Ecology seeking comment on Clallam County's proposed shoreline master program revisions



Shoreline along Lake Sutherland, about 17 miles west of Port Angeles in Clallam County

Starting today, we are accepting public comment until Thursday, Feb. 28, about significant revisions Clallam County is seeking to make to its shoreline master program (SMP).

The locally-tailored set of land-use policies and regulations is designed to protect and guide how Clallam County will develop, restore, and preserve more than 600 miles of marine and freshwater shorelines in the county, including:

• Approximately 130 miles of marine shoreline including a portion of the Pacific Ocean coastline, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and numerous saltwater inlets such as Clallam, Crescent, Dungeness, Freshwater, and Sequim bays.
• More than 480 miles of freshwater shoreline along the Bogachiel, Calawah, Elwha, Quillayute, and Sol Duc rivers.
• About 1,500 shoreline acres around six lakes in the county including Beaver, Crescent, Dickey, Elk, Pleasant, and Sutherland.

Clallam County last amended its SMP in 1992. The revised SMP will replace the county’s current master program and is designed to:

• Prioritize water-oriented uses and development in Clallam County.
• Provide for public access to public waters and shorelines.
• Support restoration actions consistent with the county’s shoreline restoration plan.
• Incorporate critical area regulations to ensure environmentally-sensitive areas within the county’s shoreline jurisdiction are protected.

Shoreline along the Elwha River in Clallam County.

Draft SMP documents available for review online or by appointment

Electronic copies of the county's draft SMP documents are available for review and comment through our website while printed copies are available for review, by appointment, at Ecology and Clallam County. To arrange a time to view printed documents at Ecology, please contact Michelle McConnell. Her phone number is 360-407-6329 and Ecology's physical address is:

Washington Department of Ecology
Southwest Regional Office
300 Desmond Dr.
Lacey, WA 98504

To review the draft SMP documents at Clallam County, please contact Steve Gray. His phone number is 360-417-2520 and the county office is located at:

Clallam County
Department of Community Development
223 E. 4th Ave., Suite 5
Port Angeles, WA 98362

How to submit public comments

Comments only need to be provided once before the Feb. 28 deadline at 5 p.m.. While we prefer public comments be submitted through our online comment form, we also will accept comments by mail sent to:

Michelle McConnell
Washington Department of Ecology
Southwest Regional Office
PO Box 47775
Olympia, WA 98504-7775

Next steps

Once the public comment period closes Feb. 28, Ecology will compare Clallam County's proposed SMP to requirements under the state Shoreline Management Act and Shoreline Master Program Guidelines. Based on the comparison, we will decide whether to:

• Approve Clallam County’s proposed SMP as is.
• Approve the updated SMP with recommended changes.
• Send the proposed SMP back to Clallam County with required changes to meet statutory and rule requirements. Recommended changes may also be included with the required changes.

Ecology seeking public comments on Grays Harbor County's proposed shoreline program

Grays Harbor County's proposed updated shoreline master program designed to
help protect, guide shoreline uses along Grays Harbor estuary.

We are seeking public comments until Monday, Dec. 3, about significant revisions that Grays Harbor County is seeking to make to its shoreline master program (SMP)—the locally-tailored set of land use policies and regulations designed to protect and guide how the county will develop, restore, and preserve more than 1,200 miles of marine and freshwater shorelines in and around:

• Grays Harbor estuary
• Pacific Ocean coastline
• Numerous rivers and streams including the Chehalis, Hoquiam, Humptulips, North, Satsop, and Wynoochee rivers.
• Six lakes including Wynoochee Lake

Grays Harbor County last amended its SMP in 1991. The proposed updated master program will replace the county’s current SMP. It is designed to:

• Prioritize water-oriented uses and development in Grays Harbor County.
• Provide for public access to public waters and shorelines.
• Support restoration actions consistent with the county’s shoreline restoration plan.
• Incorporate critical area regulations to ensure environmentally-sensitive areas within the county’s shoreline jurisdiction are protected.

