(i) Until February 1, 2009, decreasing the flow of a river or stream by part of the index flow such that the river's or stream's ability to support characteristic fish populations is functionally impaired. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.

Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.

Agricultural purpose: means the agricultural production of plants and animals useful to human beings and includes, but is not limited to, forages and sod crops, grains and feed crops, field crops, dairy animals and dairy products, poultry and poultry products, cervidae, livestock, including breeding and grazing, equine, fish and other aquacultural products, bees and bee products, berries, herbs, fruits, vegetables, flowers, seeds, grasses, nursery stock, trees and tree products, mushrooms, and other similar products, or any other product, as determined by the commission of agriculture, that incorporates the use of food, feed, fiber, or fur. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Air: means ambient or indoor air at the point of exposure. See Michigan Laws 324.21302

Alcoholic liquor: means that term as defined in section 1d of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257. See Michigan Laws 324.81101

Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.

Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.

Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.

Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization

Aquifer: means any water bearing bed or stratum of earth or rock capable of yielding groundwater to a water well in sufficient quantities that can be withdrawn. See Michigan Laws 324.32801

Aquifer performance test: means a controlled field test in which all of the following are done:

  (i) At least 1 monitoring well is installed. See Michigan Laws 324.32706c

Assessment tool: means the water withdrawal assessment tool provided for in section 32706a. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Assessment tool: means the water withdrawal assessment tool provided for in part 327. See Michigan Laws 324.32801

Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.

Base flow: means groundwater discharge to rivers and streams. See Michigan Laws 324.32801

Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.

Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}

Board: means the Michigan Great Lakes protection fund technical advisory board created in section 32908. See Michigan Laws 324.32901

Code: means the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257. See Michigan Laws 324.81101

Cold river system: means a stream or small river that has the appropriate summer water temperature that, based on statewide averages, sustains a fish community composed predominantly of cold-water fish species, and where small increases in water temperature will not cause a decline in these populations, as determined by a scientific methodology adopted by order of the commission. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Cold-transitional river system: means a stream or river that has the appropriate summer water temperature that, based on statewide averages, sustains a fish community composed predominantly of cold-water fish species, and where small increases in water temperature will cause a decline in the proportion of cold-water species, as determined by a scientific methodology adopted by order of the commission. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Commission: means the commission of natural resources. See Michigan Laws 324.301

Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.

Community supply: means that term as it is defined in section 2 of the safe drinking water act, 1976 PA 399, MCL 325. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Compact: means the Great Lakes-St. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.

Concurrent resolution: A legislative measure, designated "S. Con. Res." and numbered consecutively upon introduction, generally employed to address the sentiments of both chambers, to deal with issues or matters affecting both houses, such as a concurrent budget resolution, or to create a temporary joint committee. Concurrent resolutions are not submitted to the President/Governor and thus do not have the force of law.

Conflict areas: means an aquifer or a portion of an aquifer in which the department has determined that there is reasonable, scientifically based evidence of a pattern of groundwater withdrawal conflicts or a single extended groundwater withdrawal conflict. See Michigan Laws 324.32801

Consultant: means a person that meets the requirements set forth in section 21325. See Michigan Laws 324.21302

Consumptive use: means that portion of water withdrawn or withheld from the Great Lakes basin and assumed to be lost or otherwise not returned to the Great Lakes basin due to evaporation, incorporation into products or agricultural products, use as part of the packaging of products or agricultural products, or other processes. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

contaminated: means the presence of a regulated substance in soil, surface water, or groundwater or air that has been released from an underground storage tank system at a concentration exceeding the level set forth in the RCBA tier I screening levels established under section 20120a(1)(a) and (b). See Michigan Laws 324.21302

Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.

Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.

Cool river system: means a stream or river that has the appropriate summer water temperature that, based on statewide averages, sustains a fish community composed mostly of warm-water fish species, but also contains some cool-water species or cold-water species, or both, as determined by a scientific methodology adopted by order of the commission. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.

Corrective action: means the investigation, assessment, cleanup, removal, containment, isolation, treatment, or monitoring of regulated substances released into the environment from an underground storage tank system that is necessary under this part to prevent, minimize, or mitigate injury to the public health, safety, or welfare, the environment, or natural resources. See Michigan Laws 324.21302

Council: means the Great Lakes-St. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Council: means the water use advisory council created under section 32803. See Michigan Laws 324.32801

County road: means a county primary road or county local road as described in section 5 of 1951 PA 51, MCL 247. See Michigan Laws 324.81101

Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.

