HB 1404 would have restricted local authority over seawall permitting along Lake Michigan; and the regulatory framework proposed for permit review of seawalls conflicts with the physical reality, natural function, and legal definition of Indiana’s Lake Michigan natural Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM), the boundary between private property and public trust shoreland. It would have promoted confusion and impose illogical and unnecessary regulatory burdens, potentially harming the State’s public trust shoreline and uses.
Why it did not advance
HB 1404 did not pass the House Natural Resources committee.