A
permit is required to excavate or fill
navigable waters or marshes and other
wetlands adjacent to navigable waters.
This includes maintenance dredging of
navigation channels and underwater mining
operations. New York State regulates
these activities under their Protection
of Waters Permit Program. The U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers uses
Section
10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act
of 1899 as authority to regulate
structures in or over navigable waters.
Under this act, the Corps also regulates
dredging and filling and any other
work affecting the course, location,
conditions or capacity of navigable
waters. Normal farming activities
and forestry practices generally
are exempted from the Section 10/404
Program. Visit the U. S. Army Corps
of Engineers web site:
Permits
for Discharges of Dredged or Fill Material
Into Waters of the United States.
For
permits for work in Lake Ontario, the
Corps and the NYS DEC have a joint permit
application form which allows an applicant
to file an application at either office.
However, the two agencies have separate
regulatory programs and approvals are
required from both offices before proceeding
with the proposed project.
The following
is from the NYS
DEC Protection of Waters Permit
Program web site:
Regulated Activities
Navigable waters include lakes, rivers and other waterways
and water bodies on which water vessels with a capacity of
one or more persons are operated or can be operated. A Protection
Of Waters Permit is required for: Excavating or placing fill
in navigable waters of the state, below the mean high water
level, including adjacent and contiguous marshes and wetlands.
Some examples of activities requiring a permit are:
- installation of
support piers (larger than 12" in
diameter) and cribs for docks or boathouses;
- placement of fill for access, construction or structure
installation (i.e., bridges, culverts, pipeline crossings);
- excavations associated with construction activities and dredging
for navigation channel establishment or maintenance;
- sand or gravel mining.
Exempt Activities
Waters that are surrounded
by land held in single
private ownership at every
point in their total area
are exempt from the
requirement to obtain a Protection of Waters
Permit for Excavation or Placement of Fill
in Navigable Waters.