Draft review documents available online or by appointment

The draft documents currently out for review and comment are available electronically through our website. Paper copies are also available for review, by appointment, at Ecology:

Washington Department of Ecology

Southwest Regional Office

300 Desmond Drive

Lacey, WA 98504

To arrange a time, please contact Ecology’s Kim Van Zwalenburg. Her phone number is (360) 407-6520.

The documents are also available by appointment at the county:

Grays Harbor County
Department of Public Services - Planning and Building Division

100 West Broadway, Suite 31

Montesano, WA 98563

To schedule an appointment, please contact Jane Hewitt at Grays Harbor County. Her phone number is (360) 249-4222

How to submit comments by Dec. 3

Comments only need to be provided once before the Dec. 3 deadline. While we prefer public comments be submitted through our online comment form, we also will accept comments by mail sent to:

Kim Van Zwalenburg

Washington Department of Ecology

Southwest Regional Office

PO Box 47775

Olympia, WA 98504-7775

Next steps

After the public comment period closes Dec. 3, Ecology will compare Grays Harbor's proposed SMP to the requirements of the state Shoreline Management Act and Shoreline Master Program Guidelines. Based on the comparison, we will decide whether to:

• Approve Grays Harbor County’s proposed SMP as is.
• Approve the revised SMP with recommended changes.
• Send the proposed SMP back to the county with required changes to meet statutory and rule requirements. Recommended changes may also be included with the required changes.

Ecology approves Pierce County's revised shoreline master program

Pierce County's updated shoreline master program will protect and guide

shoreline uses in the county, including these shores on the south end of Key Peninsula.

Photo courtesy Hugh Shipman.

 

On Oct. 12, we approved Pierce County’s updated shoreline master program (SMP), the first comprehensive revision to the county’s master program since 1975.

Pierce County’s locally-tailored land-use policies and regulations will protect and guide the use of 225 miles of marine and 880 miles of freshwater shoreline in the county, including the shorelines around or along:

• Anderson, Fox, and McNeil islands in Puget Sound
• The Tacoma Narrows
• Portions of Key and Gig Harbor peninsulas
• Chambers, Clover, and Spanaway creeks
• Carbon, Nisqually, Puyallup, and White Rivers
• Lake Tapps

The county’s revised SMP:

• Protects the county’s environmental resources in its shoreline areas for future generations.
• Provides for public access to public waters and shorelines.
• Plans for water-dependent uses such as aquaculture, maritime and boating activities, and shoreline recreation.

Pierce County's updated SMP takes effect Oct. 26, unless the joint local-state decision is appealed to the state Growth Management Hearings Board.

Comment on Ocean Shores’ new shoreline master program

A city that began as a California-style development on Point Brown in Grays Harbor County, Ocean Shores has been a tourist beacon since its conversion from a cattle ranch in the early 1960s.

People continue to flock to Ocean Shores, especially during the warmer months and when shellfish beds are open. And the city’s more than 70 miles of shoreline will continue to attract permanent and temporary residents.

Those shorelines, including the Pacific Ocean, Grays Harbor, Duck Lake and canals, are managed under Ocean Shores’ Shoreline Master Program. The Department of Ecology is currently seeking public comments on a proposed update to this master program.

Local shoreline master programs become part of a statewide master program under Washington’s Shoreline Management Act.

Through 5 p.m. on Feb. 15, the public is invited to comment on the proposed program, which will guide shoreline development and activities. It will:

• Entirely replace the city’s existing program;
• Prioritize water-oriented uses and development within the city’s shoreline areas;
• Identify potential restoration projects for future shoreline restoration efforts in a Restoration Plan; and
• Incorporate critical area regulations to ensure the protection of sensitive areas within shoreline jurisdiction.

Once the comment period is over, we will approve it as is, recommend changes, or send it back to the city for required changes to meet statutory and rule requirements.

The documents for public review and comment are available electronically.

