Washington Waterfront Permit Checklist



OWNER PLANNING TOOL

Use this checklist to organize the site information, drawings, environmental studies, agency coordination, and construction planning that may be needed for a Washington dock, pier, float, boat lift, bulkhead, shoreline, dredging, or marine project.

Start with the property and project purpose

• Record the address, parcel number, city or county, waterbody, shoreline type, and known aquatic-land ownership.
• Define the purpose: repair, replacement, new access, moorage, lift, dredging, erosion protection, restoration, or commercial work.
• Collect existing permits, surveys, as-built drawings, easements, title documents, and historic photographs.
• Photograph the shoreline, existing structures, access route, vegetation, neighboring conditions, and visible habitat.
• Identify schedule constraints, funding deadlines, desired use, and known permit history.

Identify the likely reviewers

A waterfront project may involve the city or county, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Ecology, Washington Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA Fisheries, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, tribal consultation, and other reviewers. The exact path depends on the site, waterbody, ownership, habitat, and proposed work.

• Review the local Shoreline Master Program, critical-area requirements, setbacks, and allowed uses.
• Determine whether a shoreline permit, conditional use, variance, building approval, grading approval, or exemption documentation may apply.
• Determine whether a Washington Hydraulic Project Approval is required.
• Confirm whether a Joint Aquatic Resources Permit Application will be used.
• Check state-owned aquatic-land authorization and federal navigation, dredge, or fill requirements.
• Keep dimensions, quantities, methods, and drawings consistent across applications.

Document the site and design

• Boundary and topographic survey showing ordinary high water, property lines, easements, and existing structures.
• Bathymetric information when piles, dredging, water depth, or navigation matters.
• Existing and proposed plans, profiles, cross-sections, details, dimensions, and material quantities.
• Construction access, barge or upland staging, demolition, debris containment, equipment, and material handling.
• Estimated in-water work days, proposed schedule, and agency-approved work window.
• Alternatives showing how impacts were avoided, minimized, or mitigated.

Screen environmental information early

• Salmon, steelhead, critical habitat, and Essential Fish Habitat.
• Surf smelt, Pacific sand lance, and Pacific herring spawning information.
• Eelgrass, kelp, and other aquatic vegetation.
• Wetlands, streams, buffers, shoreline vegetation, and ordinary high water.
• Beach substrate, drift cells, feeder bluffs, sediment movement, wave exposure, erosion, and drainage.
• Cultural, archaeological, historic, or tribal-resource review.
• Turbidity, concrete, treated materials, fuels, demolition debris, and spill prevention.

Carry permit conditions into construction

• Compile approved plans, permits, biological documents, and agency correspondence in one field-ready package.
• Create a permit-condition matrix with a responsible person and deadline.
• Confirm start notices, inspections, work windows, monitoring, reporting, and closeout requirements.
• Verify approved materials, piles, decking, grating, coatings, fill, and beach-nourishment specifications.
• Do not make field changes that alter the approved footprint or methods without authorization.
• Retain as-builts, photographs, monitoring, and closeout records for future repairs or ownership changes.

Project examples ready for your photographs

These example slots are set up for real WCI work. Send the matching photographs when ready and the placeholders can be replaced without restructuring this page.

Continue your permit research

• JARPA Application Guide for Waterfront Projects
• Washington HPA Requirements for Docks and Shorelines
• Salmon Work Windows for Waterfront Construction
• Forage Fish, Eelgrass & Kelp Surveys
• Understanding Waterfront Biological Studies
• Soft Shoreline Construction in Washington

This educational checklist is not legal, engineering, biological, or permit advice. Requirements vary by location, ownership, habitat, funding, project scope, and agency policy. Confirm current requirements with the reviewing agencies and qualified professionals.