Moving Dirt or Working Near Water in Michigan: Permits, Reviews, and Who to Call
You are planning grading, excavation, or work near water on a Michigan business site. The example below follows one broad five-acre project near a stream and wetland and shows who decides each task, what to ask, what to have ready, and the official sources behind it. Acreage, distance, water, drainage, soil, and ownership facts can change the list.
Put contaminated-soil and groundwater controls ahead of excavation
Official check
Tanks, industrial use, spills, unknown fill, or an unreviewed history can matter once soil or groundwater is disturbed.
Ask
“What property review, sampling, due-care evaluation, soil and water plan, worker notice, utility coordination, and disposal approval is needed before intrusive work?”
Have ready
Phase I and sampling reports, BEA and due-care records, RIDE and EGLE files, restrictions, tank and spill records, excavation and dewatering plans, quantities, destinations, and contractor safety plan.
Who decides
A qualified environmental professional and Michigan EGLE, with transaction or environmental counsel when liability questions matter
This route cannot determine whether contamination exists, classify soil or water, design due care, approve disposal, or replace the separate commercial-property review.
Confirm wet ground in the field before the design hardens
Official check
A wetland map shows a possible area, not the field boundary or permit answer.
Ask
“Do we need a qualified delineation, an EGLE pre-application meeting, or the Wetland Identification Program to confirm the project area and state status before layout and pricing?”
Have ready
Current site plan and footprint, property access permission, wetland-map screen, aerials and soils, field photos, any delineation or WIP report and date, survey, and prior EGLE numbers.
Who decides
A qualified wetland professional and Michigan EGLE Water Resources Division
This tool and the map cannot say there is no wetland, draw a boundary, determine state or federal jurisdiction, or replace a construction permit.
Identify the qualifying construction permittee before filing
Official check
A buyer, developer, tenant, contractor, designer, or authorized representative may help prepare the file, but that role alone does not make the person the construction permittee. The qualifying path may be ownership, a recorded easement, specific public right-of-way authority, or APA status.
Ask
“Who qualifies as the construction permittee through ownership, a recorded easement, the public-right-of-way rule, or confirmed APA status—and who is only an authorized representative?”
Have ready
Deed or recorded easement, owner authorization, entity names, purchase or lease status, right-of-way authority when relevant, APA confirmation, project contracts, and application signers.
Who decides
The local Part 91 agency and Michigan EGLE Construction Stormwater Program, with the owner, easement holder, qualifying right-of-way authority, or APA
This route cannot decide property rights, appoint a permittee, verify an easement, or determine whether a public agency has APA status.
Put the local site, grading, and drainage offices on one call
Official check
The project sits in the city, village, or township for the site. Local site-plan, zoning, grading, drainage, building, road, and stormwater rules can overlap, and the mailing city may not be the enforcing municipality.
Ask
“Which local approvals cover this exact footprint, use, grading, drainage, access, utilities, and permanent stormwater plan—and which office should answer first?”
Have ready
Address, parcel number, legal municipality, project sketch, disturbed area, drainage path, new hard surface, access points, utilities, work dates, and the owner or applicant name.
Who decides
The city, village, or township, plus county drain or road offices when their systems are involved
This check cannot identify the legal municipality, read a local ordinance, approve a site plan, or decide which local office has authority.
Draw one honest footprint before asking for answers
Practical step
One acre is easy to miscount. Clearing, grading, digging, stockpiles, access, utilities, off-site spoils, separate lots, and later phases under one plan can matter.
Ask
“Will you mark every area disturbed over the life of this project and show which lots, phases, roads, utilities, and spoil areas belong to the same plan?”
Have ready
A scaled site plan, parcel and phase boundaries, current contours, disturbance limits, access and staging, utility work, drainage, stockpiles, off-site spoil locations, and an acreage calculation from the designer.
Who decides
The project owner and design professional, confirmed by the local Part 91 and stormwater offices
This checklist cannot calculate acreage, decide what belongs to a common plan, or turn a rough sketch into an approved control plan.
