Walla Walla County, WA Environmental Rules: Boat Dock Permits (2026)

Walla Walla County's critical areas code, WWCC Chapter 18.08, governs new docks in fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas outside shoreline jurisdiction, covering waters around Burbank, the Walla Walla and Touchet Rivers, Mill Creek and Bennington Lake; docks located within shoreline jurisdiction are instead governed by the county's Shoreline Master Program, which WWCC 18.08.620(G) expressly cross-references. Under subsection G, a new dock is permitted only for public access, as an accessory to a water-dependent use, or associated with a single-family residence, or as otherwise allowed by the SMP; unpermitted private docks outside those categories are not allowed.

The county directs new subdivisions to employ shared moorage rather than proliferate individual docks, and every dock on a state shoreline must additionally comply with the shoreline master program's own policies. Design standards under the same subsection require docks to be sited and built to minimize interference with fluvial and limnal processes, including gradient, substrate, woody-debris recruitment, and anadromous fish habitat. Width is capped at four feet unless the applicant documents specific use patterns that justify a wider structure, and the county can require light-permeable materials such as grated decking on walkways or gangplanks in nearshore areas to limit shading.

Approaches must use piers or similar structures that span the upper foreshore to stable upland soil, pile spacing must be maximized to avoid a wall effect that blocks currents or sediment movement, and construction materials cannot adversely affect long-term water quality or aquatic life. A critical area report from a qualified professional, required generally under WWCC 18.08.630 for habitat conservation area work, documents compliance before Community Development issues a permit.