266, or John Lilly at ext. The Oregon Division of State Lands wants to change that. Currently landowners who want to excavate, fill in, dredge or alter waterways or wetlands are required to obtain separate permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and from the Division of State Lands. An individual federal Endangered Species Act consultation may be required before federal approval is granted. In addition, a water quality certification may be needed from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
Applications can currently involve six or more separate steps before a project is approved.
This whole process can often take 90 days or more to accomplish. The Division of State Lands and the Corps have been working on a solution. The SPGP would affect an estimated 70 to 80 percent of the applications the Division and the Corps normally receive each year. The new process would serve to speed up review and approval for projects involving less than one-half acre within wetlands and 1,000 cubic yards or less of excavation, fill, removal or alteration within other waterways. Under the SPGP, no additional federal permit, water quality certification or federal Endangered Species Act consultation would be required for projects that meet the Division s requirements.