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HB-5502, As Passed House, June 24, 2026
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HOUSE BILL NO. 5502
A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled
"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"
by amending section 30305 (MCL 324.30305), as amended by 2018 PA
631.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 30305. (1) Activities that require a permit under part 1
325 or part 301 or 325 or a discharge that is authorized by a 2
discharge permit under section 3112 or 3113 do not require a permit 3
under this part. 4
(2) The following uses are allowed in a wetland without a 5
permit subject to other laws of this state and the owner's 6
February 05, 2026, Introduced by Reps. Cavitt, Schuette, Kelly, Bierlein and Wozniak and referred
to Committee on Natural Resources and Tourism.
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regulation: 1
(a) Fishing, trapping, or hunting. 2
(b) Swimming or boating. 3
(c) Hiking. 4
(d) Grazing of animals, including fencing and post placement 5
if the fence is designed to control livestock, does not exceed 11 6
feet in height, and utilizes an amount of material that does not 7
exceed that of a woven wire fence utilizing 6-inch vertical spacing 8
and posts. 9
(e) Farming, horticulture, silviculture, lumbering, and 10
ranching activities, including plowing, irrigation, irrigation 11
ditching, seeding, cultivating, minor drainage, harvesting for the 12
production of food, fiber, and forest products, or upland soil and 13
water conservation practices. All of the following apply for the 14
purposes of this subdivision: 15
(i) Beginning October 1, 2013, to be allowed in a wetland 16
without a permit, these activities shall must be part of an 17
established ongoing farming, ranching, horticultural, or 18
silvicultural operation. Farming and silvicultural activities on 19
areas lying fallow as part of a conventional rotational cycle are 20
part of an established ongoing operation, unless modifications to 21
the hydrological regime or mechanized land clearing are necessary 22
to resume operation. Activities that bring into farming, ranching, 23
horticultural, or silvicultural use an area not in any of these 24
uses, or that convert an area from a forested or silvicultural use 25
to a farming, ranching, or horticultural use, are not part of an 26
established ongoing operation. 27
(ii) Minor drainage does not include drainage associated with 28
the immediate or gradual conversion of a wetland to a nonwetland, 29
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or conversion from 1 wetland use to another. Minor drainage does 1
not include the construction of a canal, ditch, dike, or other 2
waterway or structure that drains or otherwise significantly 3
modifies a stream, lake, or wetland. 4
(iii) Wetland altered under this subdivision shall not be used 5
for a purpose other than a purpose described in this section 6
without a permit from the department. 7
(f) Maintenance or operation of serviceable structures in 8
existence on October 1, 1980 or constructed pursuant to under this 9
part or former 1979 PA 203. 10
(g) Construction or maintenance of farm or stock ponds. 11
(h) Maintenance of an agricultural drain, regardless of 12
outlet, if all of the following requirements are met: 13
(i) The maintenance includes only activities that maintain the 14
location, depth, and bottom width of the drain as constructed or 15
modified at any time before July 1, 2014. 16
(ii) The maintenance is performed by the landowner or pursuant 17
to in accordance with the drain code of 1956, 1956 PA 40, MCL 280.1 18
to 280.630. 19
(iii) The maintenance does not include any modification that 20
results in additional wetland drainage or conversion of a wetland 21
to a use to which it the wetland was not previously subject. 22
(i) Maintenance of a drain that was legally established and 23
constructed pursuant to in accordance with the drain code of 1956, 24
1956 PA 40, MCL 280.1 to 280.630, if the drain was constructed 25
before January 1, 1973 or under a permit issued pursuant to under 26
this part. As used in this subdivision, "maintenance of a drain" 27
means the physical preservation of the location, depth, and bottom 28
width of a drain and appurtenant structures to restore the function 29
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and approximate capacity of the drain as constructed or modified at 1
any time before July 1, 2014, including the placement of spoils 2
removed from the drain in locations along that drain where spoils 3
have been previously placed. Maintenance of a drain under this 4
subdivision does not include any modification that results in 5
additional wetland drainage or conversion of a wetland to a use to 6
which it the wetland was not previously subject. 7
(j) Construction or maintenance of farm roads, forest roads, 8
or temporary roads for moving mining or forestry equipment, if the 9
roads are constructed and maintained in a manner to ensure that any 10
adverse effect on the wetland will be minimized. Borrow material 11
for road construction or maintenance shall must be taken from 12
upland sources if feasible. In determining whether an alternative 13
will minimize any adverse effect on the wetland, the department 14
shall consider cost, existing technology, and logistics in light of 15
overall project purposes. 16
(k) Maintenance of public streets, highways, or roads that 17
meets all of the following requirements: 18
(i) Does not include any modification that changes the original 19
location or footprint. 20
(ii) Is done in a manner that minimizes any adverse effect on 21
the wetland. 22
(l) Maintenance or repair of utility lines and associated 23
support structures that meets all of the following requirements: 24
(i) Is done in a manner that minimizes any adverse effect on 25
the wetland. 26
(ii) Does not include any modification to the character, scope, 27
or size of the originally constructed design. 28
(iii) Does not convert a wetland area to a use to which it the 29
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wetland was not previously subject. 1
For the purposes of this subdivision and subdivision (m), 2
