Portions of Orleans Parish lie within the Louisiana Coastal Zone established under the State and Local Coastal Resources Management Act, LA RS 49:214.21 et seq. Activities affecting wetlands, water bottoms, or coastal ecosystems require Coastal Use Permits.
Louisiana's Coastal Zone Boundary, codified at LA RS 49:214.24, runs through eastern New Orleans and includes Lake Pontchartrain frontage, the Industrial Canal area, and parts of Lower Ninth Ward and New Orleans East. Activities such as dredging, filling wetlands, building bulkheads, or installing docks generally require a Coastal Use Permit from the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources Office of Coastal Management, in addition to any city building or zoning permits. The City participates in the Local Coastal Program under La Const Art. IX. Federal Section 404 permits from the Corps of Engineers are commonly required in parallel for wetland fill.
Conducting a coastal use without a permit is a violation of the Coastal Resources Management Act and can result in cease-and-desist orders, restoration requirements, and civil penalties. City zoning and building penalties may apply concurrently.
New Orleans, LA
New Orleans is located within Louisiana's Coastal Zone and is subject to the Louisiana Coastal Resources Management Act. Development activities that affect c...
New Orleans, LA
New Orleans has extensive FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Areas and is one of the most flood-prone cities in the United States. The city's floodplain ma...
See how New Orleans's coastal zone permits rules stack up against other locations.
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