Regional News

Ferry County shoreline plans ready for public review

Jul 06, 2016

More than 52,000 acres of shoreline area will be managed by new programs in Ferry County, including the city of Republic. The Washington Department of Ecology is seeking public review and comment on the updated shoreline programs.

The city of Republic and the county worked together to update their shoreline programs, which were originally developed in 1975. The city and county shared environmental studies and an inventory of current shorelines, including areas along the Columbia, Sanpoil and Kettle rivers, and many lakes such as Curlew Lake.

The city and county adopted their shoreline plan on Feb. 16, 2016, and then sent it to Ecology for review and approval. Once approved by Ecology, the city’s shoreline program will become part of the overall state shoreline master program.

The locally tailored shoreline program is designed to help minimize environmental damage to shoreline areas, reserve appropriate areas for water-oriented uses and protect people’s access to public land and waters.

Comments will be accepted through Aug. 3, and should be addressed to Jeremy Sikes, Department of Ecology, Shorelands and Environmental Assistance Program, 4601 N Monroe St., Spokane, WA 99205, or by email to jeremy.sikes@ecy.wa.gov.

Review documents:

Ecology’s Eastern Regional Office, 4601 N Monroe St., Spokane
Ecology's website
Ferry County Planning and Building Dept., 147 N. Clark Ave., Suite 7, Republic
Ferry County Coalition’s SMP website

After taking public comments into consideration, Ecology may approve the proposed shoreline programs as written, reject them, or identify specific modifications to meet the Shoreline Management Act and applicable state regulations.