"utility line" means any pipe or pipeline used for the 3
transportation of any gaseous, liquid, liquescent, or slurry 4
substance, for any purpose, and any cable, line, or wire for the 5
transmission for any purpose of electrical energy, telephone or 6
telegraph messages, or radio or television communication. 7
(m) Installation of utility lines having a diameter of 6 8
inches or less using directional drilling or boring, or knifing-in, 9
and the placement of poles with minimal (less than 1 cubic yard) 10
structure support, if the utility lines and poles are installed in 11
a manner that minimizes any adverse effect on the wetland. 12
Directional drilling or boring under this subdivision shall must 13
meet all of the following requirements: 14
(i) The top of the utility line is at least 4 feet below the 15
soil surface of the wetland. However, if the presence of rock 16
prevents the placement of the utility line at the depth otherwise 17
required by this subparagraph, the bottom of the utility line is 18
not placed higher than the top of the rock. 19
(ii) The entry and exit holes are located a sufficient distance 20
from the wetland to ensure that disturbance of the wetland does not 21
occur. 22
(iii) The operation does not result in the eruption or release 23
of any drilling fluids up through the ground and into the wetland 24
and there is an adequate plan to respond to any release of drilling 25
mud or other fill material. 26
(n) Operation or maintenance, including reconstruction of 27
recently damaged parts, of serviceable dikes and levees in 28
existence on October 1, 1980 or constructed pursuant to under this 29
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part or former 1979 PA 203. 1
(o) Placement of biological residuals from activities, 2
including the cutting of woody vegetation or the in-place grinding 3
of tree stumps, performed under this section within a wetland, if 4
all the biological residuals originate within that wetland. 5
(3) An activity in a wetland that was effectively drained for 6
farming before October 1, 1980 and that on and after October 1, 7
1980 has continued to be effectively drained as part of an ongoing 8
farming operation is not subject to regulation under this part. 9
(4) A wetland that is incidentally created as a result of 1 or 10
more of the following activities is not subject to regulation under 11
this part: 12
(a) Excavation as part of commercial sand, gravel, or mineral 13
mining, if the area was not a wetland before excavation. This 14
exemption from regulation applies until the property on which the 15
wetland is located meets both of the following requirements: 16
(i) Is no longer used for excavation as part of commercial 17
sand, gravel, or mineral mining. 18
(ii) Is being used for another purpose unrelated to excavation 19
as part of commercial sand, gravel, or mineral mining. 20
(b) Construction and operation of a water treatment pond, 21
lagoon, or storm water stormwater facility in compliance with the 22
requirements of state or federal water pollution control laws. 23
(c) A diked area associated with a landfill if the landfill 24
complies with the terms of the landfill construction permit and if 25
the diked area was not a wetland before diking. 26
(d) Construction of drains in upland for the sole purpose of 27
removing excess soil moisture from upland areas that are primarily 28
in agricultural use. 29
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(e) Construction of roadside ditches in upland for the sole 1
purpose of removing excess soil moisture from upland. 2
(f) An agricultural soil and water conservation practice 3
designed, constructed, and maintained for the purpose of enhancing 4
water quality. 5
(g) Any other human activity that was not specifically 6
intended to create wetlands. 7
(5) The department bears the burden of proof in establishing 8
that a wetland was incidentally created in a manner other than as 9
described under subsection (4) and should be subject to regulation 10
under this part. 11
(6) (5) An area that becomes contiguous to a water body 12
created as a result of commercial excavation for sand, gravel, or 13
mineral mining is not subject to regulation under this part solely 14
because it is contiguous to the created water body. This exemption 15
from regulation applies until the property on which the wetland is 16
located meets both of the following requirements: 17
(a) Is no longer used for excavation as part of commercial 18
sand, gravel, or mineral mining. 19
(b) Is being used for another purpose unrelated to excavation 20
as part of commercial sand, gravel, or mineral mining. 21
(7) (6) Except as provided in subsection (7), (8), the 22
following activities are not subject to regulation under this part: 23
(a) Leveling of sand, removal of vegetation, grooming of soil, 24
or removal of debris, in an area of unconsolidated material 25
predominantly composed of sand, rock, or pebbles, located between 26
the ordinary high-water mark and the water's edge. 27
(b) Mowing of vegetation between the ordinary high-water mark 28
and the water's edge. 29
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(8) (7) Subsection (6) (7) does not apply to lands included in 1
the survey of the delta of the St. Clair River, otherwise referred 2
to as the St. Clair flats, located within Clay township, St. Clair 3
county, as provided for in 1899 PA 175. 4
(9) (8) As used in this section, "utility line" means any pipe 5
or pipeline used for the transportation of any gaseous, liquid, 6
liquescent, or slurry substance, for any purpose, and any cable, 7
line, or wire for the transmission for any purpose of electrical 8
energy, telephone or telegraph messages, or radio or television 9
communication. 10
(10) As used in this part, "agricultural drain" means a human-11
made conveyance of water that meets all of the following 12
requirements: 13
(a) Does not have continuous flow. 14
(b) Flows primarily as a result of precipitation-induced 15
surface runoff or groundwater drained through subsurface drainage 16
systems. 17
(c) Serves agricultural production. 18
(d) Was constructed before January 1, 1973, or was constructed 19
in compliance with this part or former 1979 PA 203. 20