MICHIGAN Date of Program Approval: 1978 Federal Program Support 1982-1989: $12.8 Million Coastal GNP (1985): $39.5 Billion (23.4% of state total) COASTAL RESOURCE INFORMATION Special/National Significance of Michigan's Coast Michigan's coastal zone, bordering Lakes Michigan, Huron, Superior, Erie, and Lake St. Clair gives the state the longest freshwater coastline in the world. A unique mix of shore geography is found on each of the Great Lakes' shoreline. These include clay bluffs, white sandy beaches, sandstone cliffs, rock bluffs, rock beaches, low plains, and freshwater wetlands. Some of the largest sand dunes in the world are found in Michigan's coastal zone. Although the majority of Michigan's shoreline is privately owned, approximately 30 percent of Michigan's shoreline is held in public ownership, and the bottomlands of the Great Lakes are held in public trust. The coastal region provides an important habitat and nursery area for many commercial and sport fisheries, migratory birds and furbearing animals. Coastal waters supply municipal drinking water, recreational boating opportunities, and the transport of over 200,000,000 tons of industrial and agricultural materials through the Great Lakes commercial shipping industry. Principal Coastal Threats and Emerging Challenges Effects of lake level fluctuation on coastal real estate, especially in erosion hazard and flood risk areas. • Implementing shoreline and sand dune protection programs that manage and minimize the effects of intense recreational use, development and sand extraction activities. Regulation of shore erosion control techniques to minimize the adverse effects on natural systems and avoid damage to adjacent property owners. Minimize the impacts of increased development in coastal areas and over-crowding in coastal lakes, harbors and drowned river mouths. Preservation and enhancement of the state's remaining coastal wetlands. COASTAL PROGRAM INFORMATION Program Description The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the lead agency for the Michigan Coastal Management Program (MCMP). The major legislation under which the MCMP is administered are the Shorelands Protection and Management Act, the Great Lakes Submerged Lands Act, the Sand Dunes Protection and Management Act, the Goemaere-Anderson Wetlands Protection Act, the Inland Lakes and Streams Act, and the Michigan Environmental Protection Act. The Natural Resources Commission (NRC), a seven member body appointed by the Governor, establishes policy guidelines for the DNR. Defined Coastal Zone Michigan's coastal boundary includes all waters and submerged lands of the Great Lakes to the international boundary in the middle of the lakes. The state's landward boundary is defined as the jurisdictional border that Michigan shares with Ontario, Canada and the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. The coastal zone includes all islands, drowned river mouths, and coastal lakes. The inland boundary extends a minimum of 1,000 feet from the ordinary high water mark or further inland to include designated wetland, flood risk, sand dune, high risk erosion areas, and coastal state parks. Federal Program Support 1982-1989: $12.8 million. Major Program Accomplishments Waterfront planning under the MCMP has catalyzed extensive waterfront revitalization efforts in many of the state's 300 coastal cities, including Detroit, Houghton, and the Saginaw Bay area. The Saginaw Bay Area Initiative is an integrated management plan for the Bay that targets DNR development priorities and resources in a joint effort with local interests. The goal of this project is to pool resources from the DNR, local government, and private investors to develop new economic growth opportunities for this area while protecting sensitive areas and avoiding hazard ous areas. Protection of historical and archaeological underwater resources through legislation designating seven Great Lakes Bottomland Preserves. The Preserves, which comprise nearly 5 percent of Michigan's Great Lakes' bottomlands, provide protection to many of the 3,000 shipwrecks that have gone down in Michigan waters. • Passage of amendments to the Sand Dunes Protection and Management Act that strengthen the ability of the statute to protect designated sand dunes by establishing standards for development and use. The statute provides an opportunity for local communities to assume regulatory authority of the act. Michigan was the first and only demonstration state that used federal CZM funds for low cost construction projects. Due to the success of this pilot program, all participating coastal states may now apply for Section 306A low cost construction project funds to enhance public access to their states' shoreline. Local officials state that the impacts of these low cost projects usually have a greater than expected economic benefit, particularly in attracting private investment. SPECIFIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS Protecting Natural Resources Michigan is the only state to have received authority from the EPA to administer the federal Water Pollution Control Act's Section 404 Program. Michigan's assumption of 404 program authority relied on the existence of state legislation that established regulation over the discharge of dredge and fill materials into state waters. Michigan recently adopted administrative rules under the Wetlands Protection Act to strengthen the enforcement of permitted activities. • Several guidebooks describing the value of wetlands and explaining the wetland permitting process were made available to the public by the MCMP. These are: 1) the Wetland Protection Guidebook; 2) Michigan Wetlands: A Guide for Property Owners and homebuilders, and 3) Manual for Wetland Evaluation Techniques. • The Michigan DNR reviews and issues project permits under a consolidated permit process that currently encompasses a total of nine state statutes and four federal programs. The Great Lakes Information System (GLIS), funded in part by the MCMP, is a computerized geographical information system designed to consolidate Great Lakes resource data. This information system emphasizes environmentally sensitive areas and critical habitats. The GLIS compliments the Michigan Resource Inventory Program, a land-based statewide geographical information system. Providing Public Access to Coastal Recreation Since 1978 Michigan has passed through more than half of its grant for 306A low-cost construction projects. Improvements for public access to the state's shoreline is provided by funding the construction or reconstruction of access structures and the enhancement, preservation or restoration of public access at existing sites. Other projects have involved directing public access to control indiscriminate use thereby preventing shoreline erosion problems. • Forty-two of Michigan's 94 State Parks are located along the Great Lakes or on coastal lakes within Michigan's coastal zone. These parks provide public access to over 115 miles of prime shorelands. Promoting Urban Waterfront Development The revitalization of Detroit's deteriorated waterfront was initiated by a CZM funded “Linked Riverfront Parks Master Plan". This linked park system has stimulated millions of dollars