GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES

Terms Used In Michigan Laws > Chapter 324 > Act 451 of 1994 > Article I > Part 5 - Department of Natural Resources

  • 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.
  • Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
  • Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
  • 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
  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • 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
  • 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.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Conventional gravity sewer extension: means the installation of a new gravity sewer and connection to an existing collection system to provide sewer service to new areas previously not served by the public sewer system. See Michigan Laws 324.4101
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • 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.
  • Crayfish: means any arthropod of the decapoda family. See Michigan Laws 324.48728
  • Crustacea: means any freshwater crayfish, shrimp, or prawn of the order decapoda. See Michigan Laws 324.48701
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • 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 of natural resources. See Michigan Laws 324.301
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Escheat: Reversion of real or personal property to the state when 1) a person dies without leaving a will and has no heirs, or 2) when the property (such as a bank account) has been inactive for a certain period of time. Source: OCC
  • 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.
  • Expedited review: means an expedited review of an application for a construction permit under section 4112. See Michigan Laws 324.4101
  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
  • firearm: except as otherwise specifically defined in statute, includes any weapon which will, is designed to, or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by action of an explosive. See Michigan Laws 8.3t
  • 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.
  • Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. Source: OCC
  • 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 infrastructure construction fund created in section 4113. See Michigan Laws 324.4101
  • Game fish: includes all of the following:
  (i) Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). See Michigan Laws 324.48701
  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • Impeachment: (1) The process of calling something into question, as in "impeaching the testimony of a witness." (2) The constitutional process whereby the House of Representatives may "impeach" (accuse of misconduct) high officers of the federal government for trial in the Senate.
  • 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
  • initiate a service credit purchase: means to complete payment or to enter into a tax-deferred payment arrangement in a form and manner prescribed by the retirement system. See Michigan Laws 38.1379b
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • 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.
  • Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
  • 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
  • Legacy: A gift of property made by will.
  • Licensed professional engineer: means a professional engineer licensed under article 20 of the occupational code, 1980 PA 299, MCL 339. See Michigan Laws 324.4101
  • 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
  • Michigan conservation and recreation legacy fund: means the Michigan conservation and recreation legacy fund established in section 40 of article IX of the state constitution of 1963 and provided for in section 2002. See Michigan Laws 324.301
  • Minnows: means chubs, shiners, suckers, when of a size ordinarily used for bait in hook and line fishing, dace, stonerollers, muddlers, and mudminnows. See Michigan Laws 324.48728
  • Mollusks: means any mollusk of the classes bivalvia and gastropoda. See Michigan Laws 324.48701
  • month: means a calendar month; the word "year" a calendar year; and the word "year" alone shall be equivalent to the words "year of our Lord". See Michigan Laws 8.3j
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Municipality: means a city, village, or township. See Michigan Laws 324.301
  • 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.
  • Operator: means the person who is in control or in charge of a vessel while that vessel is underway. See Michigan Laws 324.80103
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • Owner: means a person who claims or is entitled to lawful possession of a vessel by virtue of that person's legal title or equitable interest in a vessel. See Michigan Laws 324.80103
  • 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: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental entity, or other legal entity. See Michigan Laws 324.301
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Plans and specifications: means a true description or representation of the entire sewerage system and parts of a system as the sewerage system exists or is to be constructed, and also a full and fair statement of how the system is to be operated. See Michigan Laws 324.4101
  • President pro tempore: A constitutionally recognized officer of the Senate who presides over the chamber in the absence of the Vice President. The President Pro Tempore (or, "president for a time") is elected by the Senate and is, by custom, the Senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service.
  • Project: means a proposal to install within 1 general area a new wastewater collection system. See Michigan Laws 324.4101
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • Public domain: means all land owned by this state or land deeded to this state under state law. See Michigan Laws 324.301
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • Recombinant nucleic acid techniques: means laboratory techniques through which genetic material is isolated and manipulated in vitro and then inserted into an organism. See Michigan Laws 324.48701
  • 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.
  • Reptiles: means any turtle, snake, or lizard of the class reptilia. See Michigan Laws 324.48701
  • Resident: means either of the following:
  •   (i) A person who resides in a settled or permanent home or domicile with the intention of remaining in this state. See Michigan Laws 324.48701
  • Rule: means a rule promulgated pursuant to the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24. See Michigan Laws 324.301
  • seal: shall be construed to include any of the following:
  •   (a) The impression of the seal on the paper alone. See Michigan Laws 8.3n
  • 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.
  • Sewerage system: means a system of pipes and structures including pipes, channels, conduits, manholes, pumping stations, sewage or waste treatment works, diversion and regulatory devices, outfall structures, and appurtenances, collectively or severally, actually used or intended for use by the public for the purpose of collecting, conveying, transporting, treating, or otherwise handling sanitary sewage or other industrial liquid wastes that are capable of adversely affecting the public health. See Michigan Laws 324.4101
  • 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
  • Simple pumping station and force main: means the installation of a duplex pumping station and a force main with only 1 high point and of length of no more than 2,000 feet that is to be connected to an existing gravity collection system to provide sewer service to new areas previously not served by the public sewer system. See Michigan Laws 324.4101
  • Small diameter pressure sewer and grinder pumping station: means a single project that includes the installation of new pressure sewers totaling not more than 5,000 feet and not more than 25 grinder pumping stations with each grinder pumping station serving not more than 5 separate owners and that is to be connected to an existing gravity collection system to provide sewer service to new areas previously not served by the public sewer system. See Michigan Laws 324.4101
  • 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
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
  • Statutes at large: A chronological listing of the laws enacted each Congress. They are published in volumes numbered by Congress.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • Trout stream: means any stream or portion of a stream that contains a significant population of any species of trout or salmon as determined by the department. See Michigan Laws 324.48701
  • United States: shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o
  • Vessel: means every description of watercraft used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water. See Michigan Laws 324.80104
  • Wigglers: means Mayfly nymphs or any other aquatic insect nymphs or larvae. See Michigan Laws 324.48728