GUIDELINES

Site Selection and Site Reservation

The purpose of designating sites is to protect important dredged material disposal sites from incompatible and preemptive uses that may limit their ultimate use for the deposition of dredged material, to ensure that an adequate number of sites will be reserved in order to accommodate dredged material disposal needs resulting from five years of existing and expected water-dependent development and navigation projects, and to promote the beneficial use of dredged materials.

Local jurisdictions should designate and reserve the acceptable dredged material disposal sites listed in this plan. Absence of this designation may allow development at a site to occur before any dredged material disposal use, resulting in a reduction of available disposal capacity for necessary dredging projects. The general management responsibility of a local jurisdiction for its dredged material disposal sites is to discourage preemptory uses of the site prior to use for disposal. This responsibility is fulfilled through the implementation of ordinance/plan and review procedures discussed in this Plan.

1. Dredged Material Disposal Sites

i. Dredged material disposal shall occur only at designated sites or at new sites that meet the requirements of the Dredged Material Disposal Site Selection Policies, as well as local, State and Federal regulations.
ii. Selection of dredged material disposal sites shall be in accord with the Dredged Material Disposal Plan Site Selection and Use Priorities.
iii. Preference shall be given to the use of those sites that allow for the beneficial use of the dredged material.
iv. Each jurisdiction shall cooperate with other jurisdictions on the Columbia River Estuary in monitoring of dredged material site availability and in any dredged material disposal plan update.
v. In order to ensure the adequacy of identified dredged material disposal site capacities for anticipated five-year disposal requirements, an analysis of the dredged material disposal site inventory shall be completed every five years. The analysis shall include:

a) A determination of the sites utilized for dredged material disposal and the volume received by each site during the preceding period, noting also the project source of the dredged material and the interval separating the most recent from the next anticipated dredging event.
b) A determination of the number and usable volume of sites remaining in the inventory, and the relationship between these sites and present or expected navigation-related dredging or water-dependent development projects in the following five year period.
c) An identification of additional beneficial use sites to be added to the inventory.
d) An analysis of the adequacy of the dredged material site inventory shall include notification of a communication of updated inventory information to affected property owners and local, state and federal governmental agencies. Of particular importance is the addition, deletion, or change of dredged material disposal sites.

2. Permitted Uses
*See Use and Activity Matrices in following section.

3. Incompatible and Preemptive Uses

i. Incompatible or preemptive uses shall be discouraged at dredged material disposal sites unless the site is removed from the dredged material disposal plan by ordinance or plan amendment upon demonstration that either:

a) The site has been filled to capacity and is available for other uses, or
b) The site is, in fact, not required to accommodate anticipated five-year disposal needs, or
c) A new site has been designated to replace the site being removed.

ii. Uses requiring substantial structural or capital improvements (e.g. construction of permanent buildings, water and sewer service connections)
iii. Uses that require alteration of the topography of the site, thereby affecting the drainage of the area or reducing the potential useable volume of the dredged material disposal site (e.g. extensive site grading or excavation, elevation by placement of fill materials other than dredged material);
iv. Uses that include changes made to the site that would prevent expeditious use of the site for dredged material disposal. Such uses would delay deposition of dredged material on the site beyond the period of time commonly required to obtain the necessary federal, state, and local dredging and dredged material disposal permits (approximately 90 days).Development FreezeA 30 day freeze shall be placed on preemptive development requests for the purpose of allowing affected government agencies or private interests to negotiate for the use of the property as a disposal site. Individual jurisdictions may choose to run this freeze concurrently or in addition to the normal permit process. If there is no expressed interest in use of the site for dredged material disposal during the freeze period, the development request shall be reviewed under normal procedures. If the request is approved, the entire site or affected portions of the site shall be removed from the dredged material disposal plan by ordinance/plan amendment.

4. Site Selection
Practicality and zoning will protect many of the dredged material disposal sites identified in this plan. However, ownership and development plans can change; therefore, it is necessary to take some action to ensure dredged material disposal use at a given site prior to allowing a development which could prevent all future disposal at the site.

