Messages from space needed to remove logs from Michigan

[johncinquo]

Got a laugh at this one today.  Hope you guys do too.
Came in from Michigan Capital Confidential  :D

Messages from Space Needed to Remove Logs from Michigan Lakes
By Tom Gantert | Jan. 31, 2011

For five years, Randy Stewart has wanted to expand his business. The 56-year-old Indian River man wants to take logs that have sunk to the bottom of lakes about 20 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge and sell them.

One of the stumbling blocks? The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality says that to be eligible for a permit he would have to provide GPS satellite coordinates for each log that he  wanted to remove.

Stewart said he could remove as many as 60 logs a week. The logs are usually about 16.5 feet long and sometimes covered in mud at the bottom of the lake.

"It's like looking for a needle in a haystack," Stewart said. "They are buried for the most part. You've got to find these logs."

"That's way, way over the top," he said of the GPS mandate.

However, the DEQ may now agree with Stewart.

Mary Dettloff, spokeswoman for the DEQ, said that the state is going to change the requirement and no longer ask for the coordinate of every log.

To get to the logs under current requirements, Stewart said he would need permission of the landowner. He said he would also have to have a marine surveyor to survey the property. Dettloff said the DEQ does require surveys in certain situations.

The permit is $500.

Stewart, who owns Great Lakes Marine Construction, said once the logs are brought up, they can be used for furniture makers, cabinet makers and musical instrument makers.

"It's not impossible," Stewart said. "It's just the government has to let go of some regulations. They can't always get involved with everything all the time."

[Burlkraft]

Should we start a pool on how long this one lasts ?   ;D

[metalspinner]

They can't always get involved with everything all the time."

Oh, yeah?!?  Wanna bet! :

[Mooseherder]

If they need some help, I know of a feller named Jimmy looking for work. ;D

[jim king]

It all sounds very familiar to me.

[clww]

NOT Jimmy!!! Joe Collins, maybe.
It takes Jimmy more than a week to get one log.

[Busy Beaver Lumber]

Maybe he better hire Swilly. He appears to be the only aqua logger in Florida that actually finds a good quantity of logs.

Shelby would be a good choice as well, but I don't think he would enjoy the hunt for logs as much without the thrill of having to avoid gators and poisonous snakes, not to mention the occasional gun toting redneck.

[SwampDonkey]

 :D What good a GPS position will serve anyone after the log is removed is anyone's guess. Is this some historical site or something where a ship sunk? Sounds too over the top to be just a matter of salvaging logs. To me, it seems that a part of the story is missing along the chain of communication. About like what happens when you get those radio host mouth pieces twisting the story out of shape. ;D

[WDH]

Yep, Shelby's pooch Willy might get cold up there in those Northern waters.