New Orleans, LA Environmental Rules: Boat Dock Permits (2026)

Chapter 170 treats a dock as coastal-zone work, not as a building trade permit. Section 170-110 defines shoreline modifications to include bulkheading, piers, docks, wharves, slips and short canals, and jetties. Section 170-281 lists shoreline modification projects and harbor structures as item 9 and recreational developments, including public and private marinas, as item 11 of the uses of state or local concern. Section 170-363 names piers among the uses of local concern, which are regulated primarily at the local level. Section 170-221 then makes it unlawful to proceed with any such use inside the parish coastal zone without a valid coastal use permit, unless the Act or the article exempts the activity.

The City Office of Environmental Affairs is the designated review agency under § 170-446, and applications are available from it. Under § 170-447 you file a completed application with the state or with that office, and staff consultation before filing is strongly recommended. Unrelated projects or noncontiguous parcels need separate applications, while related construction on contiguous parcels can share a joint application. Under § 170-448 the application must carry the same information the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requires, plus anything else the director finds reasonably necessary.

The fee schedule in § 170-456(a) is $100 for a use whose total cost is $100,000 or less and $300 for a use that will exceed $100,000. No fee is collected for an application determined to be a use of state concern, and a fee already collected is returned. If work starts before the permit issues, § 170-456(b) raises the fee by 100 percent, and paying it does not excuse any other requirement or penalty.

Some work is outside the permit requirement. Section 170-321 exempts normal maintenance or repair of existing structures, including emergency repairs, up to 50 percent of the original structure's total value, and the construction and modification of navigational aids such as channel markers and anchor buoys. Section 170-323 treats activities wholly on lands five feet or more above sea level, or within fastlands, as not normally needing a permit, but the director decides in each case.