Under current law, with certain exceptions, no person may deposit any material
or place any structure upon the bed of any navigable water where no bulkhead line
has been established or, if a bulkhead line has been established, beyond that
established line unless the person is granted a permit by the Department of Natural
Resources (DNR) pursuant to statute or unless otherwise authorized by the
legislature. A bulkhead line is a line established by a municipality in the public
interest that conforms as nearly as practicable to an existing shore. Current law also
provides that certain nonriparian owners are exempt from the requirement to obtain
a permit to place a wharf or pier in navigable waters if the wharf or pier is maintained
under an easement that satisfies certain conditions.

This bill modifies the current law permitting exemption for certain piers and
wharves. Under current law, a riparian owner of a pier or wharf is entitled to an
exemption if the pier or wharf meets certain requirements. The first requirement
is that the pier or wharf must be no more than six feet wide. The second requirement
is that it may extend no further than one of two points, whichever of these two points
is closer to the shoreline. This bill changes this second requirement so that the pier
or wharf may extend to whichever of these two points is farther from the shoreline.

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The third requirement under current law is that the pier or wharf may have no more
than two boat slips for the first 50 feet of the riparian owner's shoreline footage and
no more than one additional boat slip for each additional 50 feet of the riparian
owner's shoreline. This bill changes this third requirement so that the owner may
alternatively have one boat slip for each dwelling unit located on the riparian owner's
property.

This bill also creates a new permitting exception. Under the bill, a riparian
owner, and certain nonriparian owners, of a pier, boat shelter, boat hoist, or boat lift
(structure) that was permanently placed on or before February 6, 2004, or that was
seasonally placed in substantially the same location in four of the years beginning
with 1999 and ending with 2003, are exempt from the current law requirement to
obtain a permit and may not be the subject of enforcement action by DNR that would
require the owner to repair, renovate, modify, or remove the structure. Under the
bill, this exemption does not apply if the structure was materially altered or enlarged
after February 6, 2004, or, if the structure was seasonally placed, it was placed in a
substantially different location after February 6, 2004, than it was placed in the
previous season. The exemption also does not apply to a structure that is the subject
of an action in which DNR proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the
structure presents an imminent and substantial danger to navigation or the public
interest.