§ 15-0505 — Protection of navigable waters; excavation or fill; permit

§ 15-0505. Protection of navigable waters; excavation or fill; permit.\n 1. No person, local public corporation or interstate authority shall\nexcavate or place fill below the mean high water level in any of the\nnavigable waters of the state, or in marshes, estuaries, tidal marshes\nand wetlands that are adjacent to and contiguous at any point to any of\nthe navigable waters of the state and that are inundated at mean high\nwater level or tide, without a permit issued pursuant to subdivision 3\nof this section. For the purposes of this section, fill shall include,\nbut shall not be limited to, earth, clay, silt, sand, gravel, stone,\nrock, shale, concrete (whole or fragmentary), ashes, cinders, slag,\nmetal, or any other similar material whether or not enclosed or\ncontained by (1) crib work of wood, timber, logs, concrete or metal, (2)\nbulkheads and cofferdams of timber sheeting, bracing and piling or steel\nsheet piling or steel H piling, separated or in combination. Nothing\ncontained in this section is intended to be, nor shall be construed to\nlimit, impair or affect the memorandum of understanding which any state\ndepartment enters into with the Department of Environmental Conservation\nor the general powers and duties of the Department of Transportation\nrelating to canals or the general powers and duties of the Department of\nEnvironmental Conservation relating to flood control.\n 2. A permit application or request for a permit renewal or\nmodification shall be made on forms provided by the department and shall\nconsist of a description of the character and extent of the proposed\nproject or work, drawings, plans and specifications providing the\nlocation and details of the proposed project or work, and such\nadditional information as the department may require.\n 3. Before granting a permit, a permit renewal or a permit modification\npursuant to this section the department shall ascertain the probable\neffect on the use of such waters for navigation, the health, safety and\nwelfare of the people of the state and the effect on the natural\nresources of the state, including soil, forests, water, fish and aquatic\nresources therein, likely to result from the proposed project or work.\n 4. The department shall review the permit application or request for\nrenewal or modification of an existing permit and may grant or deny the\npermit or request, or may grant the permit with such conditions as will\nsafeguard life or property against danger or destruction and as will\nmake the navigable waters safe for use by the public.\n 5. The rules and regulations adopted by the department to implement\nthis section and the provisions of article 70 of this chapter and rules\nand regulations adopted thereunder shall govern the processing of permit\napplications, renewals, modifications, suspensions and revocations under\nthis section.\n 6. The provisions of subdivisions 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this section shall\nnot apply to emergency work in waters described in subdivision 1 of this\nsection which is immediately necessary to protect the health, safety and\nwell-being of any person or persons or to prevent damage to personal or\nreal property, provided that the department is given written\nnotification by registered mail or telegraph within forty-eight hours\nafter the commencement of the work and within forty-eight hours\nfollowing the completion of the work. Whenever such emergency work is\nperformed as provided in this subdivision, it shall be performed in a\nmanner that will cause the least change, modification, disturbance or\ndamage to the environment.\n 7. The requirements of this section shall be in addition to those\nspecified in section 15-0501 of this title, provided however, that the\ndepartment may, by rule and regulation, provide that only one\napplication for a permit or request for renewal or modification of an\nexisting permit need be filed when the proposed project or work requires\na department permit under this section and section 15-0501 of this\ntitle.\n