SPOKANE - The Washington Department of Ecology encourages the public to comment on six Grant County shoreline programs in Coulee City, Electric City, Grand Coulee, Krupp, Soap Lake and Wilson Creek.

The six cities joined Grant County in 2011 in a regional planning process to have each community's shoreline program updated.

The county received final approval for its program in September.

All of the cities share environmental studies and an inventory of up-to-date conditions of shoreline conditions in the county.

The cities edit portions of individual shoreline programs so they meet specific needs and characteristics of their own shorelines.

Shoreline programs are primarily used to help protect the shoreline's environment, reserve areas for water-oriented uses and allow public access to land and waters, according to the DOE.

After DOE approval, shoreline programs become a part of Washington's overall shoreline program.

The public is welcome to comment on any or all of the programs through Jan. 23, 2015.

Taking public comments into consideration, the DOE can either approve the shoreline program as they are written, reject it or identify specific areas to modify and meet regulations in the Shoreline Management Act and other state regulations.

The Shoreline Management Act was approved by state voters in 1972, and the DOE must review and approve all proposed shoreline programs before they can be taken into effect, according to the DOE.

The six shoreline programs can be reviewed either at the DOE's website at www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/shorelines/smp/mycomments/GrantCoCitiesTowns.html or at the Grant County Planning Department in Ephrata.

Comments, questions and concerns can be mailed to Jaime Short, Department of Ecology, Shorelands and Environmental Assistance Program, 4601 N. Monroe St., Spokane, WA 99205, sent by email to jaime.short@ecy.wa.gov or by calling 509-329-3411.