### Oregon Coastal Management Program
Department of Land Conservation and Development

635 Capitol Street, Suite 150 Salem, Oregon 97301

- 2540 Phone (503) 373

- 0050 FAX (503) 378

- 6033
www.oregon.gov/LCD/ OCMP 

# O regon

John A. Kitzhaber, MD, Governor

May 7, 2012

Ms. Christine Reichgott U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10 1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 900 Seattle, WA 98101

- 3140

Re: Federal Consistency Concurrence Project : Yaquina River North and South Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site

Designation Agency : U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Location : Oregon Territorial Sea

Dear Ms. Reichgott :

The Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) has reviewed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) proposal to designate a Yaquina River North and South Ocean Dredged Material D isposal (ODMD ) site for consistency with the Oregon Coastal Management Program (OCMP). As a Federal agency activity, the proposed act ion is subject to consistency review pursuant to Section 307 of the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) and attendant regulations of 15 CFR Part 930, Subpart C.

The EPA proposes to designate two ODMD sites under Section 102 of the Marine Protection,

Resear ch and S anctuaries Act of 1972 (MPRSA)

. The proposed north site is located approximately 1.7 nautical miles northwest of the entrance to the Yaquina River, while the south site is located approximately 2 nautical miles southwest of the Yaquina River entra nce. Each site is 6,500 feet in length by 4,000 feet in width, with site depths ranging from approximately 112 to

152 feet.

T he U.S. Army Corps of E ngineers designated both sites under Section 103(b) of the MPRSA in

2001 . The Corps has since used the north site annually

, but has not disposed of any materials at

the south site

. The MPRSA limits Section 103(b) sites to ten years of use, necessitating this longer

- term designation under Section 102. Although this Section 102 designation covers the

life s pan of the sites, the sites are non

- dispersive and will reach c apacity at some point in the

future , effectively closing them off from further disposal. The consistency determ ination

indicates that the south site has an approximate ly 20 year site life , wit h the full 20 years remaining; while the north site has approximately 10 year s remaining until it reaches capacity

._____________________________________________________________________________________________

May 7, 2012 Federal Consistency Concurrence : EPA Yaq uina ODMDS Designation Page 2 of 3 Over the life of the sites t he Corps will continue to be the primary user, with the majority of dredged material coming from the Corps’ annual dredging of the Yaquina River navigation project . Persons or entities who seek to dispose of material at the sites mus t apply for and obtain

a permit from the Corps (subject to EPA concurrence) before disposing of dredged material at

the sites.

Once designated, the EPA and Corps will jointly manage the sites based on a Site Management and Monitoring Plan (SMMP)

. The SMMP’s primary goal is to “assure that disposal activities will not unreasonably degrade or endanger human health, welfare, the mar ine environment, or economic potentialities.” To meet that goal, the SMMP sets specific objectives and outlines a routine monitoring program, possible special studies, and an adaptive management framework.

DLCD Federal Consistency Review

The CZMA requires federal agency activities affecting any coastal use or resource within a state’s coastal zone to be consistent to the maximum extent practicable with the enforceable policies of that state’s federally approved coastal management program.

Oregon’ s federally approved program is a “networked” coastal management program that integrates authorities of local governments and other state agencies as the “enforceable policies” of the OCMP. As such, the enforceable policies of the OCMP include: 1) the sta tewide planning goals; 2) the applicable acknowledged city or county comprehensive plan and land use regulations; and 3) selected state agency authorities (e.g. those governing removal

- fill, proprietary leasing, water quality, and fish & wildlife protectio ns).

Because this activity is proposed to take place in Oregon’s territorial sea, s tatewide planning goals 1

- 18 and local comprehensive plans and land use regulations do not apply directly

.

Goal 19 (Ocean Resources) and the state’s Territorial Sea Pl an (TSP) are the primary enforceable policies that apply to this proposed activity. Goal 19 and the TSP require a resource inventory and effects analysis that is sufficient to understand the short and long term effects of the proposed decision on the affe cted uses and resources. Applicants may use existing data and information from any source, including NEPA documents, when complying with the resource inventory and effects evaluation requirements. The EPA’s consistency determination, along with

the infor mation contained in the Environmental Assessment and appendices, addresses the

r equired Goal 19 and TSP components

.

Public Notice and Comments DLCD issued a public notice regarding the project on March 5, 2012. DLCD received one comment in response (at tached) , from our networked agency partner the Oregon Department of

Fish and Wildlife (ODFW)

. As indicated in the comment letter, ODFW’s primary goal in the review process is to ensure that agencies use the best available science when making resource

deci sions and that any future monitoring efforts result in quality science. Recognizing the resource and staffing constraints faced by all involved agencies, ODFW has offered to aid the EPA and Corps in da ta interpretation, presentation and use in future deci sion

- making, as requested and as finances allow._____________________________________________________________________________________________

May 7, 2012 Federal Consistency Concurrence : EPA Yaq uina ODMDS Designation Page 3 of 3 Consistency D ecision

B ased on the information contained in the consistency determination and supporting materials, and on extensive conversations with the EPA, DLCD concurs with the EPA’s determination that

the designation of the north and south Yaquina ODMD site is consistent to the maximum extent practicable with the enforceable poli cies of the OCMP.

DLCD strongly encourages the EPA and Corps to accept ODFW’s offer of technical assistance.

ODFW staff are a talented and dedicated resource
, who can provide valuable technical assistance that will help to enhance the management and improve the designation of this and future dredge material disposal sites in Oregon’s territorial sea.

DLCD also joins ODFW in encouraging the EPA to pursue future disposal sites within the littoral zone. The State of Oregon has a strong preferen ce for dredged materials to be disposed

of at sites where the material will remain in the littoral zone, and would like to partner with the EPA and Corps to begin identify ing sites that are appropriate for future disposal

.

We appreciate the time and effort that the EPA and Corps staf f have put into this designation and consistency determination, and look forward to continued collaboration on this and future sites

.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this coastal zone management consistency finding or the consistency rev iew process, please contact me at 503

- 373

- 0050 ext. 253 or by e

mail at: juna.hickner@state.or.us

Sincerely,

/s/

Juna Hickner

Coastal State

- Federal Relations Coordinator

C c via email : Bridgette Lohrman, E PA

Caren Braby, ODFW Mike Donnellan, ODFW Mark Siipola, USACE Katharine Groth, USACE