33 U.S.C. § 403 : US Code - Section 403: Obstruction of navigable waters generally; wharves; piers, etc.; excavations and filling in

Search 33 U.S.C. § 403 : US Code - Section 403: Obstruction of navigable waters generally; wharves; piers, etc.; excavations and filling in

The creation of any obstruction not affirmatively authorized by
Congress, to the navigable capacity of any of the waters of the
United States is prohibited; and it shall not be lawful to build or
commence the building of any wharf, pier, dolphin, boom, weir,
breakwater, bulkhead, jetty, or other structures in any port,
roadstead, haven, harbor, canal, navigable river, or other water of
the United States, outside established harbor lines, or where no
harbor lines have been established, except on plans recommended by
the Chief of Engineers and authorized by the Secretary of the Army;
and it shall not be lawful to excavate or fill, or in any manner to
alter or modify the course, location, condition, or capacity of,
any port, roadstead, haven, harbor, canal, lake, harbor or refuge,
or inclosure within the limits of any breakwater, or of the channel
of any navigable water of the United States, unless the work has
been recommended by the Chief of Engineers and authorized by the
Secretary of the Army prior to beginning the same.