Statewide Planning Goal 18 focuses on conserving and protecting Oregon’s beach and dune resources, and on recognizing and reducing exposure to hazards in this dynamic environment. Goal 18, Implementation Requirement 5, limits the placement of beachfront protective structures to those areas where development existed prior to 1977. This policy effectively places a cap on the amount of ocean shore that may be hardened, and thus limits the cumulative impacts of such hardening. Shoreline armoring fixes the shoreline in place, traps sediment, and causes scouring and lowering of the beach profile. These actions can result over time in the loss of Oregon’s public beaches.
Goal 18 restricts shoreline armoring with the statement “Permits for beachfront protective structures shall be issued only where development existed on January 1, 1977.” However, the goal does not specifically define the phrase “beachfront protective structure” (BPS). Currently, the determination of whether a structure is or is not a beachfront protective structure is made on a case-by-case basis by permitting agencies and local governments.
A beachfront protective structure is:
“A static structure that is intended to remain in a fixed position with the purpose of redirecting wave energy and to minimize or eliminate coastal erosion risk to development. BPS are purposefully constructed and intended to maintain that form over time. This includes, but is not limited to, rip-rap revetments, seawalls, groins, breakwaters, jetties, bulkheads, geotextile sandbags, sand burritos, gabions, and concrete or mortar reinforcement such as shotcrete. Beachfront protective structures do not include dynamic treatments such as sand nourishment, cobble revetments, and similar non-structural or nonfixed erosion
mitigation measures.”
To assist coastal practitioners in consistently applying the beachfront protective structure definition, the DLCD put together a guidance document on common erosion control measures in Oregon and how they are regulated. In addition to clarifying what is and is not a BPS, the erosion control guidebook is designed to be a resource for coastal practitioners and community members looking for more information on Goal 18 and erosion control.
The guidebook covers the main policies and land use goals relevant to the Oregon coast, typical and atypical permitting processes for erosion control, and details about erosion control measures viable for the Oregon coast. Specific topics include:
Beach Bill and Coastal Land Use Goals
- Includes a brief history of the Beach Bill of 1967;
- Summarizes the coastal land use goals (Goals 16, 17, and 18) and describes how they influence regulations and permitting for different types of erosion control on the outer Oregon coast;
- Explains the way eligibility for beachfront protective structures is determined, including the definition of development and the jurisdictions responsible for making the determination; and
- Provides statistics broken down by littoral cell on the amount of structural erosion control and eligible properties along the coast.
Permitting
- Includes details about the most typical permitting processes for erosion control through OPRD, including timeline, requirements, and emergency permits; and
- Provides basic information and resources for further information about more complex permitting situations at jurisdictional boundaries, such as erosion control structures located at stream outlets.
Erosion Control
The guidebook discusses erosion control measures that are viable on the Oregon coast. The guidebook covers the benefits and drawbacks, regulatory information (including whether erosion control measures are considered structural), prevalence in Oregon, and suitability in responding to sea level rise impacts for each erosion control measure. Erosion control measures discussed include:
- Nonstructural: vegetative stabilization, dynamic revetment, beach nourishment, and beach scraping; and
- Structural: seawall, riprap revetment, sandbags, and gabion walls.