DES MOINES, Iowa (KMTV) — State Rep. Josh Turek is proposing a change to Iowa law regulating docks on state-managed waters. Carter Lake, in his district, is uniquely affected because neighbors with docks on Iowa water have more restrictions than neighbors with docks on Nebraska-managed water. Sometimes those docks are next to each other.
- Iowa is the only state requiring dock owners on state-managed waters to have soft roofs and enclosures on those docks.
- During a subcommittee hearing, Eric Armstrong told legislators that the soft enclosures, made of materials such as canvas, are less stable and blow into the lake during storms.
- “All other 49 states have consistency on this,” said Turek. “Iowa is the only one that limits this and so we’re just trying to do away with unnecessary bureaucracy and regulation.”
WATCH BELOW
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Carter Lake is geographically unique: part of Iowa, but on the western side of the Missouri River.
And with that comes unique problems.
I’m Southwest Iowa Reporter Katrina Markel in Des Moines.
“That is where the rubber hits the road, where you have literally a different standard from neighbor to neighbor,” said Josh Turek, the state representative whose district includes Carter Lake.
Iowa is the only state that requires dock owners on state-managed waters to have soft roofs and enclosures on their docks. One Carter Lake neighbor might have a canvas cover on their dock while next door, there’s a wood or fiberglass enclosure because the dock is on Nebraska-managed water.
Turek is proposing a change to the law.
“All other 49 states have consistency on this,” he said. “Iowa is the only one that limits this and so we’re just trying to do away with unnecessary bureaucracy and regulation.”
Subcommittee Chair Austin Harris recommended the bill be advanced to the Natural Resources Committee next week.
