Short answer: shoreline work in Michigan is permitted by EGLE, the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. Seawalls and shoreline projects on inland lakes fall under the Inland Lakes and Streams program (Part 301); work along the Great Lakes shoreline falls under the Great Lakes Submerged Lands program (Part 325). On top of the state permit, county programs can add soil erosion requirements for earth changes near the water. A good contractor handles the whole stack for you, and we do.

Nothing stalls a lakefront project like discovering the permit question late. The rules are not actually complicated once someone lays them out in order, so here is the plain English version for lakefront owners around Iosco, Ogemaw, Arenac, and Alcona counties.

Why the waterline is a legal line

Michigan law treats the state's lakes and streams as public trust resources, which means the land at and below the ordinary high-water mark is regulated even where you own the frontage. The practical rule of thumb: if the work happens at or below where the water ordinarily reaches, assume a permit is involved. That covers seawalls, rip rap, dredging, fill, and most other ways of rearranging a shoreline.

Inland lakes: Part 301

For the lakes we work most, Long Lake, Loon Lake, Londo Lake, Sage Lake, Van Etten Lake, and the rest of the inland water in the area, the governing program is Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams. Building a new seawall, placing rip rap, and most meaningful repair work at the waterline all run through it. Applications go to EGLE with drawings of the proposed work, and some straightforward projects qualify for streamlined minor-project handling while others get a fuller review. Which lane a project lands in depends on its specifics, and it is exactly the kind of question your contractor should be answering, not you.

The Great Lakes shore: Part 325

Frontage on Lake Huron itself, around Tawas Bay and Oscoda for instance, is governed by Part 325, Great Lakes Submerged Lands, because the state holds the Great Lakes bottomlands in trust. The permitting idea is the same, the program is different, and Great Lakes shoreline projects get looked at with the lakes' water level history in mind. If your property is on the big water, expect the permit conversation to be a bit more involved than on an inland lake.

The county layer: soil erosion permits

The state permit is not always the whole story. Michigan's soil erosion rules, administered by county-level agencies, generally require a permit for earth changes within 500 feet of a lake or stream, which describes nearly every seawall and shoreline job by definition. Some townships add zoning review on top. None of this is difficult; it is simply more paperwork that has to be right, filed with the right office, before the machine shows up.

What EGLE cares about

Understanding the reviewer makes the process less mysterious. Broadly, the state is looking at whether the project protects the shoreline without degrading the lake: how far the work extends into the water, how it affects neighboring frontage, whether fill or dredging is involved, and whether a softer option like rip rap fits the site. Clean, well-drawn applications for sensible projects move through the system; vague ones generate questions and delay.

Who actually handles all this

Legally, either the owner or the contractor can apply. Practically, this is contractor work, and you should expect it to be included. We prepare the drawings, file the applications, and handle the back-and-forth with EGLE and the county for every seawall and shoreline job we take, with your signature where an owner's signature is required. You stay informed; you do not chase paperwork.

What about my neighbor's wall?

A question we hear on almost every shoreline walk: "the neighbors built a wall, so am I grandfathered in?" No, and it works the other way too. Each project gets its own permit, and what got approved next door does not automatically transfer to your frontage, because bank height, water depth, and exposure change lot by lot even on the same cove. The useful version of the question is coordination: when two or three neighbors do shoreline work in the same season, sharing mobilization can genuinely lower everyone's cost, and the permits still get filed one property at a time. If your neighbors are talking about their wall, it is a good moment to talk about yours.

Two honest warnings

  • Skipping the permit is a bad bet. Unpermitted shoreline work can mean enforcement, fines, and being required to remove what you built. No shoreline project is improved by doing it twice in opposite directions.
  • Start earlier than feels necessary. Review times vary with the season and the project, and the permit must be in hand before waterline work starts. If you want a wall in before winter ice, the permit conversation belongs in summer. Our repair vs. replacement guide explains why the ice deadline matters so much.

The takeaway

Permits are a normal, manageable part of every shoreline job, not a reason to put one off. EGLE handles the state side under Part 301 or Part 325 depending on your water, the county handles soil erosion, and your contractor should handle all of it for you. That is how we run every job on our seawall construction and seawall repair services. If you have frontage around Hale, East Tawas, or Oscoda and a project in mind, request a free estimate and we will walk the shoreline, explain exactly which permits your project needs, and put the whole thing in writing.