Apply for Federal Consistency Review
Oregon Federal Consistency Portal
Federal Consistency Authority
One of the incentives for state participation in the Coastal Zone Management Act is the federal consistency authority. The authority includes a review process that coastal states with federally approved coastal programs undertake, every time a federal activity is proposed in that state's
Coastal Zone. The review process is usually triggered under three circumstances; when the
federal activity is proposed by a federal agency, when a
federal permit is needed for a proposed project, or when a project receives federal assistance (e.g. funding). The process assists early coordination between the state and a federal agency planning an activity that may affect coastal resources and uses.
Learn more about the federal consistency review process.
Where Does Federal Consistency Apply?
Federal consistency applies to any project that affects a coastal use or resource, whether inside or outside of the coastal zone boundary. However, there are specific rules that apply to areas outside of the coastal zone boundary. Areas outside of the coastal zone must be within a designated geographic location description (GLD).
Learn more about where the federal consistency review process applies and Oregon's only designated GLD regarding marine renewable energy.
Enforceable Policies of the Program
The Oregon Coastal Management Program (Program) is made up of
42 partners at the county and city level and
11 state agency partners. Each local entity has documents governing how they operate and guiding how they administer land use in their community. Each state agency has chapters of statutes guiding operations and helping them administer state law. These documents include comprehensive plans and land use regulations, state statutes, and statewide planning goals. DLCD incorporates the documents in their entirety into the Program.
Within the various statutes, goals, plans, and ordinances only certain elements meet the criteria to be used for federal consistency review. These special policies are called enforceable policies. A
legal definition of enforceable policies is available in the federal regulations.
See a list of the Program's enforceable policies.
Learn how to identify enforceable policies using this
NOAA training module.
Oregon Coastal Management Program Changes
As statutes, rules, and local plans and ordinances change over time, it is the responsibility of the Oregon Coastal Management Program to keep its federally approved enforceable policies up to date through the NOAA Program Change process. This process may also be used to add or remove enforceable policies from the federally approved coastal program.
DLCD posts public notices for all proposed program changes on our Public Notice and Comment page . Public comments may be submitted via the NOAA Program Change website, which also contains information on all past changes to the Oregon Coastal Management Program.
Program Change News - August 7, 2023
APPROVED: NOAA Program Change - Clatsop County Comprehensive Plan and Land and Water Development and Use Code
Original submission information may be found on the NOAA Program Change website and in the Closed Comment Opportunities section of the Public Notice and Comment page.
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