02Before ordering equipment, building, or changing the site
Ask EGLE about land-and-water review before final design
Official check
Fill, dredging, drainage, crossings, culverts, outfalls, structures, shoreline work, or work near a wetland, lake, stream, floodplain, drain, Great Lakes shore, or dune can enter one or more land-and-water programs.
Ask
“Which resource boundaries and project details must be confirmed, and should this project use a pre-application meeting or a Joint Permit Application in MiEnviro?”
Have ready
Owner authorization, site plan and cross-sections, purpose and alternatives, construction method, disturbance and impact areas, fill and excavation amounts, water features, wetlands, ordinary high-water-mark information, erosion controls, and schedule.
Who decides
Michigan EGLE Water Resources Division, with U.S. Army Corps and local review when applicable
The JPA is an application for coordinated review, not permission to start and not a replacement for Part 91, construction stormwater, local, road, drain, sewer, or other approvals.
Give pumped water an approved destination before pumping
Official check
Water sent to a storm sewer, ditch, wetland, lake, or stream can be a direct surface-water discharge even when it looks clear.
Ask
“Who must approve this exact source, rate, daily amount, treatment, and destination before pumping—and could the withdrawal affect a wetland, stream, pond, or nearby well?”
Have ready
Pump capacity, expected gallons per minute and per day, duration, source and depth, sampling, treatment, contamination history, discharge point, receiving system or water, sewer letter, erosion controls, and backup plan.
Who decides
Michigan EGLE NPDES, Groundwater Discharge, Water Use, and Remediation staff as applicable; or the local sewer authority for sanitary discharge
This route cannot characterize the water, approve a discharge, calculate withdrawal requirements, or treat clear-looking water as clean. Hauling also needs an approved receiver and transporter.
Run the Water Withdrawal Assessment before the pumps operate
Official check
You reported new or increased pumping capacity around 70 gallons per minute or 100,000 gallons per day. Michigan's large-quantity screen looks at the combined capacity of all pumps on the property, not one pump at a time.
Ask
“What is the combined rated capacity of all new and increased pumps on this property, and must the project use the Water Withdrawal Assessment Tool, register, or obtain approval before pumping?”
Have ready
Every pump and rated capacity, combined gallons per minute, expected daily amount and duration, source aquifer or water body, well or intake locations, property boundaries, nearby wells and water resources, and prior withdrawal records.
Who decides
Michigan EGLE Water Use Program
This route cannot add pump capacities, run the assessment, apply temporary or seasonal exceptions, register a withdrawal, or approve pumping. A withdrawal answer does not approve the discharge destination.
Get the outlet and receiving-water answer before installing the pipe
Official check
A new or changed storm pipe, connection, or outlet can involve the municipal storm system, a county drain, a road ditch, and EGLE land-and-water or discharge review. An outlet is not automatically outside review because its end sits above today's waterline.
Ask
“Who owns the system, where does this outlet first reach a lake, stream, drain, wetland, or other water, and which connection, JPA, floodplain, easement, and discharge approvals apply?”
Have ready
Pipe and outlet plan and profile, coordinates, invert and elevations, ordinary high-water-mark information, receiving-water and system owner, drainage area and flow work from the engineer, energy dissipation, erosion controls, easements, and maintenance owner.
Who decides
The municipal or road storm-system owner, county drain office, and Michigan EGLE Water Resources Division as applicable
This route cannot classify the receiving feature, locate an ordinary high-water mark, approve a connection or discharge, or decide that an above-water outlet is exempt.
Set the source, testing, placement, and destination for soil and spoils
Official check
Imported fill, excavated soil, off-site spoil piles, and dredged material can change the disturbed acreage and can raise wetland, floodplain, contamination, transport, and receiving-site questions.
Ask
“Where will each material come from, what records or testing support its use, where will it be placed or accepted, and are those stockpile and spoil areas included in the permit plans?”
