Burleson v. Dept. of Environmental Quality, 292 Mich. App. 544 (Mich. Ct. App. 2011)

(petitioner sought declaratory judgment after refused permit from Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to build a home on his property on Lake Michigan shoreline; permit sought under part 353 of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA) denied as agency interpreted its jurisdiction under statute to include “natural ordinary high-water mark,” (NOHWM) which is distinct from the ordinary high-water mark (OHWM); trial court found agency had jurisdiction based on distinction between OHWM and NOHWM; appellate court reversed lower court’s declaratory judgment; held lower court followed inaccurate interpretation of the NREPA because legislature did not intend separate distinctions; NOHWM interpreted to refer to the specified elevations as measured by the land in its natural state, unaltered by humans; dissent argued critical difference between NOHWM and OHWM and legislature intended different result based on these differences).