Bill Text: IN HB1232 | 2010 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Removal of logjams in floodways.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2010-03-25 - Effective 07/01/2010 [HB1232 Detail]
Download: Indiana-2010-HB1232-Amended.html
Citations Affected: IC 14-28.
Synopsis: Removal of logjams in floodways. Provides that a permit is
not required to remove a logjam or mass of wood debris that has
accumulated in a river or stream.
Effective: July 1, 2010.
January 11, 2010, read first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources.
January 28, 2010, reported _ Do Pass.
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A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
natural and cultural resources.
(b) This section does not apply to the following:
(1) A reconstruction or maintenance project (as defined in IC 36-9-27) on a stream or an open regulated drain if the total length of the stream or open drain is not more than ten (10) miles.
(2) A construction or reconstruction project on a state or county highway bridge in a rural area that crosses a stream having an upstream drainage area of not more than fifty (50) square miles
and the relocation of utility lines associated with the construction
or reconstruction project if confined to an area not more than one
hundred (100) feet from the limits of the highway construction
right-of-way.
(3) The performance of an activity described in subsection (c)(1)
or (c)(2) by a surface coal mining operation that is operated under
a permit issued under IC 14-34.
(4) Any other activity that is determined by the commission,
according to rules adopted under IC 4-22-2, to pose not more than
a minimal threat to floodway areas.
(5) An activity in a boundary river floodway to which section 26.5
of this chapter applies.
(6) The removal of a logjam or mass of wood debris that has
accumulated in a river or stream.
(c) A person who desires to:
(1) erect, make, use, or maintain a structure, an obstruction, a
deposit, or an excavation; or
(2) suffer or permit a structure, an obstruction, a deposit, or an
excavation to be erected, made, used, or maintained;
in or on a floodway must file with the director a verified written
application for a permit accompanied by a nonrefundable fee of two
hundred dollars ($200).
(d) The application for a permit must set forth the material facts
together with plans and specifications for the structure, obstruction,
deposit, or excavation.
(e) An applicant must receive a permit from the director for the
work before beginning construction. The director shall issue a permit
only if in the opinion of the director the applicant has clearly proven
that the structure, obstruction, deposit, or excavation will not do any of
the following:
(1) Adversely affect the efficiency of or unduly restrict the
capacity of the floodway.
(2) Constitute an unreasonable hazard to the safety of life or
property.
(3) Result in unreasonably detrimental effects upon fish, wildlife,
or botanical resources.
(f) In deciding whether to issue a permit under this section, the
director shall consider the cumulative effects of the structure,
obstruction, deposit, or excavation. The director may incorporate in and
make a part of an order of authorization conditions and restrictions that
the director considers necessary for the purposes of this chapter.
(g) A permit issued under this section:
(1) is void if construction is not commenced within two (2) years after the issuance of the permit; and
(2) to:
(A) the Indiana department of transportation or a county highway department if there is any federal funding for the project; or
(B) an electric utility for the construction of a power generating facility;
is valid for five (5) years from the date of issuance and remains valid indefinitely if construction is commenced within five (5) years after the permit is issued.
(h) The director shall send a copy of each permit issued under this section to each river basin commission organized under:
(1) IC 14-29-7 or IC 13-2-27 (before its repeal); or
(2) IC 14-30-1 or IC 36-7-6 (before its repeal);
that is affected.
(i) The permit holder shall post and maintain a permit issued under this section at the authorized site.
(j) For the purposes of this chapter, the lowest floor of a building, including a residence or abode, that is to be constructed or reconstructed in the one hundred (100) year floodplain of an area protected by a levee that is:
(1) inspected; and
(2) found to be in good or excellent condition;
by the United States Army Corps of Engineers shall not be lower than the one hundred (100) year frequency flood elevation plus one (1) foot.
