Section 281.811. Definitions.

(1) As used in these rules:

(a)     "Act"  means  Act  No.  451  of   the  Public  Acts  of   1994,  as  amended,   being S324.101 et seq. of the Michigan Compiled Laws.

(b)   "Applicant" means a person applying for a permit under the act.

(c)   "Bottomland dredging" means dredging of channels and canals and the removal of any rock, stone, soil, or other material from bottomlands.

(d)   "Bottomland filling" means the placement of rock, stone, soil, or other material on bottomlands.

(e)   "Placement of structures on bottomlands" does not mean the installation of clear span overhead utility wires if they do not restrict navigation for watercraft that typically ply the waterway and if they provide equal or greater clearance than other permanent overhead restrictions in the immediate area or utility lines installed as an integral part of a bridge superstructure and above the elevation of the low beam or utility lines immediately above the top of a culvert.

(f)  "Public trust" means all of the following:

(i)    The paramount right of the public to navigate and fish in all inland lakes and streams that are navigable.

(ii)     The perpetual duty of the state to preserve and protect the public's right to navigate and fish in all inland lakes and streams that are navigable.

(iii)    The paramount concern of the public and the protection of the air, water, and other natural resources of this state against pollution, impairment, and destruction.

(iv)   The duty of the state to protect the air, water, and other natural resources of this state against pollution, impairment, or destruction.

(g)    "Reasonable sanding of beaches to the existing water's edge" means placing a layer of sand which is free of organic or other pollutant materials and which does not shift the location of the existing ordinary high watermark or shoreline contour.

(2)    "Riparian rights," as defined in the act, means all the rights accruing to the owners of riparian property, including the following rights, subject to the public trust:

(a)   Access to the navigable waters.

(b)   Dockage to boatable waters, known as wharfage.

(c)   Use of water for general purposes, such as bathing and domestic use.

(d)  Title to natural accretions.

(3)   Terms defined in the act have the same meanings when used in these rules.

History: 1979 AC; 1982 AACS; 1985 AACS; 1998-2000 AACS; 2015 AACS.