Getting the Green Light: New DSL Removal/Fill Fees

by Shelly Schmidt, M.B.A., Senior Biologist

With the passage of House Bill 2105, the Department of State Lands (DSL) removal/fill fees increased for the first time in 18 years. The new fee schedule is based on whether the applicant is a private, commercial, or public entity and the quantity of removal and fill.
Fees applied to projects meeting the General Authorization criteria became effective January 1, 2008. A flat fee of $250 will be assessed for moving 50 or more cubic yards of material for the following types of projects that meet the General Authorization category:

• Streambank stabilization.
• Removing and disposing of sediment behind tidegates for channel maintenance.
• Piling placement or removal within state waters.
• Oregon Department of Transportation bridge replacement and repair projects.
• Minor effects to freshwater wetlands located within urban growth boundaries or urban unincorporated communities.

What this means:

Applications, even for projects that fit under the General Authorization category, will be assessed an application fee. The larger the removal/fill quantity, the larger the fee.

Fee assessment for sample project not meeting General Authorization criteria:

If a county wishes to install a culvert in a jurisdictional waterway that will requires less than 500 cubic yards of fill and less than 500 cubic yards of removal, then the county will be assessed the following fees according to the new fee schedule:

$620.00 – Fill Application Base Fee
$0.00 – No fee for less than 500 cubic yards
$620.00 – Total Application Fee

Please note because the project involves both fill and removal, only the fill fees are applied.

For more information about the new fee schedule, please visit the DSL website at http://statelands.dsl.state.or.us/DSL/PERMITS/docs/rf_fees.pdf.