BY KEITH MATHENY
Record-Eagle staff writer

TRAVERSE CITY -Shoreline owners on Grand Traverse Bay now can remove plants from exposed bottomlands above what is allowable without a permit -if they meet certain state and federal conditions.

Steven Chester, director of the state Department of Environmental Quality, named Grand Traverse and Saginaw bays as two pilot areas for a special review that was allowed in an amendment to a new state law passed last month.

Though a state permit is not needed, lakefront own-ers in the two areas must still ask written permission from the DEQ before remov-ing shoreline vegetation. And a federal permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers remains a requirement.

DEQ spokeswoman Patricia Spitzley said the special review amendment allows the department to determine what effect removing vegetation has on the beach and the shore-line 'in the two controlled areas. The amendment also allows shoreline owners in those areas to do beach maintenance activities above and beyond what's in the statute.

The DEQ plans to answer requests within 10 days, Spitzley said.

Under the law signed ear-lier this month, all shore-line owners can now level and groom beach sand, or mow or remove by hand a small amount of shoreline vegetation, without a per-mit.

Michael MacColeman, co-owner of the Cherry Tree Inn on Grand Traverse Bay, said he already has begun seeking state and federal permission to remove shoreline plants. MacColeman is a member of the grassroots group Save Our Shoreline that helped campaign for the new beach maintenance legislation.

MacColeman said tourists don't like what's become of bay beaches as water levels have continued to drop over the past few years and plant life has emerged from the exposed bottomlands.

One wildcard in the situation is the Army Corps of Engineers. It follows feder-al law in determining whether to allow shoreline plant removal. It's still uncertain how Corps offi-cials will react to the new Michigan laws. A call to the Corps' public affairs office was not returned Tuesday.

Spitzley said the DEQ would review the effects of the pilot program on the two bays over three years, then report back to Gov. Jennifer Granholm, the Legislature and Chester. Erosion and damage to aquatic habitat will be keenly monitored, she said.

www.michigan.gov/deq

The Pilot Program

Who's affected?
Locally, the pilot area involves Grand Traverse Bay shoreline from Leelanau Sate Park in Leelanau County east to the Antrim-Charlevoix country line.

What can shoreline owners do under the pilot program?
Remove vegetation form the waterline the high-water mark, on up to 50 percent to the width of their property or a 100-foot area, whichever is greater.

What must shoreline owners do first?
Make a written request to the state Department of Environmental Quality, receive approval form the DEQ and receive a necessary federal permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. What criteria must shoreline owners meet to receive DEQ approval?