Paper copies are available to view, by appointment, at the following locations:

Washington Department of Ecology

Southwest Regional Office

300 Desmond Drive

Lacey, WA 98503

Staff Contact: Kim Van Zwalenburg

Email: kim.vanzwalenburg@ecy.wa.gov

Phone: 360-407-6520

City of Ocean Shores
Planning Department/Permit Office
801 Minard Avenue NW, Building B
Ocean Shores, WA 98569
Staff Contact: Alicia Bridges
Email: abridges@osgov.com
Phone: 360-940-7489

Submit written comments and questions to:

Kim Van Zwalenburg, Senior Shoreline Planner

Washington Department of Ecology

Southwest Regional Office

PO Box 47775

Olympia, WA 98504-7775

Email: kim.vanzwalenburg@ecy.wa.gov

Phone: 360-407-6520

Comments must be received no later than February 15, 2018, at 5 p.m.

By: Dave Bennett, Communications Manager, Southwest Regional Office, Washington Department of Ecology

Protecting our shorelines for public and environmental benefits

This week, the Department of Ecology formally revised the state procedural rules for managing marine and freshwater shorelines.

It’s all part of the state Shoreline Management Act, which was adopted by voters in 1972. The overarching goal of the act is to prevent the inherent harm in an uncoordinated and piecemeal development of the state’s shorelines.

Under it, cities and counties are required to periodically review their land-use policies and regulations governing shoreline uses within their jurisdiction. These locally tailored shoreline master programs (SMPs) are adopted and approved by each local government and Ecology.

Local governments helped us revise the rules and we also factored in comments we received from the public. The updated rules:

• Define procedures for counties and cities to comply with a legislative requirement to periodically review local master programs on a repeating eight-year cycle. The first round of reviews are due in June 2019 for jurisdictions in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.
• Outline a new optional process cities and counties can use for amending SMPs that reduces duplication by consolidating local and state comment periods.
• Incorporate recent state laws and adopt other “housekeeping” changes.

For more information about the revised SMP rules, please contact our senior shoreline planner, Tim Gates.

McCleary’s first shoreline master plan proposal ready for public input

The first of anything only happens once. So, here’s your chance to get in on the ground floor and comment on the first Shoreline Master Plan proposal for the City of McCleary. Public comments are open now through Sept. 26, 2016. The proposal addresses uses and development on Wildcat Pond and a small segment of the shorelands associated with Mox Chehalis Creek. If approved, the proposal would meet the requirements of the Shoreline Management Act and the Shoreline Master Program Guidelines. 

What’s a Shoreline Master Program?

Shoreline Master Programs are local plans developed by cities and counties to manage shoreline use. These local programs protect natural resources for future generations, provide for public access to public waters and shores and plan for shoreline uses and development.

City of McCleary’s shoreline plan

McCleary’s new shoreline program establishes vegetative buffers to accommodate existing development, reflects the city’s underlying zoning, and references a restoration plan that identifies potential projects for future restoration efforts. To schedule a time to read paper copies of the proposal, contact the City of McCleary or Ecology Regional Planner Kim Van Zwalenburg at the address below.

All comments should be sent to Kim Van Zwalenburg. There are four ways to do it:

By email:             kim.vanzwalenburg@ecy.wa.gov

By mail:                Southwest Regional Office

                              PO Box 47775
                              Olympia, WA 98504-7600

In person:            300 Desmond Drive
                              Lacey, WA 98503

By phone:            360-407-6520

Ecology must receive comments no later than 5 p.m. on Sept. 26, 2016.

Comment summaries and the city’s response will be posted to the City of McCleary Shoreline Master Program page on Ecology’s website.

By: Dave Bennett, Southwest Region communications manager

Comment now on the City of Elma’s proposed shoreline plan

The City of Elma’s proposed update to its Shoreline Master Program is ready for public comment now through September 8. The proposal would replace the city’s 1974 Shoreline Plan, and address uses and development along a mile of Cloquallum Creek.

What’s a Shoreline Master Program?

Shoreline Master Programs are local plans developed by cities and counties to manage shoreline use. These local programs protect natural resources for future generations, provide for public access to public waters and shores and plan for shoreline uses and development.

