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Oregon begins review of rules governing its coastal waters and seafloor
A state advisory council will revisit Oregon’s 1994 Territorial Sea Plan, which governs ocean uses from shore to three nautical miles offshore. The review is meant to account for emerging climate pressures and ensure communities are consulted as decisions are made about fishing, cables and potential renewable energy projects.
Oregon is beginning a review of the plan that governs ocean uses in state waters, a three-nautical-mile-wide strip extending along the entire coast.
The Oregon Department of State Lands has asked the Ocean Policy Advisory Council to review the more than 30-year-old Territorial Sea Plan. The state wants recommendations that strengthen marine ecosystem protections and ensure Oregonians receive fair compensation for use of the seafloor.
The plan covers issues including fishing, tribal consultation, undersea pipelines and communication cables, renewable energy and the state’s authority over ocean management. Its original framework dates to 1994, when concerns about offshore drilling and foreign fishing prompted Oregon to establish the plan. The state’s coastal protections began earlier, with the 1967 Beach Bill, which established public ownership of the shore between the high- and low-tide lines.
Joe Liebezeit, chair of the advisory council, said the plan’s foundational chapters need an update. Climate change, ocean acidification and low-oxygen conditions were not part of the original planning framework, he said.
The council will start with the plan’s sections on ocean management and resource-use decisions. Its members include representatives of commercial fishing, tribal communities and offshore wind interests. Vice chair Duncan Berry said the council expects to gather input from more than 100 community members, its own members and relevant agencies.
The review comes after a 2024 federal effort to lease two proposed offshore wind areas near Coos Bay and Brookings was canceled. Fishing interests and others objected to the pace of the process and raised questions about effects on fishing and whale migration, as well as whether floating turbines could withstand conditions in deep water.
Heather Mann, executive director of the Midwater Trawlers Cooperative, said the concerns were about unanswered questions and the speed of the leasing effort, rather than necessarily opposition to offshore wind. Ross Tyler, who runs a Virginia-based offshore wind development company, said Southern Oregon has strong wind potential and urged Oregon to consult with the industry as it considers regulatory changes.
The plan review could also confront other contentious topics, including wave power, a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal, and the effects of warming and changing ocean conditions. Liebezeit said he hopes the process will bring community partners together to set priorities for the next five to 10 years, rather than become a contest between environmental groups and businesses.
Mann said the review will be valuable if it is transparent and gives people a meaningful chance to participate. The advisory council is scheduled to meet as many as nine times between now and August 2027 to develop recommendations.