Seawall permits.
Know who reviews what.

Which local office handles the property?

Monroe County Building and Permitting · Monroe County Ocean Reef office · Islamorada Building Services

Keep four approval questions separate

DEP Marathon: 305-289-7070. Corps Keys Permits Section: 305-526-7181.

DEP Southeast District Marathon branch · USACE regulatory offices and requests · Florida Keys sanctuary nearshore construction

Prepare one consistent project package

• Survey with boundaries, shoreline features and the named elevation datum.
• Plans showing existing and proposed walls, docks, lifts, returns and waterward limits.
• The repair method and equipment access, including barges if proposed.
• Existing authorizations and permit conditions.
• Habitat or benthic information requested by the reviewing agencies.

NOAA’s complete-submission checklist asks for plans, state approval, a benthic survey if applicable and federal approval if applicable. Send nearshore inquiries to fknms.authorizations@noaa.gov.

NOAA nearshore submission checklist · Benthic resource assessment surveys

How do you keep several approvals in sync?

Use one coordinator to track the whole package. If a wall face, access method or dock connection changes, ask that person which reviewers need the revised plans. A status update should say what is still needed, not only that an application was submitted.

An issued permit may not be permission to start

Read every condition on the county permit. For permits conditioned on outside agency approvals, the county’s 2022 handout says construction and inspections cannot begin until its Notice to Proceed is issued. Separately, NOAA says holders of Corps nationwide or general permits must submit their materials for sanctuary authorization review.

Notice To Proceed Instructional Handout (Internet Archive copy) · Corps permits and sanctuary review

Where do you find the county’s conditions and comments?

In OPAL, open the application or permit and select Conditions, then the individual condition name. Reviewer comments are under Plan Reviews → View Plan Comments. These are different checks; an issued status should not be read without its conditions.

Save the applicable comments and record the response against each item. If a requirement is unclear, ask the listed review team to explain the document or action it needs rather than uploading a guessed replacement.

Monroe County OPAL conditions and review comments

What if someone says the repair is exempt?

Ask which agency, which provision and which exact scope the statement covers. DEP offers written exemption verification. Monroe’s 2026 limited-work notice has structural-work and flood-zone restrictions; its dollar threshold is not a general seawall exemption. Keep the written determination with the plans.

DEP ERP e-Permitting · Monroe County limited-work exemption notice

How much and how long?

The county publishes valuation-based fees plus conditional charges. Its linked schedule lists a $976 Notice to Proceed fee when that procedure applies. See the fee examples and limitations.

Request a schedule that separates document preparation, agency questions, permit issuance, start authorization, construction and closeout. No universal review duration is established here; an incomplete sanctuary package does not enter NOAA’s review queue.

Resolution 277-2025: conditional fees · Corps permits and sanctuary review

What belongs in a realistic approval schedule?

NOAA’s general permit guidance calls for construction permit applications at least 90 days before the requested effective date. That is submission lead time, not a promised approval duration. Confirm the procedure for your nearshore authorization with the sanctuary coordinator.

• Allow for survey and design before the application package is ready.
• Identify dependencies between agency submissions and outside approvals.
• Keep construction access and material ordering tied to the required authorizations.
• Recheck the schedule if the footprint or survey needs change.

Florida Keys sanctuary permit timing

Use the agencies for the final determination

Upper Keys Seawall provides project guidance and contractor referrals. Use these public contacts to prepare your questions and confirm requirements with the agency responsible for your property.

Official permit resources