Ottawa County Water Resources Commissioner

Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control (SESC) Permit (commercial site)

Ottawa County Ordinance No. 16-01, adopted by the Board of Commissioners on May 10, 2016 and effective June 1, 2016, names the Ottawa County Water Resources Commissioner as the County Enforcing Agency for earth changes in the county. The Commissioner's SESC page states that 'A permit is needed for all earth changes within 500′ of a lake, stream or drain or that disturb one or more acres of land, as required by Part 91.' For commercial, industrial, service facility, parking lot and similar developments, including additions or demolitions, Exhibit A of the ordinance sets the permit fee at $200 for up to 1 acre plus $30 for each additional acre, with a permit maximum of 2 years, and requires an assurance of compliance bond of $1,000 per acre disturbed before approval of a permit on a site of 10 acres or greater. Under the ordinance, earth changes permitted by a Municipal Enforcing Agency (which may be a city, village or township) are exempt from the county ordinance, so a site in such a local unit applies to that local unit instead. The ordinance allows the fees to be changed by resolution of the Board of Commissioners.