ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES Alabama State Lands Division Submerged Lands Permitting Placement and Configuration or Piers and other Improvements On State Submerged Lands
Jurisdiction of the Alabama State Lands Division (SLD) Public Submerged Lands Submerged lands below water bodies subject to the tidal action Submerged lands below Navigable water bodies as determined by the SLD Navigability Committee and/or the original 1819 Land Survey for the State of Alabama Exception: Those lands below water bodies created from a private upland source such as some dredged canals and boat slips within a single parcel boundary
Alabama State Lands Division Enacted September 3, 2003 To insure maximum benefit and use of state owned submerged lands for all citizens of Alabama To insure all private and public activities on state owned submerged lands which generate revenues or exclude traditional public uses provide compensation for such privileges
Alabama State Lands Division Minimum requirements for review to obtain consent and/or permission by SLD to impact state owned submerged lands Satisfactory evidence of sufficient upland interest (deed, survey, lease, etc.) Project description and design depicting location of pre-project mean high tide Signed Affidavit and Completed Notice of Intent application Obtain consent by the Alabama Marine Police (AMP will review projects submitted by the SLD for safety and navigation concerns)
Alabama State Lands Division Living Shoreline Projects (LSP) are a viable and effective alternative to bulkheads LSP s are not the same as shoreline reclamation LSP s do not typically allow for a riparian property owner to claim accreted lands
Alabama State Lands Division (B) Resource Management (7) Shoreline restoration, including the use of living shorelines techniques for shoreline stabilization, may be permitted upon such terms and conditions as the Commissioner, acting through the State Lands Division may require. -(7) Such techniques may include, but are not limited to, the planting of native vegetation, the placement of wave attenuation structures, the placement of fill materials, and/or other techniques. Fill material placed and/or sediments accreted below the ordinary low water line of nontidal streams or the mean high tide line of tidal water through the implementation of shoreline restoration shall not be construed as reclamation nor cause a change in title to state owned submerged lands.
Living Shorelines Application LSP s require the riparian property owner to submit an LSP specific notarized affidavit recognizing the pre-project shoreline as the extent of fee simple property. Setbacks from adjacent riparian properties must be met or relieved by consent. The pre-project shoreline must be documented by current survey, current aerial photograph or other geo-rectified image. Applicant is responsible for damages to adjacent riparian properties caused by LSP projects.
Living Shorelines Projects Concerns Alabama has had success with many large government sponsored LSP s restoring acres of degraded salt marsh as well as small NGO or private property owner LSP s on lots with less than 65 feet of shoreline. However, recent concerns have surfaced regarding large private LSP s that have created an issue not typically seen as a problem..unwanted accretion to adjacent shorelines or the shoaling in of adjacent boat slips. The primary concern addressed by the State Lands Division application and most agency reviews has been the impact of lost sediment flow resulting in increased or accelerated erosion to adjacent properties. In an effort to ensure effective and efficient use of LSP s, state and fedreal agencies as well those designing or implementing LSP s must continue to anticipate the potential for unwanted changes in the shoreline dynamics that may have consequences far beyond today,