Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1) As used in this rule, unless the context
requires otherwise:
(a) "Establishment of a
sewer system" means the creation of a new sewage system, including systems
provided by public or private entities;
(b) "Extension of a Sewer System" means the
extension of a pipe, conduit, pipeline, main, or other physical component from
or to an existing sewer system in order to provide service to a use, regardless
of whether the use is inside the service boundaries of the public or private
service provider. The sewer service authorized in section (8) of this rule is
not an extension of a sewer;
(c)
"No practicable alternative to a sewer system" means a determination by the
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) or the Oregon Health Division,
pursuant to criteria in OAR chapter 340, division 71, and other applicable
rules and laws, that an existing public health hazard cannot be adequately
abated by the repair or maintenance of existing sewer systems or on-site
systems or by the installation of new on-site systems as defined in OAR
340-071-0100;
(d) "Public health
hazard" means a condition whereby it is probable that the public is exposed to
disease-caused physical suffering or illness due to the presence of
inadequately treated sewage;
(e)
"Sewage" means the water-carried human, animal, vegetable, or industrial waste
from residences, buildings, industrial establishments or other places, together
with such ground water infiltration and surface water as may be
present;
(f) "Sewer system" means a
system that serves more than one lot or parcel, or more than one condominium
unit or more than one unit within a planned unit development, and includes
pipelines or conduits, pump stations, force mains, and all other structures,
devices, appurtenances and facilities used for treating or disposing of sewage
or for collecting or conducting sewage to an ultimate point for treatment and
disposal. The following are not considered a "sewer system" for purposes of
this rule:
(A) A system provided solely for
the collection, transfer and/or disposal of storm water runoff;
(B) A system provided solely for the
collection, transfer and/or disposal of animal waste from a farm use as defined
in ORS
215.303.
(2) Except as provided
in sections (3), (4), (8), and (9) of this rule, and consistent with Goal 11, a
local government shall not allow:
(a) The
establishment of new sewer systems outside urban growth boundaries or
unincorporated community boundaries;
(b) The extension of sewer lines from within
urban growth boundaries or unincorporated community boundaries in order to
serve uses on land outside those boundaries;
(c) The extension of sewer systems that
currently serve land outside urban growth boundaries and unincorporated
community boundaries in order to serve uses that are outside such boundaries
and are not served by the system on July 28, 1998.
(3) Components of a sewer system that serve
lands inside an urban growth boundary (UGB) may be placed on lands outside the
boundary provided that the conditions in subsections (a) and (b) of this
section are met, as follows:
(a) Such
placement is necessary to:
(A) Serve lands
inside the UGB more efficiently by traversing lands outside the
boundary;
(B) Serve lands inside a
nearby UGB or unincorporated community;
(C) Serve lands subject to a Goal 14
exception approved pursuant to OAR 660-014-0090;
(D) Connect to components of the sewer system
lawfully located on rural lands, such as outfall or treatment facilities;
or
(E) Transport leachate from a
landfill on rural land to a sewer system inside a UGB;
(b) The local government:
(A) Adopts land use regulations to ensure the
sewer system shall not serve land outside urban growth boundaries or
unincorporated community boundaries, except as authorized under section (4) of
this rule; and
(B) Determines that
the system satisfies ORS
215.296(1)
or (2) to protect farm and forest practices,
except for systems located in the subsurface of public roads and highways along
the public right of way.
(4) A local government may allow the
establishment of a new sewer system, or the extension of an existing sewer
system, to serve land outside urban growth boundaries and unincorporated
community boundaries in order to mitigate a public health hazard, provided that
the conditions in subsections (a) and (b) of this section are met, as follows:
(a) The DEQ or the Oregon Health Division
initially:
(A) Determines that a public health
hazard exists in the area;
(B)
Determines that the health hazard is caused by sewage from development that
existed in the area on July 28, 1998;
(C) Describes the physical location of the
identified sources of the sewage contributing to the health hazard;
and
(D) Determines that there is no
practicable alternative to a sewer system in order to abate the public health
hazard; and
(b) The
local government, in response to the determination in subsection (a) of this
section, and based on recommendations by DEQ and the Oregon Health Division
where appropriate:
(A) Determines the type of
sewer system and service to be provided, pursuant to section (5) of this
rule;
(B) Determines the boundaries
of the sewer system service area, pursuant to section (6) of this
rule;
(C) Adopts land use
regulations that ensure the sewer system is designed and constructed so that
its capacity does not exceed the minimum necessary to serve the area within the
boundaries described under paragraph (B) of this subsection, except for urban
reserve areas as provided under OAR 660-021-0040(6);
(D) Adopts land use regulations to prohibit
the sewer system from serving any uses other than those existing or allowed in
the identified service area on the date the sewer system is approved;
(E) Adopts plan and zone amendments to ensure
that only rural land uses are allowed on rural lands in the area to be served
by the sewer system, consistent with Goal 14 and OAR 660-004-0018, unless a
Goal 14 exception has been acknowledged;
(F) Ensures that land use regulations do not
authorize a higher density of residential development than would be authorized
without the presence of the sewer system; and
(G) Determines that the system satisfies ORS
215.296(1)
or (2) to protect farm and forest practices,
except for systems located in the subsurface of public roads and highways along
the public right of way.
