Environmental Review
The requirements for protecting streams, wetlands and other water quality sensitive areas are based on the federal Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts. The regulations are detailed in the Chapter 3 of the Design and Construction Standards (PDF, 190KB). These rules apply throughout unincorporated urban Washington County and its Cities. The goal of the Environmental Review is to obtain the Service Provider Letter (SPL) which will lead to the appropriate construction or building permits. Please check the Environmental Review Status link for the status of your application.
The Environmental Review includes a Sensitive Area pre-screening process, which is a review at no cost to the applicant to see if there are resources or Sensitive Areas within 200 feet of the site proposed for development. If a Sensitive Area exists, a Site Certification or Site Assessment is required. Please see the Pre-Screen and Site Certification Flow Chart (PDF, 352KB) or Site Assessment Flow Chart (PDF, 279KB) for more information.
The Site Certification process is typically for a single-family residence constructing an addition, deck, etc. Commercial and more complex development applications require a Site Assessment.
Sensitive Area Pre-Screening Requirements (Typical 1-5 business day review)
- Pre-Screen Form
- Site Plan (if applicable)
Site Certification Requirements (Up to 10 business day review)
Site Assessment Requirements (Up to 15 business day review)
- Delineation Report
- Natural Resource Assessment Report
- Existing Condition Figure
- Proposed Development Figure
- Service Provider Letter Fee* (dependant on the amount of encroachment, if any, into the Vegetated Corridor)
*Please call the permit counter at (503) 681-5100 to check the current fee schedule, or look at the current Rates and Charges (PDF, 326KB).