Minnehaha County, SD Environmental Rules: Coastal Development (2026)

The federal Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 USC 1451 et seq.) authorizes states with ocean or Great Lakes coastlines to operate federally approved coastal-zone management programs. South Dakota has no participating coastal-zone program because the state has no qualifying coastline. NOAA's Office for Coastal Management lists 34 coastal states and territories with approved CZMA programs; South Dakota is not among them. Within Minnehaha County, the only shoreline regulation that exists is riverine: (1) the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program floodplain rules administered by the county under its Floodplain Management Ordinance (Zone A and Zone AE along the Big Sioux River, Skunk Creek, and Split Rock Creek), (2) SD DANR water-rights permitting under SDCL Title 46 (prior-appropriation doctrine) for diversions and water use, (3) US Army Corps of Engineers Section 404 (Clean Water Act, 33 USC 1344) dredge-and-fill permits for work in waters of the United States and adjacent wetlands, and (4) Section 401 state water-quality certifications administered by SD DANR. The Big Sioux River is a navigable water of the US for Section 404 purposes; bank stabilization, fill, dock construction, and channel modification require Corps authorization (typically Nationwide Permits NWP 13 for bank stabilization or NWP 3 for repair). Lakefront development at private impoundments (small rural ponds) is generally unregulated unless a SD Water Management Board permit is required for impoundment.