Critical Dune Areas in Van Buren County: Two Permits, Not One

What a Critical Dune Area actually restricts

Michigan's Critical Dune Areas (CDAs), regulated under NREPA Part 353 (the Sand Dunes Protection and Management Act), exist in 19 Great Lakes-shoreline counties, combining coastal barrier dunes, land with dune-like features, and unique plant communities that stabilize them. Van Buren County has documented Critical Dune Areas along its Lake Michigan shoreline near South Haven and Covert Township -- North Point Park, for instance, sits on 330 feet of Lake Michigan beach backed by forested critical dunes and wetlands, and the county has run its own dune-restoration project (roughly 25 acres) limiting public access and replanting native vegetation.

Inside a mapped CDA, a state permit is required for a defined list of "regulated uses": construction of buildings, installation of septic systems or water wells, driveways, all excavation and filling, and significant vegetation removal. This applies regardless of what the local township's ordinary zoning otherwise allows -- a project that's fully permitted under township zoning can still need a separate state sign-off if it falls inside a CDA boundary.

The first permit: the county's own Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control permit

Before the state-level review, an earth change of any size within a designated Michigan Critical Dunes Area in Van Buren County needs a Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control (SESC) permit issued locally, through the Van Buren County Drain Commissioner's Office (219 E. Paw Paw St., Suite 301, Paw Paw, MI 49079). The application fee is paid directly to the Drain Office, by cash or check made payable to Van Buren County, and the office typically issues the permit by email within about 10 business days of a complete application. This is a distinct step from your township's own building permit -- confirm with the Drain Commissioner's Office whether a specific project needs this SESC permit before assuming standard township approval alone is enough.

The second permit: the state EGLE Critical Dune Area permit

On top of the county's SESC permit, a regulated use within a mapped Critical Dune Area also requires a separate permit directly from EGLE's Water Resources Division. EGLE maintains its own published fee schedule for Critical Dune Area permits, though this research pass could not confirm the specific current dollar amounts -- get the current fee schedule directly from EGLE rather than assuming a figure based on other Michigan environmental permit fees, since CDA permit costs can scale with the size and complexity of the proposed regulated use.

Practically, that means budgeting for two separate permit applications, two separate fees, and two separate review timelines -- county and state -- for any real construction, septic, well, driveway, or major vegetation-removal project on shoreline or near-shoreline land in Van Buren County's mapped dune areas. Check EGLE's own Critical Dune Area maps for the specific parcel before assuming a project falls outside the designated boundary.

What to check before buying

If you're evaluating land near South Haven, Covert Township, or anywhere else along Van Buren County's Lake Michigan shoreline, confirm with EGLE's Water Resources Division whether the specific parcel falls inside a mapped Critical Dune Area before assuming any particular build plan -- a new home, a septic system, or even a driveway realignment -- is straightforward. If it does fall inside a CDA, plan for both the county Drain Commissioner's SESC permit and the separate state EGLE permit as part of your due-diligence timeline and budget, not just standard township zoning and building approval.