Benton County is updating its Shoreline Master Program (SMP) to comply with the Washington State Shoreline Management Act (SMA) and current state shoreline management guidelines. To protect state shoreline areas, the Washington Legislature passed the Shoreline Management Act in 1971 (Chapter 90.58 RCW). The public adopted the Act in a 1972 referendum vote. Under the Act, each town, city and county with "shorelines of the state" must develop and adopt its own shoreline program. "Shorelines of the state" generally refers to rivers, larger lakes, and marine waterfronts along with their associated shorelands, wetlands, and floodplains. The County's initial SMP was adopted by the Department of Ecology on April 25, 1974 (Benton County Shoreline Master Plan), and has not been updated since that time.
The three primary areas of focus of the SMP update are to:
The geographic scope and jurisdiction of the County’s SMP update includes approximately 411 miles (calculated single banks) of shorelines, principally along the Columbia and Yakima Rivers.
What are shorelines?
Shorelines are special waterbodies that meet certain size or flow criteria in the Shoreline Management Act. These shorelines include rivers and streams with mean annual flow over 20 cubic feet per second. The shoreline jurisdiction extends 200 feet landward of these waters and additionally includes associated wetlands, floodways, and up to 200 feet of floodway-contiguous floodplains. The shorelines in Benton County include the Columbia and Yakima Rivers.
What is the Shoreline Management Act?
Washington’s Shoreline Management Act was passed by the legislature in 1971 and affirmed by voters in 1972. The Act governs the use and development of Washington’s shorelines and creates a unique partnership between local and state government. The Act strives to achieve responsible shoreline use and development, environmental protection, and public access. Local governments develop programs based on the Act and state guidance, and the state ensures local programs consider statewide public interests. The programs are developed at the local level to allow a locally tailored plan with community participation and involvement in decisions, and are adopted by both the County and the state upon its completion.
What is a shoreline master program?
Shoreline master programs carry out the policies of the Shoreline Management Act at the local level, regulating use and development of shorelines. Local shoreline programs include policies and regulations based on state laws and rules but tailored to the unique geographic, economic, and environmental needs of each community.
Updating a shoreline program is a complex and time-consuming process. Most comprehensive updates take two to three years. When updating their shoreline programs, local governments are required by law to engage and seek input from the public, interested agencies, and affected tribes.
Under state law, Washington's 39 counties and more than 200 cities and towns that have shoreline areas covered under the Act must develop these individual, locally-tailored programs to guide construction and development in regulated shoreline areas.
Why is the County SMP Update necessary?
Most of the existing local shoreline programs were originally written between 1974 and 1978. Some have been updated over the years, but most have not. Since that time, we have made significant advances in our understanding of ecological processes, Washington’s population has nearly doubled, and the use and development of shorelines has increased dramatically.
Department of Ecology's adoption of updated Guidelines in 2003 began a new era of shoreline planning in Washington. Between now and 2014, towns, cities and counties across the state (about 260 in all) must comprehensively update their shoreline programs to meet the requirements of the new Guidelines. The State offers grant funding and guidance to support these local governments through the Department of Ecology. If local jurisdictions do not prepare and adopt a local plan, the Department of Ecology will provide a plan for them.
Benton County Shoreline Master Plan Documents for Update Program
Benton County Shoreline Master Plan (1974)
Adopted 1974 Shoreline Map