Rapides Parish, LA Environmental Rules: Boat Dock Permits (2026)

Section 19½-1 governs the Police Jury's three developed recreation areas, Cotile Lake, Indian Creek Reservoir and Kincaid Reservoir, and defines lake area as all the impounded water at each. Under subsection (B)(2), houseboats are permitted only upon prior approval of the Rapides Parish Police Jury, and approval is conditioned on two separate showings: proof the boat meets the sanitation requirements of the EPA and the Rapides Parish Chief Sanitarian, and written permission from a waterfront owner granting mooring and docking privileges. The ordinance requires the owner to keep both the sanitation approval and the waterfront owner's written permission aboard the houseboat at all times, so an inspecting officer can confirm compliance on the water rather than by tracking down paperwork elsewhere.

The rule sits inside a broader set of motorboat and watercraft regulations at the same recreation areas, including an open-water-only rule for water skiing, a no-wake zone at boat launching areas, and separate permitting for duck blinds during hunting season. There is no separate dock-construction permit named in this section; the approval requirement is specific to houseboats mooring at a private waterfront, not to building a private dock generally. Violations of the section, including mooring a houseboat without the required Police Jury approval, sanitation proof or waterfront owner's written permission, are punished under subsection (C).