in private investment and has created an estimated 1,200 new jobs. The project is designed to create several parks along the Detroit River that are linked by a bike path system. • The revitalization of Houghton's waterfront in Michigan's Upper Peninsula has resulted in substantial private and public investment for the cities of Houghton and Hancock (Houghton's sister city). Redevelopment of the waterfront resulted from a waterfront development plan funded by the MCMP. With the assistance of CZM funding the City of Houghton has purchased, renovated and opened to the public all but 200 feet of the 1.25 miles of shoreline in the downtown area. Preserving Ports and Marinas CZM has funded a number of port development studies to examine the feasibility of creating, repairing and expanding existing port facilities in the cities of Escanaba, Monroe, St. Joseph, Ludington, and Sault Ste. Marie. In an attempt to identify the problems associated with overuse, the DNR has initiated a boat use survey on one of the more heavily used lakes in the state. The survey is an attempt to determine if maximum watercraft capacity has been reached and if the lake has become hazardous and unsafe for use. When completed, this report will be used to make future permit decision on expansion of marinas, boat launches and other facilities. Improving Government Operations The MCMP plays a key role in administering Michigan's coastal statutes. CZM funded field staff conduct site visits to evaluate the impacts of proposed projects, monitor development and to enforce the Department's regulatory statutes and permit conditions. Michigan has a Memorandum of Agreement with the Corps that provides for the issuance of joint public notices and allows the use of one permit application which is shared by both agencies for statutes regulating the land and water interface, including Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act and 404 of the Clean Water Act, Michigan's Wetlands Protection Act, the Inland Lakes and Streams Act, and the Submerged Lands Act. • The MDNR has developed a Coastal and Inland Waters Permit Information System (CIWPIS) for permit processing. CIWPIS is a computerized data base management tool that allows all permit applications to be efficiently processed and tracked, and all information relative to permit applications to be available to all Division staff. The CIWPIS system can identify a wide variety of parameters and is very useful in identifying areas of special interest or concern. Mitigating Coastal Storm Damage and Coastal Hazards The Michigan Shorelands Protection and Management Act requires a permit for: 1) any dredging, filling, alteration of drainage or vegetation or construction of a structure within a designated environmental (wetland) area; 2) construction of any permanent structure requiring a setback from the bluff within a designated High Risk Erosion Area, and 3) any construction of a permanent structure within a designated flood risk area. As a result of record high water levels experienced in the Great Lakes during the mid 1980s, a record number of permits to construct shore protection structures were applied for. As a result of this increase in permit applications, the MCMP was involved in a program to subsidize loans to move homes away from the state's eroding shoreline. MISSISSIPPI Date of Program Approval: 1980 Federal Program Support 1982-1989: $4.6 Million COASTAL RESOURCE INFORMATION Special/National Significance of Mississippi's Coast The Mississippi coastal zone contains barrier islands, sandy beaches, salt marshes, and extensive freshwater bottomlands, in addition to several nationally strategic defense installations. Major shipbuilding facilities and ports, some of which access the Mississippi Sound, are also located along the coast. Principal Coastal Threats and Emerging Challenges • Minimizing the need for new industrial waterfront sites by completely utilizing waterfront areas currently set aside for industrial use. Continued efforts to ensure that dredging and the disposal of dredged material minimizes adverse effects on water quality, physical processes, marine habitat and productivity, and public health. The Mississippi Commission Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MWFP) is the responsible agency for implementing the Mississippi Coastal Program (MCP). The MWFP executes the MCP through the Bureau of Marine Resources (BMR), which receives and administers the program's federal funding. The BMR and the Bureau of Pollution Control and Land and Water Resources (BPC), both in the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Archives and History (DAH), administers the regulatory permits that are required for activities affecting the coastal zone. The BMR coordinates the activities of the various state agencies through their consistency review. Defined Coastal Zone The Mississippi coastal zone consists of Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson Counties, the barrier islands and all the waters to the extent of the 3-mile limit. Federal Program Support 1982-1989: $4.6 million. Major Program Accomplishments A SAMP for the Port of Pascagoula was developed and implemented to address the conflicting resource development and protection issues of the Port and its surrounding area. The Plan identified both areas that were appropriate for water-use development and areas that needed to be protected and left in their natural state (i.e., wetlands). The Biloxi Waterfront Master Plan initiated the redevelopment of 45 acres of deteriorated waterfront (abandoned fish pier facilities and several vacant land-locked parcels). The completed Waterfront also contains a marine education center. The CZM funded Harrison/Hancock County Beach Study provides recommendations for beach management and recreational improvements. These recommendations have been adopted by Harrison and Hancock Counties and five municipalities located along the beach. SPECIFIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS Protecting Natural Resources The MCP is incorporating the 1989 Marine Litter Law into its program. This Law prohibits the discharge of litter in both ocean and nearshore coastal waters and includes standards and guidelines for litter disposal and fines for violators. This is the first state to adopt those recommendations from the MARPOL (an international treaty dealing with marine pollution) conference. The MCP provides funds for the Southern Mississippi Planning and Development District (SMPDD) to implement Harrison and Hancock County's Sand Beach Master Plans. The goals of the Plan include developing erosion control practices, general maintenance programs, user and vendor regulations for beach use and summaries of the plans for public distribution. The MCP is helping municipalities analyze how they can dispose of their dredged material while ensuring the integrity of the environment. A study commissioned by the BMR recommended over 1,000 acres of upland sites to handle the anticipated dredged disposal needs for the next 30 years. This is because upland disposal is preferable to disposal in environmentally sensitive wetland areas. A 100 foot bulkhead was constructed at Moss Point to help stabilize portions of bluff on the |