We (DES) were out last Friday morning trying to get an idea of how widespread the ice damage on Winnipesaukee was this year. We only had time to view a small portion of the lake but it was enough to indicate that the damage is considerable. (Let me pause briefly here to also state that we saw 3 separate lengths of piling floating just in the area bounded by Spindle Pt, the Weirs, and Pendleton Shores. Please be careful and keep a sharp lookout if boating during the upcoming holiday weekend.) We are investigating some options to allow us to streamline permitting for those who will need repair permits. I will post here if we can in fact provide some relief. Until then please note the following:
- If you already have a valid permit to repair and maintain docking structures please remember to post a copy of the permit on site during the work and adhere to all of the conditions listed on that permit.
- If you need to make repairs that will not require work in the water such as work involving the deck surface, stringers, and possibly the piling caps depending on how high the underlying pilings rise, then, provided the repairs do not change the size, location and configuration of the structure you do not need a permit from the NH DES. We strongly advise that you check with the municipality about the need for a local permit before starting work. Also we strongly recomend that you take photos of the docking facility before starting work just in case folks in the neighborhood had never noticed that there had been a dock there before.
- For those individuals that will need to get a permit, you can obtain a permit for "in-kind" repairs by using the
Wetlands Bureau Permit by Notification Form. You
cannot use the Shoreland PBN for dock repairs. You can download the Wetland forms from the DES Wetlands webpage
http://des.nh.gov/organization/divis...ries/forms.htm.
Sincerely
D. Forst
Shoreland Section Supervisor
NH DES Land Resource Management Programs