Bonneville County, ID Environmental Rules: Boat Dock Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit trigger
- Any dock in a special flood hazard area
- Permitting authority
- County Floodplain Administrator, § 154.27
- Floodway docks
- Require no-rise analysis, § 154.49(B)
- Sanitary requirement
- Toilet and covered waste facilities, § 50.19(B)
- No-wake buffer
- 100 ft. from boat docks (Ririe/Palisades)
- Maximum penalty
- $500 fine or 180 days jail
Summary
A boat dock counts as regulated development under Bonneville County's floodplain chapter. Building or altering one within a special flood hazard area requires a floodplain development permit, and a dock that encroaches into a mapped floodway faces additional no-rise engineering requirements.
A floodplain development permit shall be required in conformance with the provisions of this chapter prior to the commencement of any development activities within special flood hazard areas... A complete description of all the development to be permitted under the floodplain development permit (i.e., house, garage, pool, septic, bulkhead, cabana, pole barn, chicken coop, pier, bridge, mining, dredging, filling, rip-rap, docks, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials and the like)... Docks, piers, boat ramps, marinas, moorings, decks, docking facilities, port facilities, shipbuilding and ship repair facilities that encroach into regulated floodways shall meet the limitations of this section.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-1: Ordinance 280-26, passed 1-20-2026).
Full Breakdown
28(B)(1) spells out that "docks" fall within the development the permit covers, listed alongside houses, garages, pools, bulkheads and grading work. 28(A). 49(B) adds a stricter layer: no encroachment, including new construction, is permitted unless the owner demonstrates through hydrologic and hydraulic analysis that it causes no rise in base flood levels, or FEMA has approved a conditional letter of map revision. 19(B) requires that every dock servicing watercraft in the county have conveniently located toilet facilities for men and women and covered garbage and waste facilities, tying dock use to the county's water pollution rules banning discharge of sewage or refuse from watercraft into county waters. 22.
Violations & Fines
Building or altering a dock in a special flood hazard area without the required floodplain development permit, or without meeting the no-rise floodway standard, is a misdemeanor under § 154.99: a fine of not more than $500, imprisonment of not more than 180 days, or both, with each day of continuing violation a separate offense. The Floodplain Administrator may also issue a corrective notice under § 154.29 ordering the dock altered, relocated or removed within 60 to 180 days, appealable to the county's governing body within ten days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to build a boat dock in Bonneville County?
Are there extra rules if my dock is in a floodway?
Does my dock need bathroom facilities?
What if I skip the permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bonneville County
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