22 MAC Pt. 23, R. 8.3
Marinas, Boat Basins, and Boat Slips:
Cite as 22 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 23, R. 8.3
Marinas, Boat Basins, and Boat Slips:
A. Must be located in areas that will have minimal adverse impact on wetlands, water
quality, wildlife and marine resources, or sensitive coastal wetlands, and where minimal
initial and maintenance dredging will be required.
B. Must not disrupt currents or restrict tidal flow.
C. Must be located at least one thousand (1,000) feet from shellfish harvesting areas and at
least seventy-five (75) feet from areas containing submerged or regularly flooded
emergent vegetation.
D. More efficient utilization of existing marina space is preferred over new marina
construction. Innovative solutions to increased demands for additional boat mooring and
storage space, including dry stack storage or alternative slip mooring configurations, are
encouraged and must be addressed in the environmental assessment required by Chapter
040.
E. Must be designed to avoid sumps and other conditions which would result in long-term
degradation of water quality. Depths of marina basins, boat basins, and boat slips must be
no deeper than the controlling depth of the parent body of water (navigational depth of
adjacent waterway) and must become gradually shallower proceeding from the parent
body of water to the nearshore area.
F. Must not be sited in areas of known high siltation and high shoaling rates or be located in
areas of poor water circulation.
G. Proposals must include a long term dredged material disposal plan which provides for
suitable upland disposal sites of sufficient size to accommodate disposal of dredged
material from initial and future maintenance dredging.
H. Boat slips must be designed to have angled sides of one hundred and twenty-five (125)
degrees or greater in order to provide for proper flushing and tidal exchange. Existing
keyhole boat slips that are being modified must be modified in such a manner that allows
for increased tidal flushing of waters.
I. Must provide for water circulation and be designed to accommodate tidal flushing by
incorporating flow through breakwaters or similar structures. Marinas excavated from
uplands or that are otherwise enclosed must have two (2) or more unrestricted openings
for tidal movement.
J. The marina developer or agent must provide the Department a completed “Coastal
Marina Screening Checklist” prior to filing a permit application with the Department or
as an attachment to the application.
K. Marinas other than for expansion of existing municipal marinas or the construction of
new public marinas by city, county, state or federal entities must not be located on or
waterward of public beaches.
L. Marina proposals require surveys for submerged aquatic vegetation and shellfish within
the area proposed for marina development.
M. Project proposals must include facilities for the proper handling of petroleum products,
sewage, litter, waste, and other refuse. Marinas must have facilities for the collection and
disposal of wastewater generated on site and must provide pump-out facilities for the
collection and disposal of wastewater from onboard holding tanks. Connections from
marina disposal systems to existing sewage collection systems are preferable to collection
of waste in a holding tank, and holding tanks are preferable to on-site collection and
treatment of wastewater. If a holding tank collection system is utilized, proof of a
contract with a pump-out service must be provided. Waste disposal and collection
systems must be approved by appropriate state agencies, must have adequate signage
directing vessels to the pumpout facility, and must describe the method of operation for
the pumpout system.
N. Marinas are prohibited from conducting or allowing any activity that would negatively
impact the current classification of adjacent shellfish growing waters as classified by the
Department in accordance with Title 22, Part 1.
O. See also Requirements for Bulkheads and Seawalls (Rule 8.4), Channels and Access
Canals (Rule 8.7), Dredged Material Disposal (Rule 8.8), Filling Other Than Dredged
Material Disposal (Rule 8.15), and Dredging and Excavation (Rule 8.18).
MISS. CODE ANN. §§49-15-304, 49-27-59, 57-15-6, 57-15-10.