The Mid-Coast Basin

Multiple waterbodies in the Mid-Coast Basin are identified as "impaired" through DEQ's Water Quality Assessment and 303(d) list for temperature, bacteria, sedimentation, dissolved oxygen and weeds/algae. Various parties are working on cooperative projects and taking positive actions to protect and improve water quality in the basin's rivers, tributaries and lakes.

Local Stakeholder Advisory Committee

With the help of Oregon Consensus and in partnership with EPA, DEQ is hosting a local stakeholder advisory committee to help determine the actions needed to improve and protect the health of the Mid-Coast Basin. DEQ will prepare a TMDL water quality report during this process that captures the current state of water quality in the basin, identifies pollution sources, sets limits for pollution and identifies “implementation-ready” actions.

• See the Local Stakeholder Advisory Committee web page for the meeting schedule and committee documents.

Basin Description

The Mid-Coast Basin encompasses four subbasins: the Alsea, Siletz-Yaquina, Siltcoos and Siuslaw subbasins. This geographic area contains a wide variety of ecosystems and habitats, including high elevation Coast Range temperate forests, low elevation valleys, coastal wetlands, shallow lakes, estuaries and beaches.

Major land uses in the basin include private and federal forests, livestock grazing, rural residential development, with urban development concentrated along the Highway 101 corridor.

The rivers, lakes and estuaries of the Mid-Coast Basin are historically rich in native fish and other wildlife. In particular, salmonids including the Oregon Coast Coho are key fish species which are both culturally and economically important in Oregon's coastal basins. Certain salmonid populations are threatened or at risk due to a variety of factors documented elsewhere. Water quality in the Mid-Coast Basin is one factor that affects fish and other aquatic life.

Implementation-Ready TMDLs

DEQ committed to using a novel approach referred to as “implementation-ready TMDLs.” These are new standards for how robust and complete DEQ's TMDL reports need to be in order to meet approval and be placed into action. For more information on implementation-ready TMDLs:

• Read DEQ's Issue Paper prepared for the Environmental Quality Commission
• Read DEQ's Draft Internal Management Directive

Background

DEQ began working on the Mid-Coast TMDLs in 2005 but did not complete the project as scheduled. Since then, new information and legal developments affected the scope of the effort. In 2009, Northwest Environmental Advocates challenged EPA's and NOAA's conditional approval of Oregon's Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Plan under the Federal Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments.

As part of the settlement agreement between the litigants, DEQ made commitments to address outstanding management measures through issuance of implementation-ready TMDLs for the coastal zone management area, beginning with the Mid-Coast Basin. DEQ intends to issue the Mid-Coast TMDLs by June 2013. The public will have an opportunity to comment on the draft TMDLs in early 2013 before they become effective.

• Final Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments Settlement Agreement - U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon

Contact Information

• Mid-Coast Basin Coordinator: David Waltz, email, telephone 541-687-7345
  
• DEQ Western Region Office Information
• Basin Coordinator List

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