MCL 324.32601, 324.32603, 324.32604, 324.32606, 324.32607, and
324.32609), sections 32601, 32603, 32604, 32606, and 32609 as added
by 2000 PA 278 and section 32607 as amended by 2004 PA 546.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 32601. As used in this part:
(a)
"Bottomlands" means land in the Great
Lakes , and
bays and
harbors of the Great Lakes, lying below and lakeward of the
ordinary
high-water mark as described in section 32502 and land in
any adjoining inland lakes and streams.
(b) "Department" means the department of environmental
quality.
(c) "Fair market value" means the price based upon the unique
historical and physical properties, including, but not limited to,
species, growth rates, volume, and condition of the submerged logs
as calculated at dockside following delivery to shore.
(d) "Fund" means the submerged log recovery fund created in
section 32610.
(e) "Great Lakes" means Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake
Huron, and Lake Erie, and includes Lake St. Clair.
(f) "Ordinary high-water mark" means the elevations described
in
section 32502. When If the soil, configuration of the surface,
or vegetation has been altered by human activity, the ordinary
high-water mark is located where it would have been if this
alteration had not occurred.
(g) "Patented lands" means any bottomlands lying within a
specific government grant area, including a private claim patent or
federal patent.
(h) "Riparian owner" means a person who owns frontage
bordering bottomlands or an inland lake or stream.
(i) "Riparian rights" means those rights that are associated
with the ownership of frontage bordering bottomlands or an inland
lake or stream, subject to the public trust.
(j) "Submerged log" means a portion of the trunk of a felled
tree that has not been further processed for any end use and is
located on, in, over, or under bottomlands. Submerged log does not
include a portion of a tree that is located in the Great Lakes or
on, in, over, or under bottomlands that poses a navigational or
safety hazard or is of no or little commercial value.
(k) "Unpatented lands" means all bottomlands except patented
lands.
Sec. 32603. (1) A person shall obtain a permit from the
department under this part prior to removing submerged logs from
bottomlands.
(2) The department may issue a permit under this part to a
person for the removal of submerged logs from patented lands or the
bottomlands of inland lakes and streams if permission is received
from the lawful owner or owners of the patented lands or the
bottomlands of the inland lakes and streams, or both.
(3) A person shall not recover, alter, or destroy abandoned
property as defined in part 761 while engaging in submerged log
removal operations under a submerged log removal permit issued
under this part.
(4) For submerged log recovery in underwater preserves
established under part 761, the department shall place reasonable
conditions on submerged log removal permits to prevent damage to
abandoned watercraft or other features of archaeological,
historical, recreational, or environmental significance and to
minimize conflicts between recreational activities within the
preserve and the submerged log recovery operation.
Sec.
32604. (1) For calendar year 2000, the department shall
establish
a time period for the submission of applications for
submerged
log removal permits under this part. Beginning in 2001,
and
each year thereafter, applications Applications
for submerged
log removal permits shall be submitted before February 1 of each
calendar
year. However, the department shall not issue a submerged
log
removal permit under this part after December 31, 2003.
(2) An application for a submerged log removal permit shall be
submitted in writing on a form provided by the department and shall
include all of the following:
(a) A description of the proposed bottomland log removal area
with boundaries delineated by the use of current technology such as
a digital global positioning system or other technology approved by
the department. The proposed bottomland log removal area for
patented lands shall be a contiguous area of not more than 320
acres. The area proposed for patented lands shall be square or
rectangular in shape, and the length shall not exceed the width by
more than a factor of 6.
(b) A description of the methods to be used to raise the
submerged logs, the time of year during which submerged logs will
be raised, and the procedures to be used for transferring logs to
the shore.
(c) Identification of any adverse environmental impacts
associated with the proposed submerged log removal method.
(d) Identification of the steps proposed to mitigate any
adverse environmental impacts caused by the proposed submerged log
removal operation.
(e) Other information that the department considers necessary
in evaluating a submerged log removal permit application.
(f)
A $3,500.00 $500.00 application fee.
(3) An application for a submerged log removal permit is not
complete until all information requested on the application form
and any other information requested by the department are received.
Within 30 days of its receipt of an application, the department
shall notify the applicant in writing if the application is
deficient. The applicant shall submit the requested information to
the department within 30 days after the date the notice is
provided. If the applicant fails to respond within the 30-day
period, the department shall deny the submerged log removal permit
unless the applicant requests and the department approves an
extension of time based upon the applicant's reasonable
justification for the extension. If the department does not respond
in the required time, the permit is considered approved. If the
permit is denied, the department shall provide site-specific
reasons based upon sound science to support the denial. The
response shall also include an economic impact fiscal analysis.
(4) Application fees received under this section shall be
forwarded to the state treasurer for deposit into the fund and may
be returned to the permittee if the permit is approved because of
lack of response from the department.
