COLUMBUS, OH - In a reorganization designed as a first step toward better serving shoreline property owners and local governments along the Lake Erie coast, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) has formed a new Office of Coastal Management, which will be based in Sandusky.
The restructuring consolidates staff from several separately managed ODNR programs, and later this year will result in the transfer of four employee positions from Columbus to Sandusky, according to ODNR Director Sam Speck. Those four will join the eight ODNR employees currently assigned to coastal management duties at the departments Sandusky office, 1634 Sycamore Line Road.
Our new Office of Coastal Management will give coastal residents and local governments a single, unified office to deal with regarding state regulatory and coastal grants programs. It allows us to communicate our mission and requirements more effectively, with a single voice, Speck said. Most important, we have placed the state's decision-making authority for dealing with local coastal issues where that authority belongs - on the coast, he said.
The ODNR Office of Coastal Management administers the states submerged lands lease program, issues coastal erosion zone and shore structure permits, and coordinates Ohios coastal nonpoint pollution control program. The office also awards more than a quarter-million dollars annually in state Coastal Management Assistance Grants to local communities and oversees state initiatives to preserve coastal wetlands.
With his announcement of the new Office of Coastal Management, Speck outlined several other steps ODNR is taking to further improve its coastal management program, to make it more efficient and responsive to the needs of coastal residents.
We realize that the state's coastal management efforts can be more 'user-friendly,' more easily understood and, ultimately, more protective of our lake and coastal resources, Speck said.
Based on conversations with coastal residents and input from state legislators, ODNR is seeking a number of improvements for its coastal management program, to be implemented either through new legislation, state regulations or department policy. Proposed improvements include:
- Eliminating a state requirement that permit applicants must acquire liability insurance for new coastal structures on residential property. The department would continue to recommend such insurance, but would not make it a requirement on residential property.
- Simplifying the state's payment system for submerged lands leases, giving lease holders greater flexibility in making those payments.
- Easing requirements that all plans for construction or repair of coastal structures be approved by a certified Professional Engineer (PE). ODNR will seek legislation exempting certain projects for the repair or rehabilitation of existing structures on residential property.
- Assuring property owners of their ability to renew a standard 50-year submerged lands lease when the original term has expired. Questions regarding the future renewal of leases had been raised by some coastal property owners, a concern that ODNR is seeking to alleviate.
ODNR is also working to clarify the water level standard, as defined in state and federal law, that is used to establish the boundary between private shoreline property and lands subject to the state's authority and responsibility under the Public Trust Doctrine. Currently, Ohio real estate law applies a different standard from that used in the statute that established the Ohio Coastal Management Program. The state's Coastal Resources Advisory Council, which makes recommendations to ODNR on coastal management issues, is now studying this issue, and a recommendation expected later this year.
ODNR programs consolidated into the new Office of Coastal Management include regulatory and permitting programs formerly administered separately by two ODNR divisions: Water and Real Estate & Land Management. Other ODNR programs relating to Lake Erie and coastal resources, including those administered by the divisions of Wildlife, Watercraft and Geological Survey, and also based in Sandusky, will remain separate from the Office of Coastal Management, but will more closely coordinate their efforts with the new office.