Deschutes Co., state plan south-county sewer open houses

The Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Land Conservation and Development, and Deschutes County will hold open houses in April regarding an exception to Statewide Planning Goal 11 to allow sewers in unincorporated portions of southern Deschutes County.

The meetings will be held from 1-3:00 p.m. and again from 6-8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7 in the SHARC at Sunriver and Thursday, April 30, from 2-4:00 p.m. and again from 6-8:00 p.m. at the La Pine Senior Center. The SHARC is located at 57250 Overlook Road and the La Pine Senior Center is at 16450 Victory Way.

“The intent of these public meetings is to brief the audience on the purpose of the Goal 11 exception and to show the proposed map of southern Deschutes County where the Goal 11 exception would apply,” said Peter Russell, Senior Transportation Planner for Deschutes County who is managing the land use component of the Goal 11 process.

“We’ll have staff from DEQ, DLCD, and the County present at these open houses. Each agency and the County will give a brief summary of its portion of the project. The majority of the time will be spent listening to the public regarding its thoughts on the proposed Goal 11 exception. The exception is a necessary step to allow the option of sewers as a method to deal with nitrate issues in areas of southern Deschutes County with high groundwater tables.”

After the two public open houses, staff members from DEQ, DLCD, and the County will meet to see if the draft Goal 11 burden of proof needs to be modified.

Once the burden of proof is finalized, DEQ, DLCD, and the County will be co-applicants in a land use application to Deschutes County for local consideration of the Goal 11 exception. That application process will include public hearings before both the Deschutes County Planning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners.

For further information, please contact Peter Russell at either (541) 383-6718 or peter.russell@deschutes.org.