SB 59

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 Department of Natural Resources (DNR) grants that

person a permit. A bulkhead line is a line established by a municipality in the public

interest that conforms as nearly as practicable to an existing shore.

Under current law, a riparian owner is exempt from obtaining a permit in order

to place a pier or wharf on the bed of a navigable water if the riparian owner meets

certain requirements. A pier or wharf qualifies for a permitting exemption if it is

placed in an area other than an area of special natural resource interest, if it does

not interfere with the rights of other riparian owners, if it meets certain size

requirements, and if it has fewer than a specified number of boat slips (general pier

exemption). The general pier exemption prohibits a pier or wharf from being more

than six feet wide but allows the pier or wharf to have an area as a loading platform

that is up to eight feet wide provided that the platform meets certain configuration

requirements.

In addition to the general pier exemption, current law exempts from the permit

requirement certain piers and wharves that were placed in the water on or before

February 6, 2004 (grandfathered piers). Under that exemption, a grandfathered pier

may be up to eight feet wide. A grandfathered pier may also have a loading platform

that meets certain other size and configuration requirements. Current law provides

that in order to obtain an exemption for a grandfathered pier, the riparian owner

must register the grandfathered pier with DNR no later than April 1, 2011. There

is no requirement in current law to register a pier that meets the requirements for

the general pier exemption.

This bill extends the deadline for the registration of grandfathered piers.

Under the bill, the deadline for registration of a grandfathered pier is April 1, 2012.