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Water & Shorelines > Shoreline & coastal management > Shoreline management > State-approved SMP list > City of Newport, Cusick, Ione, Metaline & Metaline Falls

City of Newport and the towns of Cusick, Ione, Metaline and Metaline Falls – Shoreline Master Program: Comprehensive Update and Periodic Review

Public comment: Oct. 30, 2024, 8 a.m. to Nov. 29, 2024, at 5 p.m.

We invite you to comment on the city of Newport and towns of Cusick, Ione, Metaline and Metaline Falls proposed comprehensive update to its shoreline master program (SMP); including amendments to meet the periodic review requirement. The city and towns have decided to join the Pend Oreille Regional Partnership (Coalition). The city and towns are adopting the Coalition's SMP, which is a new SMP for the city and towns but was previously adopted by Pend Oreille and approved by us.

The Coalition includes:

  • Pend Oreille County
  • The city of Newport
  • The town of Cusick
  • The town of Ione
  • The town of Metaline
  • The town of Metaline Falls

The city of Newport and towns of Cusick, Ione, Metaline and Metaline Falls have submitted the Coalition's May 2023 SMP to us for review and approval. This submittal is intended to meet the City and Towns requirement of RCW 90.58.080(2) to comprehensively update their SMP and the requirements of RCW 90.58.080(4) related to SMP periodic reviews. The Pend Oreille River is the only body of water located in the city of Newport and the towns of Cusick, Ione and Metaline; the Pend Orielle River and Sullivan Creek are within jurisdiction of the town of Metaline Falls. The remaining bodies of water are in unincorporated Pend Oreille County.

Comprehensive update

The city and towns intend to adopt the Coalition's SMP to serve as their respective SMP’s. The city and towns have actively participated in the periodic update of the SMP.

The comprehensively updated Pend Oreille Regional Partnership SMP includes locally tailored goals, policies, regulations, environment designations, and administrative provisions to reflect current conditions and community vision for the future shoreline use and development. The updated SMP prioritizes water-oriented activities, public access, habitat protection, and ecological restoration, and allows for legal existing uses and structures to continue.

Periodic review

The Coalition's comprehensive update was approved by us in 2013. The Coalition, including the city of Newport and the towns of Cusick, Ione, Metaline and Metaline Falls, conducted a periodic review of that comprehensively updated SMP as required by the Shoreline Management Act in RCW 90.58.080(4). As a result of the SMP periodic review the Coalition's SMP amended the comprehensively updated SMP to address items on our SMP periodic review checklist and to:

  • Include the city of Newport and towns of Cusick, Ione, Metaline and Metaline Falls as part of the Coalition and reference to the City and Towns within the text.
  • Add Shoreline Environment Designation (SED) maps for the city and towns.
  • Clarify Tribal jurisdiction.
  • Remove signage standards.
  • Increased the exemption limit for substantial development and docks.
  • Add Oldney’s pond as a body of water under jurisdiction of the SMP.
  • Add new regulations for boat ramps.
  • Add and update definitions.
  • General reorganization, reformatting and administrative revisions.

The city and towns locally adopted the Coalition's SMP, with periodic review amendments as follows:

  • The city of Newport – Ordinance No. 2113, adopted Oct. 2, 2023
  • The town of Cusick – Ordinance No. 2023-01, adopted Oct. 3. 2023
  • The town of Ione – Ordinance No. 645, adopted March 6, 2024
  • The town of Metaline – Ordinance No. 250, adopted Sept. 13, 2023
  • The town of Metaline Falls – Ordinance No. 355, adopted Feb. 13, 2024

These local ordinances were submitted to us starting on March 5, 2024, with additional materials and ordinances received between April 4 and Aug. 8, 2024. We determined their submittal to be complete on Aug. 14, 2024.

Our review

Following the comment period, we will compare the Coalition's SMP to the requirements of the Shoreline Management Act and the Shoreline Master Program Guidelines. Based on the comparison, we will decide whether to:

  • Approve the program as is.
  • Approve with recommended changes.
  • Send the proposed program back to the city and towns with required changes to meet statutory and rule requirements. Recommended changes may also be included with the required changes.

Public comment period

Opens: Oct. 30, 2024, at 8:00 a.m.
Closes: Nov. 29, 2024, at 5:00 p.m.

All interested parties are invited to provide comment during this public comment period. There are several ways to provide comments. You only need to submit your comments once.

Submit written comments to:

Online: Via eComments form

By Mail:

Meagan Hayes
Washington Department of Ecology
Eastern Region Office
4601 North Monroe Street
Spokane, WA 99205-1295

Comments must be received no later than Nov. 29, 2024, at 5 p.m.

Questions:

Meagan.Hayes@ecy.wa.gov 
509-220-2983

Documents for public review and comment

Note: all documents are PDF

Next steps: response to public comment and decision

A summary of comments will be posted here a few weeks after the comment period closes. We will also post the Coalition’s response to comments and a notice of our decision when they become available. Please check back.