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Marinas

Marina - Menominee
Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy

Marinas

Marinas are any facility that includes infrastructure for dockage and mooring services to multiple people including the public or private persons.  Marinas can be commercial, private, and residential facilities and have dock structures or moorings that are permanent or seasonal.

Marina construction projects require permits under several EGLE administered statutes, including Inland Lakes and Streams, Wetlands Protection, and Great Lakes Submerged Lands. They may also involve Critical Dune, High Risk Erosion Area, or Floodplain regulations. Many of these regulations share some common overarching concepts, such as avoidance and minimization of impacts and the protection of the public trust.

These statutes require EGLE to consider factors such as whether a permit is in the public interest, whether there will be an unacceptable disruption to aquatic resources, riparian rights, and the public trust, or that no feasible and prudent alternatives exist. These statutes as well as others are part of a consolidated permit application, called the Joint Permit Application (JPA), where EGLE staff provide a simultaneous review under all applicable authorities.

Marina Design

To meet state and federal regulations, marina developments must avoid and minimize harmful impacts to inland lakes and streams, the Great Lakes, and other protected resources. Avoiding and minimizing impacts includes siting and designing the project appropriately based on these resources.

Image showing the cover of the marina guide book
Illustration of an inland lake showing good and bad locations for a marina. The illustration above shows some considerations when siting a new marina. (click or tap to enlarge)
Illustration of a marina showing avoidance and minimization topics through placement of non-water dependent structures in upland. The graphic above illustrates that, following the avoidance and minimization of impacts during the siting phase of the project, it is essential to continue these efforts throughout the planning and development of the selected site. (click or tap to enlarge)
Illustration of a marina showing some additional considerations with respect to marina design critiera. The above illustration shows some additional considerations with respect to marina design criteria. (click or tap to enlarge)
  • A Natural shoreline with shoreline protection methods

    Once a proposed marina site is identified and approaches for avoidance and minimization have been incorporated, Best Management Practices (BMPs) should be integrated into the design to minimize other harmful impacts to wetlands, lakes and streams, and the important functions they provide.  These BMP's include:

    • Dredging BMPs like conducting proper sediment testing, using low turbidity dredging techniques, using turbidity curtains, and disposing of spoils properly.
    • Dock and Pier BMPs like using floating docks and minimizing dock widths.
    • Storm and Wave Protection BMPs like avoiding wave attenuation and using no wake zones.
    • Shoreline Protection BMPs like incorporating natural shorelines and bioengineering, creating or expanding habitats in and around the marina, and avoiding excessive armoring.
    • Open Marina Design BMPs like allowing water circulation and flow-through currents.

The final marina design should balance marina capacity, services, and access, while minimizing environmental and public trust impacts, dredging requirements, protective structures, and other site development costs.  Although any given project may not be able to include all recommended avoidance and minimization practices or BMPs, projects that can incorporate most or all these are more likely to satisfy permit review criteria.  Reducing the size, configuration, or dimensions of individual project components, such as docks or shoreline protection, can lead to minimization of impacts, and is part of the regulatory review process for permit applications on marinas.

  • Image showing the cover of the marina guide book

    Marina development guidebook

    Because recreation and boating on Michigan’s waters is highly valued in Michigan, EGLE has created “Water Resources Friendly Marina Development:  Recommendations for Michigan,” with the objective of encouraging access and enjoyment of these waters while protecting Michigan’s environment and natural resources.  The above marina design elements, BMPs, and other methods for avoidance and minimization of impacts to aquatic ecosystems are explored in much greater detail in this guidebook.

    Water Resource Friendly Marina Development

Related Links

EGLE/USACE JPA

EGLE/USACE Joint Permit Application

MiEnviro

MiEnviro Portal - Permitting and compliance database

Part 301

Inland Lakes and Stream Protection

Part 303

Wetlands Protection

Part 325

Great Lakes Submerged Lands

Contact us

For information on specific projects contact:

District Permit Staff