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PROPOSED
SETTLEMENT FOR CHERRY TREE INN “BEACH GROOMING” VIOLATIONS
The DEQ's Land and Water Management Division issued
notice of a proposed Consent Agreement with Pride One Cherry Tree,
LLC/Cherry Tree Inn, Grand
Traverse County, to administratively
resolve alleged wetland violations. You may obtain copies of the
proposed consent agreement and exhibits on the Web at www.michigan.gov/deqlwmd.
The proposed
Consent Agreement requires Pride One Cherry Tree, LLC/Cherry Tree Inn
to:
1. Restore
and mitigate, by replanting wetland vegetation, 0.80 acre of wetland.
2. Monitor
the establishment of the revegetation for a period of five years.
3. Conduct
off-site invasive species control at Gens Park.
4. Pay an
administrative settlement penalty.
5. Limit
beach maintenance activities as authorized by law to a 155 foot wide area
of the property.
This notice
will expire on September 4, 2007.
GENERAL
PERMIT FOR LIMITED GREAT LAKES
SHORELINE MANAGEMENT
The Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) recently changed the permit
requirements for shoreline management activities which is essential
to limit adverse impacts to Great Lakes
coastal wetlands and for effective enforcement of violations. The DEQ
recently created a new General Permit category for certain shoreline
management activities through an expedited permit process. Activities
that may qualify under the General Permit include:
• Leveling
and grooming of sand in areas free of vegetation;
•
Construction and maintenance of a temporary access walkway using
on-site materials;
• Limited
mowing of vegetation for a pathway and certain recreation areas, and;
• Limited
mowing for control of invasive or non-native species (such as Phragmites
australis) in compliance with an invasive species control plan.
To protect
the health of our coastal wetlands and Great
Lakes, it is best to allow shoreline vegetation to remain
untouched. Beach maintenance and removal of vegetation significantly alters
the chemical and physical conditions of nearshore waters, kills
aquatic vegetation, increases the spread of invasive species,
decreases the number of invertebrates (the source of food for fish),
and reduces fish populations in the Great Lakes. Taken together,
these impacts equal disaster for our Great Lakes
coastal wetlands.
More
information on the new general permit can be found by clicking on
"Great Lakes Shoreline Management" at www.michigan.gov/deqwetlands.
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