The receding water in Lake St. Clair and the Great Lakes is leaving property owners high and dry. Emerging, unsightly wetlands now stand in the way of easy access to their boats and the postcard pleasures of lakefront property.

Real estate agents in the Grosse Pointes and along the shore in Macomb County, admit it’s hard to sell expensive, waterfront property to boat owners, if they can’t dock their boats nearby.

Resort owners have one woeful tale after another. The vegetation that fills in the emerging land is ugly and separates their guests from the view and access to the water that they pay for in the cost of their accommodations. Property owners, however, can’t level the weeds and make pathways to the water without going through a time consuming permit process.

“It’s a difficult situation,” says lawyer Pat Paruch, who chairs the Special Committee on Environmental and Energy Law of the Real Property Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan, and writes extensively on these topics. “Owners of waterfront property are often shocked when they receive cease and desist orders from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. But they have to remember that the property that emerges is not their property. And to complicate matters, the land is regulated by the state, federal and local governments.”

Technically, the land under the Great Lakes belongs to the state. However, according to the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, the Secretary of the Army has authority over all navigable waters in the United States including the Great Lakes and almost all Michigan rivers and streams that discharge into the Great Lakes. To define their authority, in 1977, the corps established an ordinary high water mark. If the water goes below that mark, the emerging land is under their authority.

In the last year, the state passed legislation meant to cut through the red tape and help waterfront property owners better deal with the situation. Groups like Save Our Shoreline based in Bay City claim its just another layer of bureaucracy.

Environmental lawyer Paruch is sympathetic. “These emerging lands are highly regulated and it is important that landowners and the people who counsel them understand that this is a complex matter,” she advises.

For further information regarding these matters, please contact Ms. Paruch at 248.740.5672 or click here to send an email.