MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2021 Regular Session
To: Marine Resources; Ways and Means
By: Representative McKnight
AN ACT TO CREATE NEW SECTION 29-15-8, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THE PROCEDURE FOR THE REMOVAL OF SUBMERGED LOGS ON PUBLIC TRUST TIDELANDS; TO PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN DEFINITIONS; TO PROVIDE THAT SUBMERGED LOGS SHALL BE THE PROPERTY OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI AND A LEASE SHALL BE REQUIRED TO HARVEST THEM; TO PROVIDE FOR A RESIDENTIAL USE AND COMMERCIAL USE LEASE; TO PROVIDE THE RENT DUE FOR A RESIDENTIAL USE AND COMMERCIAL USE LEASE; TO PROVIDE THAT HARVESTING SUBMERGED LOGS WITHOUT A LEASE MAY SUBJECT THE VIOLATOR TO CERTAIN PENALTIES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 29-15-8, Mississippi Code of 1972:
29-15-8. (1) For the purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) "Commercial use" means harvesting submerged logs by a lessee for other than residential use, including but not limited to, any sale or resale of harvest submerged logs at any time before or after harvesting or after harvest processing.
(b) "Harvest," "Harvesting," or "Harvested" means removal of submerged logs from public trust tidelands, removing submerged logs from public trust tidelands or removed submerged logs from public trust tidelands.
(c) "Lease" means a public trust tidelands lease from the lessor authorizing the lessee to harvest submerged logs from a removal area during a specified time.
(d) "Lessee" means a person, entity or interest granted a lease.
(e) "Removal area" means an area of public trust tidelands identified by survey or other information in sufficient detail to support a lease to harvest submerged logs. A removal area for a residential use lease:
(i) Cannot extend more than the lesser of seven hundred fifty (750) yards from the shore of the Mississippi Sound, a bay, river, stream, bayou or other similar normally flowing body of water, or to a line equidistant between two (2) shores of the Mississippi Sound, a bay, river, stream, bayou or other similar normally flowing body of water; and
(ii) Must be located within a littoral or riparian area of a specific upland property.
(f) "Residential use" means harvesting submerged logs by a lessee for personal use. Residential use does not include any sale of harvested submerged logs either before or after harvesting or any other commercial use.
(g) "Specified time" means a specific period of a year, years, or part of a year during which a lease authorizes a lessee to harvest submerged logs.
(h) "Submerged log" means:
(i) Any portion of the trunk of a felled tree that has not been further processed for any end use and located on, in, embedded in or buried under public trust tidelands; and
(ii) Any lumber processed for any end use from the trunk of a felled tree located on, in, embedded in, or buried under public trust tidelands.
(2) Submerged logs shall be the property of the State of Mississippi.
(3) A lease shall be required to harvest submerged logs.
(4) A lease application shall be submitted to the Secretary of State.
(a) The lessor may offer the lessee applicant the appropriate lease for a removal area.
(b) Lease applications for the same or overlapping removal areas shall be considered in the order submitted to the Secretary of State.
(5) The application for a residential use lease may only be submitted by the record owner of the specific upland property adjacent or contiguous to the requested removal area. The right to a residential use lease cannot be assigned to or exercised by any other person, entity or interest.
(6) The application for a commercial use lease may be submitted by any person, entity or interest, including the record owner of any specific upland property adjacent or contiguous to the requested removal area.
(7) All leases shall contain a provision that should harvesting not begin within six (6) months of the effective date of the lease, the lease shall be cancelled.
(8) Commercial use harvesting shall not unreasonably interfere with the upland owner's riparian or littoral use.
(9) A lessee:
(a) Shall not interfere with navigation when harvesting submerged logs;
(b) Shall not harvest submerged logs from any natural or artificial oyster reef or oyster bed; and
(c) Shall comply with the Coastal Wetlands Protection Act when acting pursuant to the lease.
(10) A residential use lessee shall pay to the Secretary of State a leasehold annual rent or pro-rated annual rent for a specified period of less than one (1) year for use of the removal area.
(11) A commercial use lessee shall pay to the Secretary of State a leasehold annual rent or pro-rated annual rent for a specified period of less than a year for use of the removal area and fifteen percent (15%) of the gross value received by the lessee from the harvested submerged logs.
(12) The lessor shall require a performance bond from a commercial use lessee in an amount and with appropriate surety conditions as determined by the Secretary of State to secure to the state compliance with the conditions and limitations set forth in the lease.
(13) Harvesting submerged logs without a lease may subject the violator to civil penalties as provided by law.
(14) Any funds derived from the lease shall be deposited in the Public Trust Tidelands Fund established in Section 29-15-9 and shall be subject to the provisions of that fund.
(15) The Secretary of State may adopt such rules as necessary to implement or enforce the provisions of this section.
(16) A lease entered into pursuant to this section is in addition to and does not abrogate any requirement for permission or permit by any other government agency, including, but not limited to, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2021.