Have ready
Estimated volumes, source and destination addresses, analytical data and property history when relevant, soil or sediment description, haul and receiving records, stockpile plan, erosion controls, placement elevations, and owner approvals.
Who decides
The project owner and qualified environmental or design professional, confirmed with the SESC, EGLE, local, and receiving-site authorities that apply
This route cannot call material clean fill, classify soil or sediment, approve reuse or disposal, or decide whether an off-site pile needs separate coverage.
Call the Part 91 soil-erosion office before dirt moves
Official check
Michigan generally requires a local Part 91 permit when an earth change disturbs one acre or more, or when the disturbed area is within 500 feet of a lake or stream.
Ask
“Does this whole earth change need a Part 91 SESC permit or local approval, and what plan, controls, inspections, stabilization, renewal, and closeout steps apply?”
Have ready
The full disturbance boundary, all phases, access and laydown, on- and off-site spoil areas, lake or stream distance from the disturbed edge, drainage, soils, slopes, sequence, controls, owner or easement holder, and work dates.
Who decides
The county or municipal Part 91 enforcing agency for the site
This route does not measure acreage or distance, decide an exemption, issue a permit, or replace local requirements. Wetland proximity alone is not the statewide 500-foot lake-or-stream test.
Put an administratively complete NOC in MiEnviro before construction
Official check
You reported five acres or more under the whole plan and a point-source stormwater path. EGLE's current rule puts exactly five acres in the NOC path.
Ask
“Does runoff from this whole construction plan have a point-source path to state waters, and is the correct path automatic Permit-by-Rule coverage or an NOC in MiEnviro before work?”
Have ready
Total plan disturbance, phases and lots, drainage map, pipes, ditches, catch basins, outfalls and receiving waters, SESC permit or APA plan, approved SESC plan, site map, permittee, and certified operator.
Who decides
Michigan EGLE Construction Stormwater Program, after the local Part 91 agency
Acreage alone does not prove coverage is required. This route cannot identify the receiving water, approve an NOC, or declare that retention has no point-source discharge. EGLE may require an individual permit in some cases.
Name the certified operator and make the inspection log usable
Official check
Permit-by-Rule sites need an EGLE-certified construction stormwater operator. The controlling rule calls for inspection once each week and within 24 hours after every precipitation event that causes a discharge.
Ask
“Who is the certified operator, what is the certification number, where will logs live, and who will make and document each correction?”
Have ready
Operator name and number, approved SESC plan, inspection form, rainfall and discharge record, control locations, correction responsibility, site contacts, SESC expiration, and stabilization plan.
Who decides
The construction permittee and certified operator, with Michigan EGLE oversight
This card does not perform inspections, decide whether an event caused a discharge, or replace the permittee's duty to comply with the SESC permit and Rule 2190.
Settle whether the channel is a drain, ditch, stream, or storm system
Official check
A ditch can be a storm drain, a county drain, a stream, or something else. The name people use is not enough to settle who has authority.
Ask
“What is the legal and physical status of this channel, who owns or administers it, and which crossing, outlet, floodplain, easement, or land-and-water approvals apply?”
Have ready
Drain name, maps, easements, plats, photos, survey, drainage area information from the engineer, proposed culvert or outfall, owner, and road or municipal system contacts.
Who decides
The county drain commissioner or intercounty drain office, road or municipal system owner, and Michigan EGLE as applicable
This route cannot classify a channel or extend county-drain maintenance exemptions to a private project.
Confirm floodplain, floodway, and elevations before placing fill
Official check
A FEMA map is a first look, not an elevation survey. EGLE says floodplains can exist even where no federal map is available, and commercial floodway work may need hydraulic analysis.
Ask
“Is any work in a river, stream, or drain floodplain or floodway, what elevation controls, and does EGLE or the local floodplain official need an engineered analysis?”