City of Elma’s shoreline plan

The City of Elma’s new shoreline plan establishes vegetative buffers to accommodate existing development, reflects the city’s underlying zoning and references a restoration plan that identifies potential future projects. Read the proposed SMP and several background documents here.

Paper copies of the proposal are available by contacting the City of Elma or Ecology Regional Planner Kim Van Zwalenburg at the address below.

All comments should be sent to Kim Van Zwalenburg. There are three ways to do it:

By email:  Kim.VanZwalenburg@ecy.wa.gov

By mail:    Southwest Regional Office
                  PO Box 47775
                  Olympia, WA 98504-7600

In person:  300 Desmond Drive
                   Lacey, WA 98503

The public can also call 360-407-6520 to comment and ask questions.

Ecology must receive comments no later than 5 p.m. on September 8, 2016.

Comment summaries and the city’s response will be posted to the City of Elma Shoreline Master Program page on Ecology’s website.

By: Dave Bennett, Soutwest Region communications manager

Water’s Edge: Planning for salmon farms

Science and the law leads the way in regulating salmon net pens

By Cedar Bouta, shoreline environmental planner

Alevin (newly hatched salmon) with yolk sac.
Photo: PNW Salmon Center.

Washingtonians are passionate about our salmon. We give smoked salmon as presents and take visitors to the Pike Place Market for salmon tossing. We also use images of them on beer, t-shirts and other products. In addition, native peoples harvest and consume wild salmon as an important part of their cultures.

Our conversations about wild versus farmed salmon are passionate too.

That’s why the University of Washington’s Northwest Environmental Forum sponsored a March 22-23 gathering that brought together about 65 stakeholders with differing perspectives about commercial salmon farming in Washington. The forum was a success in bringing together parties who – although on opposite sides of lawsuits or with differing points of view – were willing to come, learn and listen.

The forum highlighted:

• The stakeholders’ shared commitment to a healthy marine environment, recovery of native salmon, and local jobs.
• A growing demand for seafood and the health benefits of eating more salmon.
• The complex oversight provided by local, state and federal permits and authorizations for commercial fish farms.
• A need for more sharing of science and other information about Washington’s existing fish farms.

Commercial salmon net pens near Bainbridge Island, Washington. 

The state of salmon in Washington

Salmon are part of our state’s legacy. Washington has a coordinated, scientifically-rigorous recovery plan spearheaded by the Puget Sound Partnership to ensure wild salmon are part of Washington’s future. The plan contains programs and projects designed to restore native salmon runs and protect endangered and threatened stocks.

Many of the stakeholders represented at the March net pen forum have contributed to salmon recovery in Puget Sound and are working towards addressing urban runoff and other threats.

Feeding a seafood-hungry world

As committed as we are to our native salmon, forum participants learned that our hunger for seafood is growing and imported, farmed salmon is filling the gap. During the years 2000-2004, Americans consumed an average of about 284,000 metric tons (more than 617 million pounds) of salmon annually, of which approximately:

One-third of salmon consumed was wild and two-thirds was farmed.
One-third was domestic production (farmed and wild) and two-thirds was imported.

From January 2015 through March 2016, over 27 million pounds of fresh and frozen Atlantic salmon were imported from other countries through the Port of Seattle. This was almost twice as much as the annual production of commercial salmon farms in Washington.

Forum participants also learned that salmon aquaculture is one of the most resource-efficient sources of ways to produce protein.

Science leads the way, learning more about net pens

Ecology regulates net pen operations, like this one in
Port Angeles, through water quality permits
and shoreline master programs.

We have information describing our current approach to shoreline planning and commercial salmon net pens on our website. We also have video of scientific presentations and an expert panel discussing net pen operations, fish health, escapement, genetics, water quality and management tools.

Ecology will continue to let science and the law lead the way – adapting our findings and requirements as needed. Working together, we and other stakeholders can ensure commercial net pens do not put wild salmon recovery at risk.

Learn more about Ecology’s role
with net pens on our website.