The State of the States in Environmental Dispute Resolution:
OREGON










 

Current Projects: United States Postal Service Employment Arbitration Indiana Dept of Env. Management Indiana ADR Providers Shared Neutrals Pilot  U.S. Dept. of Justice
Completed Projects: U.S. Env. Protection Agency EDR State of States 

Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission

 National Institutes of Health Focus Groups Sessions  

Status:
Oregon takes an integrated policy approach to EDR. The Oregon Dispute Resolution Commission (DRC) oversees four dispute resolution programs. Two of these programs, the Land Conservation Development Program (LCDP) and the Community Dispute Resolution Program (CDRP), deal with environmental disputes. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) administers the CDRP. This program deals mostly with policy level issues. The LCDP deals with land-use planning, transportation, and other environmental and nonenvironmental cases at the local and county level.

Legal Authority:
OR. REV. STAT. §§ 36.100–.425 (Supp. 1998) (establishing general provisions for mediation and arbitration); OR. ADMIN. R. 718-005-0005 to -040-0120 (1998) (establishing the rules of procedure of the DRC and establishing rules of procedure and conduct for mediators attached to the dispute resolution centers established by the DRC).

Contact Information:
     Dale Blanton
     Department of Natural Resources
     1175 Court St., NE
     Salem, OR 97310
     Phone: (503) 373-0050
     Fax: (503) 378-5518
     E-mail: dale.blanton@state.or.us

Program Summary

Dispute Resolution Commission
The DRC, established in 1989, is the policy agency in Oregon specifically designed to promote and coordinate ADR. A governor’s steering committee oversees the DRC. The DRC has authority over the DNR’s activities having to do with EDR, Human Resources, and the general dispute resolution division. The main focus of the DRC is preventative. The DRC attempts to get key staff in agencies to change the culture in those agencies in order to promote collaborative efforts among the personnel and with the public.

Land Conservation and Development Program
The LCDP provides case assessment, education and training workshops, and a grant program. The LCDP grant program addresses state, county, and local challenges, but especially focuses on county and local planning issues. The program provides funds for outside mediators and for training of personnel in EDR processes. The LCDP grant program, begun in 1990, was the pilot program for the DRC. It focuses on public policy, using and promoting EDR within the state. Although most LCDP programs are oriented toward public policy, many are not. The LCDP grant program works primarily with community development and transportation issues.

Additional Programs
The LCDP grant program has been so successful that in January 1998, the DRC and the governor decided to expand the use of dispute resolution by creating a human resources ADR program, a general ADR program, and the Community Development and Transportation Program. The DRC instituted the Community Dispute Resolution Program in 1998. The CDRP is a new grant program for community disputes including environmental issues such as land-use planning. The grants are intended to promote public education in EDR skills, encourage the public to resolve disputes without litigation, and fund all community mediation services. The funds may also be used to begin a community EDR center—fourteen counties already have one. All divisions of the DNR use the CDRP. For example, persons who are unsatisfied with a city or county land-use plan may appeal to the Land-Use Board of Appeals. Many of these cases are suitable for mediation.

Lessons Learned

  • Cultivate a culture within the agency that encourages collaborative efforts among the personnel and in dealing with the public.
  • Think big and start small. Initially, select cases and agencies that show an interest in EDR and have time to devote to it.
  • Use these small successes to demonstrate the benefits of utilizing EDR and to bring in other agencies.
  • Many people do not know about or understand collaborative processes or the theories behind the processes. Therefore, it is often necessary to begin with the basics, like an explanation of the processes.
  • It is often difficult to get people to overcome a rights-based focus and move from there to an interest-based approach.

Further Information

Publications

Oregon Dep’t of Land Conservation and Dev., Collaborative Approaches to Decision Making and Conflict Resolution (1996).

Donna Silverberg, Oregon Dispute Resolution Comm’n, Public Policy Program Update, Natural Resources Section: 1993–1995 Biennial Report (1995).

Bryan M. Johnston & Paul J. Krupin, The 1989 Pacific Northwest Timber Compromise: An Environmental Dispute Resolution Case Study of a Successful Battle that May Have Lost the War, 27 WILLAMETTE L. REV. 613 (1991).

Further information about the Center for Dispute Resolution is available at the following Website: http://www.willamette.edu/wucl/cdr.html

Indiana Conflict Resolution Institute
Last updated: June 1999
Comments: ICRI Administrator
Copyright 1999 - Indiana University, Bloomington