Decedent: A deceased person.

Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.

Department: means the department of environmental quality. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Department: means the department of environmental quality. See Michigan Laws 324.32801

Department: means the director of the department of natural resources or his or her designee to whom the director delegates a power or duty by written instrument. See Michigan Laws 324.301

Department of natural resources: means the principal state department created in section 501. See Michigan Laws 324.301

Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.

Director: means the director of the department. See Michigan Laws 324.32801

Director: means the director of the department of natural resources. See Michigan Laws 324.301

Diversion: means a transfer of water from the Great Lakes basin into another watershed, or from the watershed of 1 of the Great Lakes into that of another by any means of transfer, including, but not limited to, a pipeline, canal, tunnel, aqueduct, channel, modification of the direction of a water course, tanker ship, tanker truck, or rail tanker but does not apply to water that is used in the Great Lakes basin or a Great Lake watershed to manufacture or produce a product that is then transferred out of the Great Lakes basin or watershed. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Environmentally sound and economically feasible water conservation measures: means those measures, methods, technologies, or practices for efficient water use and for reduction of water loss and waste or for reducing a withdrawal, consumptive use, or diversion that meet all of the following:

  (i) Are environmentally sound. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.

Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent

Executrix: The female counterpart of an executor. See also

Farm: means that term as it is defined in section 2 of the Michigan right to farm act, 1981 PA 93, MCL 286. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.

Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.

Flow-based safety factor: means a protective measure of the assessment tool that reduces the portion of index flow available for a withdrawal to 1/2 of the index flow for the purpose of minimizing the risk of adverse resource impacts caused by statistical uncertainty. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Forest trail: means a designated path or way that is not a route. See Michigan Laws 324.81101

Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.

Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. ^{Source: OCC}

Fund: means the Michigan Great Lakes protection fund created in section 32905. See Michigan Laws 324.32901

Governing board: means a board of regents, board of trustees, board of governors, board of control, or other governing body of an institution of higher education. See Michigan Laws 15.181

Great Lakes: means Lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron, Erie, and Ontario and their connecting waterways including the St. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Great Lakes basin: means the watershed of the Great Lakes and the St. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Great Lakes region: means the geographic region composed of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, Canada. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Groundwater: means water below the land surface in a zone of saturation. See Michigan Laws 324.32801

Groundwater: means water below the land surface in the zone of saturation and capillary fringe. See Michigan Laws 324.21302

Groundwater withdrawal conflict: means the failure of an existing water well that was constructed in compliance with part 127 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333. See Michigan Laws 324.32801

Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}

Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.

Highly restricted personal information: means an individual's photograph or image, Social Security number, digitized signature, and medical and disability information. See Michigan Laws 324.81101

Highway: means a state trunk line highway or a segment of a state trunk line highway. See Michigan Laws 324.81101

in writing: shall be construed to include printing, engraving, and lithographing; except that if the written signature of a person is required by law, the signature shall be the proper handwriting of the person or, if the person is unable to write, the person's proper mark, which may be, unless otherwise expressly prohibited by law, a clear and classifiable fingerprint of the person made with ink or another substance. See Michigan Laws 8.3q

Incompatible offices: means public offices held by a public official which, when the official is performing the duties of any of the public offices held by the official, results in any of the following with respect to those offices held:

  (i) The subordination of 1 public office to another. See Michigan Laws 15.181

Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. ^{Source: FDIC}

Index flow: means the 50% exceedance flow for the lowest summer flow month of the flow regime, for the applicable stream reach, as determined over the period of record or extrapolated from analyses of the United States geological survey flow gauges in Michigan. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.

Institution of higher education: means a college, university, community college, or junior college described in section 4, 5, or 6 of article 8 of the state constitution of 1963 or established under section 7 of article 8 of the state constitution of 1963. See Michigan Laws 15.181

Intangible property: Property that has no intrinsic value, but is merely the evidence of value such as stock certificates, bonds, and promissory notes.

Intrabasin transfer: means a diversion of water from the source watershed of a Great Lake prior to its use to the watershed of another Great Lake. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.

Large quantity withdrawal: means 1 or more cumulative total withdrawals of over 100,000 gallons of water per day average in any consecutive 30-day period that supply a common distribution system. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Large river: means a river with a drainage area of 300 or more square miles. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}

Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).

Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.

Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.

Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.

local unit: means a municipality or county. See Michigan Laws 324.301

Local unit of government: means a city, village, township, county, fire department, or local health department as defined in section 1105 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333. See Michigan Laws 324.21302

Local unit of government: means a county, township, or municipality. See Michigan Laws 324.81101

Mineral: means that term as defined in section 2 of the nonferrous metallic minerals extraction severance tax act. See Michigan Laws 206.31b

NAPL: means a nonaqueous-phase liquid or a nonaqueous-phase liquid solution composed of 1 or more organic compounds that are immiscible or sparingly soluble in water. See Michigan Laws 324.21303

New or increased large quantity withdrawal: means a new water withdrawal of over 100,000 gallons of water per day average in any consecutive 30-day period or an increase of over 100,000 gallons of water per day average in any consecutive 30-day period beyond the baseline capacity of a withdrawal. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

New or increased withdrawal capacity: means new or additional water withdrawal capacity to supply a common distribution system that is an increase from the person's baseline capacity. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.

Off-road vehicle account: means the off-road vehicle account of the Michigan conservation and recreation legacy fund established in section 2015. See Michigan Laws 324.81101

Online registration process: means the online registration process provided for in section 32706. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Operate: means to ride in or on, and be in actual physical control of, the operation of an ORV. See Michigan Laws 324.81101

Operator: means a person who is presently, or was at the time of a release, in control of, or responsible for, the operation of an underground storage tank system. See Michigan Laws 324.21303

Operator: means an individual who operates or is in actual physical control of the operation of an ORV. See Michigan Laws 324.81101

Owner: means a person who holds, or at the time of a release who held, a legal, equitable, or possessory interest of any kind in an underground storage tank system or in the property on which an underground storage tank system is or was located including, but not limited to, a trust, vendor, vendee, lessor, or lessee. See Michigan Laws 324.21303

Owner: means any of the following:

  (i) A vendee or lessee of an ORV that is the subject of an agreement for the conditional sale or lease of the ORV, with the right of purchase upon performance of the conditions stated in the agreement, and with an immediate right of possession vested in the conditional vendee or lessee. See Michigan Laws 324.81101

Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.

person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, as well as to individuals. See Michigan Laws 8.3l

Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental entity, or other legal entity. See Michigan Laws 324.301

Personal information: means information that identifies an individual, including an individual's driver identification number, name, address not including zip code, and telephone number, but does not include information on ORV operation or equipment-related violations or civil infractions, operator or vehicle registration status, accidents, or other behaviorally related information. See Michigan Laws 324.81101

Personal property: All property that is not real property.

Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.

Preventative measure: means an action affecting a stream or river that prevents an adverse resource impact by diminishing the effect of a withdrawal on stream or river flow or the temperature regime of the stream or river. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Prior conviction: means a conviction for any of the following, whether under a law of this state, a local ordinance substantially corresponding to a law of this state, a law of the United States substantially corresponding to a law of this state, or a law of another state substantially corresponding to a law of this state:

  (i) A violation or an attempted violation of section 81134(1), (3), (4), (5), (6), or (7), except that only 1 violation or attempted violation of section 81134(6), a local ordinance substantially corresponding to section 81134(6), a law of another state substantially corresponding to section 81134(6), or a law of the United States substantially corresponding to section 81134(6) may be used as a prior conviction other than for enhancement purposes as provided in section 81134(11)(b). See Michigan Laws 324.81101

Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.

Professional hydrologist or hydrogeologist: means an individual holding a license or registration from any state as a professional hydrologist, hydrogeologist, or geologist, or a current certification as a professional geologist by the American Institute of Professional Geology. See Michigan Laws 324.32706c

Property: means real estate that is contaminated by a release from an underground storage tank system. See Michigan Laws 324.21303

Public agency: means the department or a local or federal unit of government. See Michigan Laws 324.81101

Public employee: means an employee of this state, an employee of a city, village, township, or county of this state, or an employee of a department, board, agency, institution, commission, authority, division, council, college, university, school district, intermediate school district, special district, or other public entity of this state or of a city, village, township, or county in this state, but does not include a person whose employment results from election or appointment. See Michigan Laws 15.181

Public highway: means a road or highway under the jurisdiction of the state transportation department, a county road commission, or a local unit of government. See Michigan Laws 324.21303

Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.

