A complete list of all programs within the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE)
Resources and information on utilizing RRD's data exchange and the Inventory of Facilities.
An interactive map displaying contaminated sites throughout Michigan regulated under Parts 213, 201, and 211.
EGLE's interactive calendar is designed to provide timely information on decisions before the Director, proposed settlements of contested cases, administrative rules promulgation, public hearings, meetings and comment deadlines, and environmental conferences, workshops and training programs.
The Michigan Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides all persons (except persons incarcerated in correctional facilities) with access to public records of public bodies. Requests to inspect or receive public records from EGLE must be in writing and describe the requested records with enough detail to enable the department to identify and locate the requested records. Some records are exempt from disclosure under the FOIA or another statute and thus will not be provided. A fee may be charged to process your request. Please note that many records are available that do not require a formal FOIA request.
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Michigan's Submerged Lands Program began in 1955 with the passage of the Great Lakes Submerged Lands Act, 1955 PA 247, as amended, which is now incorporated as Part 325, Great Lakes Submerged Lands, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA), 1994 PA 451, as amended.
The bottomlands of the Great Lakes are held in trust by the State of Michigan for use and enjoyment by its citizens. The State, as the owner and trustee, has a perpetual responsibility to the public to manage these bottomlands and waters for the prevention of pollution, for the protection of the natural resources and to maintain the public's rights of hunting, fishing, navigation, commerce, etc. The State of Michigan's authority to protect the public's interest in the bottomlands and waters of the Great Lakes is based on both ownership and state regulation. The Public Trust Doctrine, as the basis for Part 325, provides state authority to not only manage but also to protect the public's fundamental rights to use these resources.
Michigan courts have determined that private uses of the bottomlands and waters, including the riparian rights of waterfront property owners, are subject to the public trust. In other words, if a proposed private use would adversely impact the public trust, the State of Michigan's regulatory authority requires that the proposal be modified or denied altogether in order to minimize those impacts.
Part 325 authorizes the state to convey public trust bottomlands of the Great Lakes when the public use of those lands will not be impaired or substantially affected. The bottomlands can be conveyed by deed, lease, or agreement. Examples of these conveyances are deeds for filled subdivision lots on Lake St. Clair, leases for commercial marinas and agreements for coal and stone product docks at various ports throughout the state.
The statute was amended in 1965 to require a permit from the State for altering the bottomlands, i.e., such as dredging, construction of a marina, or shore protection. EGLE must consider the impact on the public trust when reviewing permit applications to construct on or occupy Great Lakes bottomlands. This consideration includes boating and navigation, as well as the impact on fisheries and wildlife habitat which are directly related to other public trust uses such as hunting and fishing.
An applicant must submit the Bottomlands conveyance application through MiEnviro, our online permitting site. Instructions on how to start a new application for conveyance and how to fill out the conveyance application form online can be found below. Online payment of permit application fees is also submitted through MiEnviro. The status of applications as well as current Public Notice and Hearing Notices can be searched and viewed in MiEnviro.
