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Streamlining and environmental permitting resources for City of Portland projects

Information
The City’s Streamlining Team encourages communication among multiple government agencies and public works project teams to secure timely, responsive, and non-conflicting decisions from permitting agencies that protect waterways, endangered species, and other environmental resources.

The City’s Streamlining Team provides collaborative pre-application review by multiple government agencies for projects affecting streams, rivers, and wetlands within Portland city limits. 

The streamlining process:

  • Ensures timely construction and implementation of city projects.
  • Improves coordination, communication, and agreement on permit applications and consultations.
  • Ensures permitted activities protect both listed and non-listed species.
  • Creates opportunities for overlapping jurisdictions to collaborate on key shared decisions.

Who is on the Streamlining Team?

The City of Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services coordinates the Streamlining Team. The current team includes representatives from:

  • Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
  • Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
  • Oregon Department of State Lands
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
  • National Marine Fisheries Service
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  • City of Portland

Projects that have benefitted from the streamlining process

The team started in 2003 when the first streamlining agreement was signed, which was the nation’s first between federal agencies and a municipal government. The agreement brought into focus the many regulations that affect the city’s work and the need for better coordination with more state and federal regulatory programs. Since then, the team has provided innovative service to reduce time and money in the permitting process for several projects including:

  • Highway 43 Tryon Creek Fish Passage Improvement (City of Portland and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Portland District)
  • Foster Floodplain Natural Area (Bureau of Environmental Services)
  • Station 21 at the Hawthorne Bridge (Portland Fire & Rescue)
  • North Vancouver Avenue Bridge (Portland Bureau of Transportation)
  • Bull Run Filtration and Pipeline Project (Portland Water Bureau)
  • Sandy River and the Bull Run Habitat Conservation Plan (Portland Water Bureau)
  • West Lents Floodplain Restoration (Bureau of Environmental Services)

Program recognition

In 2014, the Hatfield School of Government’s Center for Public Service endorsed the streamlining process, saying the process resulted in time and cost savings through process efficiency, consistent regulatory decisions, and opportunities for constructive relationships with regulators.

In 2012, the program received a Land Board Partnership Award in recognition of 10 years of exemplary partnership with the board and Department of State Lands.