The Oregon State Marine Board approved five boating facility grants and one grant amendment and approved initiating the rulemaking process on four administrative rules during their quarterly Board meeting, held on April 26, in Salem. The Board also denied a petition to initiate rulemaking for Multnomah and Columbia Counties. In a 4 to 1 decision, the Marine Board denied a petition to initiate rulemaking to consider adoption of a new rule in Chapter 250, Division 020 that would expand the slow –no wake zones on the Multnomah Channel, bank-to-bank, and 500 feet before and 500 feet after any marina, floating home moorage, park, dock, or boat ramp. The Board requested that staff provide regular reports on the amount of time the channel is patrolled and report on education and outreach efforts about wake to boaters, businesses, and homeowners in the affected area. The Board approved initiating rulemaking on Chapter 250, Division 011, Steering and Sailing Rules to be congruent with federal regulations, to initiating rulemaking removing 250-010-0057 from rule since this language is already in statute, and to clarify language in 250-010-0058 for automatic and requested refunds when there is an overpayment in boater titling and registration fees. The Board also approved initiating rulemaking for Kinney Lake in Wallowa County to prohibit the use of motors on the lake. Kinney Lake is a 22 acre irrigation reservoir that is secondarily managed as a public trout fishery. Previously, ODFW prohibited fishing from “floating devices” on Kinney Lake, but ODFW recently changed their rules to allow fishing from boats. However, ODFW, the Wallowa Valley Improvement District, and Triple Creek Ranch requested the Board restrict the use of motorized boats to continue to avoid erosion of the dam. The Board also approved to initiate rulemaking for OAR Chapter 250, Division 016 to amend, repeal and add new rules to accommodate current practices in the Outfitter/Guide Registration program. The Board approved the following boating facility grants and grant amendment: Applicant Facility Name/Waterbody Scope State/Federal Funds Applicant Cash/Match Project Total OPRD Schwitter Landing/Sandy Beach, Columbia River Fabrication and installation of a debris deflection boom $185,000 (Boating Infrastructure Grant) $160,000; $500 administration $355,500; City of Tillamook Carnahan Park, Trask River Boarding dock replacement and security camera installation $213,750 $71,250 $285,000; Lincoln County Public Works Knight Park, Salmon River Restroom replacement and parking area repair $63,350 $14,650, $8,500 labor; $5,000 administration, contracting and oversight $91,500; Port of Cascade Locks Port of Cascade Locks, Columbia River Ramp toe extension $18,750 $2,500; $3,070 pre-agreement permitting expenses; $680 administration, contracting and oversight $25,000; Douglas County Parks Amacher Park, Umpqua River Ramp toe replacement $25,000 $25,000 $50,000; OYCC Clackamas, Josephine and Lane County Boating Facilities Employ 15 youth for work on 28 boating facilities during the summer $31,515 $38,199 $69,714. For more details about grant requests or petitions, review the agency staff report at: http://www.oregon.gov/OSMB/info/Pages/Board-and-Public-Meetings.aspx.
