January 27, 2016, Introduced by Reps. Bumstead, Pscholka, McCready, Kivela, Garcia, Pettalia, Cochran, Irwin and Rendon and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources.
A bill to amend 1996 PA 199, entitled
"Michigan aquaculture development act,"
by amending section 2 (MCL 286.872), as amended by 2003 PA 272, and
by adding section 6a.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 2. As used in this act:
(a) "Aquacultural products" means any products, coproducts, or
by-products of aquaculture species.
(b) "Aquaculture" means the commercial husbandry of
aquaculture species on the approved list of aquaculture species,
including, but not limited to, the culturing, producing, growing,
using, propagating, harvesting, transporting, importing, exporting,
or marketing of aquacultural products under an appropriate permit
or registration.
(c) "Aquaculture facility" means a farm or farm operation
engaged in any aspect of aquaculture in privately controlled waters
capable of holding all life stages of aquaculture species with a
barrier or enclosure to prevent their escape into waters of the
state.
(d) "Aquaculture facility registration" means a registration
issued by the director allowing a facility to engage in
aquaculture.
(e) "Aquaculture research permit" means a permit issued by the
director to researchers to study and culture aquaculture species
not included on the approved list of aquaculture species for the
evaluation of aquacultural potential and to provide a scientific
basis for including the aquaculture species on the approved list.
(f) "Aquaculture species" means aquatic animal organisms
including, but not limited to, fish, crustaceans, mollusks,
reptiles, or amphibians reared or cultured under controlled
conditions in an aquaculture facility.
(g) "Aquaculturist" means a person involved in or engaged in
any aspect of aquaculture.
(h) "Aquarium" means any park, building, cage, enclosure, or
other structure or premises in which aquaculture species are kept
for public exhibition or viewing, regardless of whether
compensation is received.
(i) "Confinement research facility" means a facility holding
an aquaculture research permit, enclosed in a secure structure, and
separated from other aquaculture facilities and in which
aquaculture species are isolated and maintained in complete and
continuous confinement to prevent their escape into the environment
and to prevent the release of any possible pathogens into the
environment.
(j) "Connecting waters" means the St. Mary's River, the
Detroit River, Lake St. Clair, and the St. Clair River.
(k) (j)
"Department" means the
Michigan department of
agriculture and rural development.
(l) (k)
"Director" means the
director of the Michigan
department of agriculture and rural development or his or her
designee.
(m) (l) "Farm"
or "farm operation" means those terms as
defined in the Michigan right to farm act, 1981 PA 93, MCL 286.471
to 286.474.
(n) (m)
"Genetically engineered"
refers to an organism whose
genome, chromosomal or extrachromosomal, is modified permanently
and heritably using recombinant nucleic acid techniques, or the
progeny thereof.
(o) "Great Lakes" means Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake
Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario.
(p) (n)
"Law enforcement officer"
means a person appointed by
the state or a local governmental unit who is responsible for the
enforcement of the criminal laws of this state.
(q) "Net pen aquaculture facility" means a facility or
operation engaged in any aspect of aquaculture, in any type or size
enclosures that are anchored to bottomlands, attached to the shore,
or located in open water.
(r) "Openly connected" means connected through open waters to
the Great Lakes or the connecting waters of the Great Lakes up to
the first dam, to which waters Great Lakes fish have unimpeded
access.
(s) (o)
"Person" means an
individual, corporation, limited
liability company, partnership, association, joint venture, or
other legal entity.
(t) (p)
"Privately controlled
waters" means waters controlled
within ponds, vats, raceways, tanks, and any other indoor or
outdoor structure wholly within or on land owned or leased by an
aquaculturist and used with an aquaculture facility or confinement
research facility. Privately controlled waters includes those
waters diverted for use in an aquaculture facility by an
aquaculturist exercising his or her riparian rights.
(u) (q)
"Recombinant nucleic acid
techniques" means laboratory
techniques through which genetic material is isolated and
manipulated in vitro and then inserted into an organism.
(v) (r)
"Retail bait outlet"
means a facility that sells
directly to the consumer any live or dead organism, edible or
digestible material, organic or processed food, or scented material
each of which may be used to attract fish, including, but not
limited to, worms, leeches, aquatic insects, crayfish, amphibians,
fish eggs, minnows or other fish, marshmallows, cheese, pork rinds,
or any part thereof.
(w) (s)
"Retail ornamental fish
facility" means a facility in
which a person sells, imports or exports at wholesale or retail,
leases, or loans ornamental species of aquatic organisms that may
live in fresh, brackish, or saltwater environments to the general
public for home or public display purposes.
(x) (t)
"Waters of the state"
means groundwaters, lakes,
rivers, and streams and all other watercourses and waters within
the jurisdiction of the state and also the Great Lakes bordering
the state.
(y) (u)
"Zoo" means any park,
building, cage, enclosure, or
other structure or premises in which a live animal is kept for
public exhibition or viewing, regardless of whether compensation is
received.
Sec. 6a. Notwithstanding any other provision of this act or
rules promulgated under this act, a person shall not operate a net
pen aquaculture facility within the Great Lakes or the connecting
waters of the Great Lakes or in any water body that is openly
connected to the Great Lakes or the connecting waters of the Great
Lakes.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days
after the date it is enacted into law.