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Tri-City partners and tribes outline plan to seek federal transfer of Columbia River shoreline
Summary
City staff updated council on a regional effort—backed by Richland, Kennewick, Pasco, counties, the Port of Pasco and tribal partners—to seek Congressional legislation transferring Corps-owned shoreline to local governments with recorded tribal protections and streamlined state-level environmental review.
City staff on Tuesday briefed the Richland City Council on a multi-jurisdictional effort to transfer Corps-owned Columbia River shoreline to local governments without requiring completion of the full federal environmental review process first.
The proposal, developed by a Tri-Cities shoreline reconveyance working group and tribal partners, would ask Congress to transfer identified shoreline parcels at no cost to local governments and substitute the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) for the federal NEPA process after land transfer, while preserving cultural-resource protections and treaty-reserved rights.
Why it matters: Local governments collectively spend about $2 million a year maintaining parks and shoreline land that remains under Corps ownership. Staff…
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