Local jurisdictions may use a combination of special zoning and limited freezing of development proposals to reserve dredged material disposal sites. Model ordinance/plan language for an overlay zoning district for reserving dredged material disposal sites is given below. The overlay district protects sites by not allowing uses that preempt dredged material disposal unless the site is removed from the dredged material disposal plan by ordinance/plan amendment.

a. Site Selection

i. When identifying dredged material disposal sites, emphasis shall be placed on sites where (not in priority order):

a) The site provides the opportunity for the beneficial use of dredged material.
b) The local comprehensive plan/ shoreline master program land use designation is development provided that the disposal does not preclude future development at the site;
c) The potential for the site's final use will benefit from deposition of dredged materials;
d) Material may be stockpiled for future use;
e) Dredged spoils containing organic, chemical, and/or other potentially toxic or polluted materials will be properly contained, presenting minimal health and environmental hazards due to leaching or other redistribution of contaminated materials;
f) Placement of dredged material will help restore degraded habitat;
g) Wetlands will not be impacted
h) (Washington jurisdictions add: "The land is owned by the state or, secondly, where the land is owned or leased by a county, port, or other public entity.")
i) The appropriate review/permitting process for impacts to an ESA-listed species has been followed and is approved/permitted by the appropriate Fisheries agency.

ii. Important fish and wildlife habitat or areas with scenic, recreational, archaeological, or historical values that would not benefit from dredged material disposal and sites where the present intensity of type of use is inconsistent with dredged material disposal shall be avoided.
iii. Oregon jurisdictions add: "The use of agricultural or forest lands for dredged material disposal shall occur only when the dredging project proponent can demonstrate that the soils can be restored to agricultural or forest productivity after disposal use is completed. In cases where this demonstration cannot be made, an exception to the Agricultural Lands or Forest Lands Goal must be taken and included as an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan prior to the use of the site for dredged material disposal. The use of shoreland water dependent development sites for dredged material disposal shall occur only when the dredging project proponent can demonstrate that the dredged material placed on the site will be compatible with current or future water dependent development. Dredged material disposal shall not occur in any significant Goal 17 resource areas."
iv. Engineering factors to be considered in site selection shall include:

a) size and capacity of the site
b) dredging method
c) composition of dredged materials
d) distance from dredging operation
e) control of drainage from the site
f) elevation
g) costs of site acquisition, preparation and revegetation

v. Flow lane disposal sites shall only be allowed in development designate areas within or adjacent to the Federally Authorized Navigation channel where:

a) Sediments can reasonably be expected to be transported without excessive shoaling,
b) Interference with recreational and commercial fishing operations will be minimal or can be minimized by applying specific timing restrictions,
c) Adverse hydraulic effects will be minimal,
d) Adverse effects on estuarine resources can be shown to be minimal, and
e) The disposal site depth is between 20 and 65 feet below MLLW.
f) The disposal site does not create a hazard for safe navigation.

vi. Estuarine in-water disposal sites shall be in areas identified as low in benthic productivity, unless the disposal is to provide fill material for an approved fill project, and where disposal at the site will not have adverse hydraulic effects.
vii. Estuarine in-water disposal sites shall only be designated and used when it is demonstrated that no feasible upland or EPA-designated ocean disposal sites can be identified and biological and physical impacts are minimal .
viii. An in-water disposal site shall not be used if sufficient sediment type and benthic data are not available to characterize the site.
ix. Beach nourishment sites shall only be designated on sandy beaches currently experiencing active erosion. Dredged material disposal at beach nourishment sites shall only be used to offset the erosion and not to permanently create new beach or upland areas. Beach nourishment sites shall not be designated in areas where placement or subsequent erosion of the dredged materials would adversely impact tidal marshes or productive intertidal or shallow subtidal areas. (Oregon Jurisdictions add: " Designation of new beach nourishment sites shall require an exception to Statewide Planning Goal 16.")
xi. Dredged material disposal sites with adequate capacity to accommodate anticipated dredging needs for at least a five-year period shall be identified and designated in local plans and zoning ordinances. Additional sites may also be designated.

5. Removal of Site Designation
Sites may be removed by ordinance/plan amendment to the Plan in the following situations:

i. If the site is no longer viable for the beneficial use of dredged material.
ii. Provision is made for a replacement dredged material disposal site of suitable characteristics; or
iii. The dredging need for which the site was initially designed for dredged material disposal is withdrawn or reevaluated.
iv. It is no longer in the interest of the landowner to receive dredged material on their property.
v. Significant environmental considerations