April 3, 2006

The Land and Water Management Division will place all future applications to construct or repair Great Lakes shore protection structures called groins on public notice.  Part 325, Great Lakes Submerged Lands, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1994 PA 451, as amended regulates the construction of shore protection structures.  Groins are constructed perpendicular to the shoreline from the base of the dune or bluff to some specified length offshore and can be a row of steel sheet piling, rip rap, cement-filled geotextile tubes, wood or other designs.  Groins capture sand that naturally moves parallel to the shoreline, preventing the sand from reaching other down drift beaches.  The effect is to "starve" down drift areas of the sediments that would normally maintain a natural beach width.  We have concluded that groins have more than minor adverse impacts to the environment and to the riparian interests of adjacent property owners.  A narrower beach can result in more serious back shore erosion on the adjacent properties.  Also, people walking along the shoreline are blocked by the groin structure.  Placing proposals to construct groins on public notice will allow adjacent property owners and the public an opportunity to comment on future projects.