Sec. 32606. (1) The department shall review each complete
application received for a submerged log removal permit and shall
not issue a permit unless the department determines both of the
following:
(a) That any adverse impacts, including, but not limited to,
impacts to the environment, natural resources, riparian rights, and
the public trust are minimal and will be mitigated to the extent
practicable.
(b) That the proposed activity will not unreasonably affect
the public health, safety, and welfare.
(2) The department may determine that certain areas within a
proposed bottomland log removal area described in an application
for a submerged log removal permit shall not be authorized for
submerged log removal based upon adverse impacts, including, but
not limited to, adverse impacts to the environment, natural
resources, riparian rights, and the public trust.
(3) The department shall make a decision on whether or not to
issue a submerged log removal permit under this part within 90 days
after the close of the review and comment period under section
32605 or, if a public hearing is held under section 32608, within
90 days after the date of that public hearing.
(4) If the department denies the issuance of a submerged log
removal permit, the department shall notify the applicant in
writing within 10 days after the date of the denial. The written
notice of denial shall include a justification based upon sound
science and shall include an economic impact fiscal analysis.
Sec. 32607. (1) The department shall not authorize the same
bottomland log removal area in more than 1 submerged log removal
permit at any 1 time.
(2) The department may modify the boundaries of a proposed
bottomland log removal area in a submerged log removal permit to
avoid overlaps with other active submerged log removal permits or
adverse impacts, including, but not limited to, impacts to the
environment, natural resources, riparian rights, and the public
trust.
(3) A submerged log removal plan approved by the department
shall be included in each submerged log removal permit.
(4) A submerged log removal permit shall contain terms and
conditions that are determined by the department to protect the
environment, natural resources, riparian rights, and the public
trust.
(5)
Each submerged log removal permit shall expire on January
1,
2013 5 years after the date
the permit is approved. An If
federal approval is required, an applicant shall notify the
department of the date on which the federal government issued its
approval for the submerged log removal permit. Processing fees
received under this subsection shall be forwarded to the state
treasurer for deposit into the fund.
(6) A submerged log removal permit issued under this section
is not transferrable unless the transfer is approved in writing by
the department.
(7) An applicant for a submerged log removal permit shall
provide a performance bond acceptable to the department in the
amount
of $100,000.00 $20,000.00. The performance bond shall be
provided to the department at least 10 days prior to beginning
submerged log removal in a bottomland log removal area. The
performance bond shall ensure compliance with the submerged log
removal permit for the period of the permit or until the authorized
submerged log removal is completed to the satisfaction of the
department and all payments under section 32609 have been made. The
department shall issue a written statement releasing the permittee
and
or bonding company, or both, upon termination
of the submerged
log removal permit and upon satisfaction of the department as to
the compliance of the permittee with the terms and conditions of
the permit. The department may draw upon the performance bond for
delinquent payments as required in section 32609.
(8) A permittee may request, in writing, and the department
may grant, termination of a submerged log removal permit prior to
the expiration date, including release from quarterly reports and
performance bond requirements.
Sec.
32609. (1) The state reserves a payment of 2.0 0.5 times
sawlog stumpage value for each submerged log that is removed from
unpatented lands. As used in this subsection, "sawlog stumpage
value" means the most recent average value of standing timber on
state forestlands for each species as determined and reported by
the department of natural resources. However, if a species is no
longer harvested on state forestlands, "sawlog stumpage value"
means the most recent highest value of any species currently being
harvested on state forestlands as determined and reported by the
department of natural resources.
(2) The holder of a submerged log removal permit under this
part shall provide the department with a detailed report and all
payments due under this section within 30 days after the close of
each calendar quarter. The report shall include an accurate scaling
at dockside of all submerged logs removed, by species. The
permittee shall provide for an independent agent, approved by the
department in writing, to conduct the scaling and species
determination.
(3) All payments received under this section shall be
forwarded to the state treasurer for deposit into the fund.
(4) After a permittee is notified in writing that a payment
under this section is overdue, the department may order suspension
of the submerged log removal permit until the payment is submitted
in full. The permittee shall not resume submerged log removal
operations until the department provides written authorization for
the operations to resume.
(5)
Not later than December 31, 2001 1 year after submerged
log removal operations have commenced, the department shall conduct
a study to determine the fair market value of submerged logs as a
potential basis for determining the payment to the state under
subsection (1). The department may conduct the study or may enter
into a contract, following issuing a request for proposal, with a
qualified person to conduct the study. Upon completion, the
department shall submit a report of the results of the study to the
standing committees of the legislature with jurisdiction primarily
related to natural resources and the environment and to the senate
and house appropriations subcommittees on environmental quality and
natural resources.