AGO Opinion Topics: DEPARTMENT FISH AND WILDLIFE PERMIT WATER RIVER TIDELANDS

DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE—PERMIT—WATER—RIVER—TIDELANDS—Regulatory Authority Under The Hydraulic Project Approval Process Related To Activities Above The Ordinary High Water Line

The regulatory authority of the Department of Fish and Wildlife to require hydraulic project approval is not limited to activities conducted at or below the ordinary high water line. It includes authority over work “that will use, divert, obstruct, or change the natural flow or bed of any of the salt or freshwaters of the state.” Fixing a precise limit to the Department’s authority above the ordinary high water line is impossible in the abstract; whether a particular project is subject to hydraulic project approval will depend on the facts in the given situation.