Oregon proposes fees of up to nearly $5 million for undersea cables using its coastal seabed, with payments benefiting public schools

Oregon Department of State Lands proposes new fees for undersea cable installations within 3 miles of its coast, with revenue benefiting public K-12 schools via the Common School Fund.

The new fee structure includes $3 per linear foot of cable and $7 per bore pipe section, replacing a $5,000 application fee set in 2001.

Amazon's Bitfrost cable is used as an example: a 20-year lease would cost $1,450,380 in one lump sum, generating over $1 million per cable.

The proposal follows a 2020 incident involving a cable construction project and aims to attract tech investment while ensuring compensation for seabed use.

The DSL estimates millions per undersea cable over a 20-year lease, supporting Oregon's tech sector with about 140 data centers and 16 undersea cables.