Section 312 IAC 6-4-4 - Individual licensure of group piersAuthority: IC 14-10-2-4; IC 14-15-7-3; IC 14-29-1-8
Affected: IC 14-15; IC 14-26-2
Sec. 4.
(a) A person must not place a group pier along or within the ordinary high watermark of a navigable waterway unless the person obtains a written license from the department under this section.(b) The applicant must demonstrate exercise of the license would not do any of the following: (1) Unreasonably impair the navigability of the waterway.(2) Cause significant harm to the environment.(3) Pose an unreasonable hazard to life or property.(4) Violate the public trust.(5) Interfere with the reasonable exercise of boating operations by the public.(6) Interfere with the legal interests of a landowner having property rights abutting the lake or rights to access the lake.(c) The department shall condition a license for a group pier so the placement, configuration, and maintenance of the pier, as follows: (1) Provide a reasonable buffer zone between the pier and the following: (A) The channel where boats are commonly operated in excess of ten (10) miles per hour.(B) The riparian zone of adjacent property owners to provide for reasonable navigation by the adjacent property owner and by the public. Except as otherwise provided in this clause, the department shall require at least (5) feet of clearance on both sides of a riparian line (for a total of ten (10) feet). The department may require as much as ten (10) feet of clearance on both sides of a riparian line (for a total of twenty (20) feet) if, based upon the opinion of a qualified professional, that additional clearance is required for reasonable navigation. The department may approve an exception to this clause where: (i) adjacent riparian owners use a common pier along their mutual property line; and(ii) the purposes of this clause are satisfied by waters elsewhere within their riparian zones.(2) Do not result in unreasonable traffic congestion either:(A) in the immediate vicinity of the pier; or(B) to impair the carrying capacity of the navigable waterway where the department has determined the carrying capacity in an analysis that is published before the license application is filed.(3) Do not authorize structures that are likely to be hidden or obscured so as to pose a hazard to the public.(4) Minimize disturbances to vegetation and sediments between the ordinary high watermark and adjacent shallow waters.(5) Are unlikely to trap debris or redirect sediments or currents to cause erosion or sedimentation that is detrimental to navigation or to the property rights of other riparian owners.(6) Avoid causing or appearing to cause appropriations of public water unnecessary to the reasonable exercise of riparian rights. A pier must not extend more than one-half (1/2) the width of the applicant's shoreline. As used in this subdivision, "width" is determined by the straight line formed between the points located at intersections of the applicant's property lines with the shoreline.Natural Resources Commission; 312 IAC 6-4-4; filed Nov 3, 2009, 3:37 p.m.: 20091202-IR-312090137FRAFiled 11/24/2015, 4:05 p.m.: 20151223-IR-312150295RFAReadopted filed 9/23/2021, 9:42 a.m.: 20211020-IR-312210342RFA