Public officer: means a person who is elected or appointed to any of the following:

  (i) An office established by the state constitution of 1963. See Michigan Laws 15.181

Qualified taxpayer: means a taxpayer subject to the minerals severance tax levied under the nonferrous metallic minerals extraction severance tax act. See Michigan Laws 206.31b

RBCA: means the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) document entitled standard guide for risk-based corrective action applied at petroleum release sites, designation E 1739-95 (reapproved 2010) E1; standard guide for risk-based corrective action designation E 2081-00 (reapproved 2010) E1; and standard guide for development of conceptual site models and remediation strategies for light nonaqueous-phase liquids released to the subsurface designation E 2531-06 E1, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. See Michigan Laws 324.21303

RBSL: means the unrestricted residential and nonresidential generic cleanup criteria developed by the department pursuant to part 201. See Michigan Laws 324.21303

Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.

Registrant: means a person who has registered a water withdrawal under section 32705. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Regulated substance: means any of the following:

  (i) A substance defined in section 101(14) of title I of the comprehensive environmental response, compensation, and liability act of 1980, Public Law 96-510, 42 USC 9601, but not including a substance regulated as a hazardous waste under subtitle C of the solid waste disposal act, title II of Public Law 89-272, 42 USC 6921 to 6939e. See Michigan Laws 324.21303

Release: means any spilling, leaking, emitting, discharging, escaping, or leaching from an underground storage tank system into groundwater, surface water, or subsurface soils. See Michigan Laws 324.21303

Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.

River: means a flowing body of water with a drainage area of 80 or more square miles. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Roadway: means the portion of a street, county road, or highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for travel by vehicles registered under the code. See Michigan Laws 324.81101

Route: means a forest road or other road that is designated for purposes of this part by the department. See Michigan Laws 324.81101

Rule: means a rule promulgated pursuant to the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24. See Michigan Laws 324.301

Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.

Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.

Shall: is a lways mandatory and "may" is always discretionary. See Michigan Laws 206.2

shall not apply: means that the pertinent provision is not operative as to certain persons or things or in conjunction with a particular date or dates. See Michigan Laws 8.4c

Site: means a location where a release has occurred or a threat of release exists from an underground storage tank system, excluding any location where corrective action was completed which satisfies the applicable RBSL or SSTL. See Michigan Laws 324.21303

Site-specific review: means the department's independent review under section 32706c to determine whether the withdrawal is a zone A, zone B, zone C, or zone D withdrawal and whether a withdrawal is likely to cause an adverse resource impact. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Small river: means a river with a drainage area of less than 300 square miles. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Source watershed: means the watershed from which a withdrawal originates. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Specialty court program: means a program under any of the following:

  (i) A drug treatment court, as defined in section 1060 of the revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600. See Michigan Laws 324.81101

SSTL: means an RBCA risk-based remedial action target level for contamination developed for a site under RBCA tier II and tier III evaluations. See Michigan Laws 324.21303

state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories belonging to the United States; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o

Static water level: means the distance between the ground surface and the water level within a well that is not being pumped. See Michigan Laws 324.32801

Statute: A law passed by a legislature.

Stream: means a flowing body of water with a drainage area of less than 80 square miles. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Stream reach: means a segment of a stream or river. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Streamflow depletion calculation: means an evaluation of the potential streamflow depletion in which all of the following are done:

  (i) The streambed conductance of the potentially impacted streams shall be measured in-situ using slug testing, seepage meter testing, or both. See Michigan Laws 324.32706c

Street: means a city or village major street or city or village local street as described in section 9 of 1951 PA 51, MCL 247. See Michigan Laws 324.81101

Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.

threatened release: means any circumstance that may reasonably be anticipated to cause a release. See Michigan Laws 324.21303

Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.

Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.

Underground storage tank system: means a tank or combination of tanks, including underground pipes connected to the tank or tanks, which is, was, or may have been used to contain an accumulation of regulated substances, and the volume of which, including the volume of the underground pipes connected to the tank or tanks, is 10% or more beneath the surface of the ground. See Michigan Laws 324.21303

United States: shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o

vehicle: means a motor-driven off-road recreation vehicle capable of cross-country travel without benefit of a road or trail, on or immediately over land, snow, ice, marsh, swampland, or other natural terrain. See Michigan Laws 324.81101

Warm river system: means a stream or river that has the appropriate summer water temperature that, based on statewide averages, sustains a fish community composed predominantly of warm-water fish species, as determined by a scientific methodology adopted by order of the commission. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Waters of the state: means groundwater, lakes, rivers, and streams and all other watercourses and waters, including the Great Lakes, within the territorial boundaries of the state. See Michigan Laws 324.32701

Withdrawal: means the removal of water from surface water or groundwater. See Michigan Laws 324.32701