Any person wishing to conduct construction activities on, above or under state-owned water and land is required to have a sovereign lands construction permit. Chapter 461A of the Iowa Code states:

"A person, association, or corporation shall not build or erect any pier, wharf, sluice, piling, wall, fence, obstruction, building or erection of any kind upon or over any state-owned land or water under the jurisdiction of the commission, without first obtaining from the commission a written permit. A permit, in matters relating to or in any manner affecting flood control, shall not be issued without approval of the environmental protection commission of the department. A person shall not maintain or erect any structure beyond the line of private ownership along or upon the shores of state-owned waters in a manner to obstruct the passage of pedestrians along the shore between the ordinary high-water mark and the water's edge, except by written permission of the commission."

The application form that the Department uses for Sovereign Lands Construction Permits is a form created by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the US Army Corps of Engineers. That form can be used to apply for one, two or all three of the following permits for the activities and jurisdiction as defined in the Iowa Code as stated above.

• Iowa DNR Sovereign Lands Construction Permit
• Iowa DNR Floodplains Permit
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Permit

The Department of Natural Resources receives many requests for Sovereign Lands Construction Permits from individuals, companies and public agencies that wish to proceed with construction. In order to process and complete a Sovereign Lands review and to diminish the delay in receiving a review, please provide the following information along with the completed application form:

• Within the application form please state the Township number, Range number and direction (east or west), Section and Fractional Section (such as the "NE ¼ ") of the Section to be reviewed.
  
  
• Describe the current land use ( ie. cropland, pasture, urban, timber, etc....)
  
  
• Send an 8 1/2" x 11" aerial photo (NRCS or FSA photo) or a 8 1/2" x 11" photocopy of a USGS 7.5 minute topographic map with the area to be reviewed outlined. Please visit our Basic Map and Air Photography Viewer website to generate your maps.
  
  
• If you have your project on GIS, please send us a diskette with your project saved as an ArcView 3.2 shape file or compatible file. The projection should be in UTM coordinates, Zone 15, NAD83.
  
  
• If possible, please send any current pictures of the area.

By providing us this information you will save time and phone conversations with us trying to get the information. We want to provide you with the review service you require in a timely manner.

If you have any questions about sovereign lands construction permits, please contact us at 515/281-8967.

Mail Sovereign Lands Construction Permit Applications to:

Conservation and Recreation Division
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Wallace State Office Building
502 E. 9th
Des Moines, IA 50319-0034

• Joint Application Form (includes instructions) (*.pdf file)