Guides

Shoreline certification, step by step

How the state sets a shoreline, and when the public can weigh in.

State law requires shorelines to be surveyed and certified when needed to fix the shoreline setback, and landowners often petition to have theirs certified before building. (The Environmental Notice, glossary)

Each application is published in the Environmental Notice; maps and photos can be viewed, and written comments go to the State Land Surveyor, postmarked within 15 calendar days of the notice. (The Environmental Notice, “Applications for Shoreline Certification”)

When the Department of Land and Natural Resources proposes to certify or reject a shoreline, that too is published; anyone may appeal in writing to the Board of Land and Natural Resources within 20 calendar days. (The Environmental Notice, “Proposed Shoreline Certifications and Rejections”)

Every shoreline item the Ledger has read is on the Environmental Notice page and on the page for the area where the parcel sits. (The Ledger)

Guides are written by the Ledger for residents. Every paragraph names the record it comes from; where the Ledger has not read the governing law itself, the guide says what the record shows and links it. Found something wrong? Tell us; corrections go up the same day.