Have ready
FEMA map and study, topographic and boundary survey, base-flood elevation, proposed grades and fill, building elevations, culvert or bridge data, cross-sections, drainage area work from the engineer, and local standards.
Who decides
The local floodplain and building official and Michigan EGLE district floodplain engineer
This route cannot determine a floodplain or floodway, calculate drainage area or flood elevation, promise feasibility, or replace a Michigan-licensed engineer.
Michigan requires an excavator to give at least three business days' notice before excavation or blasting. Public utility marks do not replace plans for private onsite lines.
Ask
“Who is the excavator, when will the work area be marked in white, when will the locate request be placed, and how will private lines and the caution zone be handled?”
Have ready
Exact excavation area and dates, site contact, white markings, utility plans, private-line records, ticket and responses, and safe-excavation plan.
Who decides
The excavator through MISS DIG 811, with the facility owners and project safety lead
A ticket is not permission to dig, does not locate every private facility, and does not replace safe excavation duties or other permits.
03After opening, finishing work, or putting the change into use
Leave the owner a usable land-and-water file
Practical step
Approved plans, permit conditions, inspections, changes, as-builts, maintenance, easements, and closeout records can outlast the contractor and affect later site work.
Ask
“Who will keep the final approvals, conditions, inspection logs, as-builts, maintenance schedule, easements, and agency contacts—and who must be called before a design change?”
Have ready
All permits and letters, approved and final plans, modifications, inspection logs, photos, material and disposal records, operator information, as-builts, maintenance agreements, easements, and closeout proof.
Who decides
The project owner and each issuing or maintaining office
This checklist does not monitor deadlines, approve field changes, transfer permits, or know every record-retention period in an issued permit.
Some questions have no safe generic answer without the exact address, records, people, or equipment. The interactive check keeps each one visible instead of turning it into a silent gap:
The exact site address or nearest road is not entered.
The city, village, or township is not confirmed. A mailing city may not be the enforcing municipality.
The county is not confirmed, so the Part 91 and drain-office route still needs checking.
The qualifying construction permittee still needs to be identified through ownership, a recorded easement, public-right-of-way authority, or APA status—separately from an authorized representative.
A mapped flood area or flood history needs official elevation and project review.
The wetland map is only a screen; the field boundary and regulatory status are not confirmed.
Wet-looking ground needs field review even if the map looks blank or the site is dry today.
The ditch, drain, stream, storm sewer, or outfall authority is not confirmed.
Pumped water has not been characterized for sediment or possible contamination.
Coverage receipt
What this guide covers
This route covers the first Michigan calls for dirt work and work near water on a commercial site. It is not a survey, wetland delineation, flood determination, engineered drainage plan, Joint Permit decision, discharge approval, or permission to move dirt.
Checked
the whole project footprint, phases, and larger-plan question, Part 91 soil-erosion routing, construction stormwater and point-source routing, wetland map and field-boundary routing, land-and-water pre-application and JPA routing, drain, ditch, stream, and storm-system identity, floodplain and floodway routing, surface, sewer, ground, haul, and withdrawal routing for pumped water, combined pump-capacity and Water Use routing, new or changed outlet and receiving-water routing, fill, soil, spoil, and dredged-material routing, a contaminated-ground and due-care handoff, MISS DIG 811 routing, construction-permittee and owner or easement-holder coordination, local site, drainage, and long-term record handoffs.
Still decided elsewhere
Exact acreage and distance, what belongs to one common plan, legal wetland or water boundaries, ordinary high-water marks, drain status, flood elevations, permit or exemption decisions, hydraulic and drainage design, discharge approval, material classification, permit conditions, and permission to start.
Not checked
A full commercial-property Phase I or BEA review, business operating permits, contractor licensing, engineered drainage or geotechnical design, cleanup design or cost, private title and easements, protected species or cultural resources, residential-only work, agriculture or forestry exemptions, mining or oil and gas, dams, marinas, large public infrastructure, or enforcement defense.