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.

(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 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.

(i) “Riparian rights” means those rights that are associated with the ownership of frontage bordering bottomlands, 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.

History: Add. 2000, Act 278, Imd. Eff. July 10, 2000 Popular Name: Act 451Popular Name: NREPA