(5) Where the DEQ determines that there is no
practicable alternative to a sewer system, the local government, based on
recommendations from DEQ, shall determine the most practicable sewer system to
abate the health hazard considering the following:
(a) The system must be sufficient to abate
the public health hazard pursuant to DEQ requirements applicable to such
systems; and
(b) New or expanded
sewer systems serving only the health hazard area shall be generally preferred
over the extension of a sewer system from an urban growth boundary. However, if
the health hazard area is within the service area of a sanitary authority or
district, the sewer system operated by the authority or district, if available
and sufficient, shall be preferred over other sewer system options.
(6) The local government, based on
recommendations from DEQ and, where appropriate, the Oregon Health Division,
shall determine the area to be served by a sewer system necessary to abate a
health hazard. The area shall include only the following:
(a) Lots and parcels that contain the
identified sources of the sewage contributing to the health hazard;
(b) Lots and parcels that are surrounded by
or abut the parcels described in subsection (a) of this section, provided the
local government demonstrates that, due to soils, insufficient lot size, or
other conditions, there is a reasonably clear probability that onsite systems
installed to serve uses on such lots or parcels will fail and further
contribute to the health hazard.
(7) The local government or agency
responsible for the determinations pursuant to sections (4) through (6) of this
rule shall provide notice to all affected local governments and special
districts regarding opportunities to participate in such
determinations.
(8) A local
government may allow a residential use to connect to an existing sewer line
provided the conditions in subsections (a) through (h) of this section are met:
(a) The sewer service is to a residential use
located on a parcel as defined by ORS
215.010(1),
or a lot created by subdivision of land as defined in ORS
92.010;
(b) The parcel or lot is within a special
district or sanitary authority sewer service boundary that existed on January
1, 2005, or the parcel is partially within such boundary and the sewer service
provider is willing or obligated to provide service to the portion of the
parcel or lot located outside that service boundary;
(c) The sewer service is to connect to a
residential use located within a rural residential area, as described in OAR
660-004-0040, which existed on January 1, 2005;
(d) The nearest connection point from the
residential parcel or lot to be served is within 300 feet of a sewer line that
existed at that location on January 1, 2005;
(e) It is determined by the local government
to be practical to connect the sewer service to the residential use considering
geographic features or other natural or man-made constraints;
(f) The sewer service authorized by this
section shall be available to only those parcels and lots specified in this
section, unless service to other parcels or lots is authorized under sections
(4) or (9) of this rule;
(g) The
existing sewer line, from where the nearest connection point is determined
under subsection (8)(d) of this rule, is not located within an urban growth
boundary or unincorporated community boundary; and
(h) The connection of the sewer service shall
not be relied upon to authorize a higher density of residential development
than would be authorized without the presence of the sewer service, and shall
not be used as a basis for an exception to Goal 14 as required by OAR
660-004-0040(6).
(9) A
local government may allow the establishment of new sewer systems or the
extension of sewer lines not otherwise provided for in section (4) of this
rule, or allow a use to connect to an existing sewer line not otherwise
provided for in section (8) of this rule, provided the standards for an
exception to Goal 11 have been met, and provided the local government adopts
land use regulations that prohibit the sewer system from serving any uses or
areas other than those justified in the exception. Appropriate reasons and
facts for an exception to Goal 11 include but are not limited to the following:
(a) The new system, or extension of an
existing system, is necessary to avoid an imminent and significant public
health hazard that would otherwise result if the sewer service is not provided;
and, there is no practicable alternative to the sewer system in order to avoid
the imminent public health hazard, or
(b) The extension of an existing sewer system
will serve land that, by operation of federal law, is not subject to statewide
planning Goal 11 and, if necessary, Goal 14.
Goals referenced are available from the
agency.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS
197.040
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS
197.712
