| Oregon Coastal Program Overview |
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| Program Components |
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To accomplish our mission, the Oregon Coastal Management Program knits together various state statutes for managing our coastal lands and waters into a single, coordinated package. The package, administered by the Department of Land Conservation and Development, has three basic parts:
- The 19 Statewide Planning Goals. These are Oregon’s standards for comprehensive land use planning. The Goals set requirements on how land use decisions are to be made by local governments and state agencies. The Land Conservation and Development Commission, which is responsible for adopting and interpreting most of the 19 Statewide Planning Goals, sets overall rules for planning decisions and oversees the statewide program. The department is the administrative arm for the commission.
- City and County Comprehensive Land Use Plans. In Oregon, state and local governments share the job of land use planning. Cities and counties prepare and adopt plans and implement ordinances that meet the statewide planning goals and that are coordinated with relevant programs of Oregon state agencies. Day to day land use decisions are made by local governments in conformance with their state-approved plans.
- State Agencies and Natural Resource Laws. Since the late 1960s, the Oregon Legislature has adopted numerous statutes in response to threats on coastal and statewide resources from uncontrolled development. These statutes include the Oregon Beach Bill, administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, and the Removal / Fill Law, administered by the Oregon Division of State Lands. All state agencies must also follow certain requirements of the Statewide Planning Goals and must coordinate their land use actions with local government comprehensive land use plans. This helps ensure that all land use decisions by local governments and by state agencies are done more or less under the umbrella of the Statewide Planning Goals.
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| Where the Program Applies |
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 The Oregon Coastal Management Program applies to Oregon's Coastal Zone, the area shown in the map to the right. The area extends from the Washington border to the California border, to the crest of the coast range, and three miles out to sea [to the outer limit of Oregon’s territorial sea].
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| Types of Assistance and Services the Program Provides |
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- Publications on numerous coastal resource and land use planning subjects.
- Planning grants to local governments and qualifying non-profit organizations for meeting program requirements and for responding to special coastal resource management issues.
- Workshops for local planning and elected officials on an "as-needed" basis. People should contact their respective field representative, Laren Woolley for the North Coast [Clatsop, Tillamook and Lincoln counties] or Dave Perry for the South Coast [Lane, Douglas, Coos, and Curry counties].
- Personal assistance and advice for meeting program requirements and for responding to special coastal resource management issues.
For more detailed information about the workings of the Oregon Coastal Management Program, check out A Citizen’s Guide (pdf) to the Oregon Coastal Management Program.
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| Program Coordination with Other State Agencies |
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The state of Oregon is a major landowner in its own coastal zone. Over 75,000 acres of coastal forests, parks, and estuaries are owned and managed by state agencies. And that figure does not include the state’s ocean seabed, ocean beaches, lakes, or non-tidal rivers. Other state agencies regulate certain activities that can potentially harm coastal resources. By the nature of their statutory mandates as landowners or regulators, the following state agencies have close ties to the management of ocean and coastal resources:
| STATE AGENCY |
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
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| Dept. of Agriculture |
Leases submerged estuarine lands for commercial oyster cultivation. |
| Economic & Community Development Dept. |
Provides funding and technical assistance to the state’s port districts. Researches and promotes economic development. |
| Dept. of Energy |
The department’s Energy Facility Siting Council regulates the siting of new energy facilities, to include nuclear and thermal power plants. |
| Dept. of Environmental Quality |
Regulates pollution sources that affect air, water, and land resources. |
| Dept. of Fish & Wildlife |
Regulates the harvest of fin fish, shellfish, and marine invertebrates. Also conducts research, manages refuges, and propagates fish. |
| Dept. of Geology and Mineral Industries |
Regulates oil, gas and geothermal activities, including drilling permits for submerged wells. Also conducts research on coastal geology, coastal geologic hazards, and marine minerals. |
| Health Division |
Sets sanitary boundaries in state waters for harvest of cultivated shellfish. |
| Marine Board |
Regulates recreational boating activities and marina development. |
| Parks and Recreation Dept. |
Regulates activities in the "ocean shore recreation area" up to the beach zone line. Operates state parks. |
| Division of State Lands |
Via the State Land Board, owns and manages submerged lands [the seabed]. Leases activities on the seabed. Regulates kelp harvesting. Regulates fill and removal activities in all state waters. |
| Dept. of Transportation |
Maintains Highway 101 and access to it, the coast’s only north-south land transportation facility. |
| Water Resources Dept. |
Regulates the use of surface water and groundwater. |
Due to their strong presence in coastal resource management, state agencies are in a unique position to assist the Oregon Coastal Management Program by protecting and managing specific natural resources, and by providing technical assistance, resource data and funding to other organizations for resource management. State agencies are also instructed by state statute [ORS 197.180] to make sure that their land use actions do not conflict with the state’s Statewide Planning Goals or with local government comprehensive land use plans.
Each state agency’s capacity to do all of this is articulated in a "State Agency Coordination Plan". Twenty-six state agencies besides DLCD have programs that affect land use. An important aim of Oregon's statewide planning is to ensure that such programs are "coordinated" – and, that they are consistent with the statewide planning goals and compatible with local comprehensive plans. Each agency’s coordination program has been "certified" by the Land Conservation and Development Commission as meeting those standards, and is available for public review at the department’s office in Salem.
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| Program Funding Source |
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The state receives the majority of funding for the Oregon Coastal Management Program from the federal government. The funds come from the federal Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972. The act encourages states to take a leading role in managing the nation’s coastal resources. It was adopted in response to public concern that our nation’s coastal resources were being threatened by fragmented management of coastal land and waterways.
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| Program Interaction with the Federal Government |
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There should be no doubt that the federal government plays a major role in shaping the economy and environment of Oregon’s coast. Federal bureaus and services, like the Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service, own over 1.7 million acres of land on the Oregon coast, more than one-third of the Coastal Zone land area. Many other federal agencies, such as the Army Corp of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency, regulate and provide funding for numerous actions affecting ocean and coastal resources, as well.
Oregon’s participation in the federal Coastal Zone Management Program also allows the state to take advantage of many other beneficial programs from federal agencies. To learn about some of these programs that help Oregon, go to the Special Projects section of our web site.
Oregon interacts with the federal government in another important way that affects our natural ocean and coastal resources. A major provision of the federal Coastal Zone Management Act is called, "federal consistency". This provision requires that any federal actions occurring in or outside of Oregon’s coastal zone which affect coastal land or water uses or natural resources must be consistent with the Oregon Coastal Management Program. To learn more about this "federal consistency", visit our Federal Consistency page.
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