Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1) All rights to
the surface waters of the Umatilla River and its tributaries initiated after
September 28, 1987, shall be subordinate to permitted appropriations for the
purpose of artificial groundwater recharge established before that
date.
(2) To support present and
proposed basin resource developments, no out-of-basin or out-of-state
appropriations of water shall be made or granted by any state agency or public
corporation of the state for the waters of the Umatilla River Basin.
(3) Rights to use water for industrial or
mining purposes granted by any state agency shall be issued only on condition
that any effluent or return flows from such uses shall not interfere with other
beneficial uses of water.
(4)
Future permits for consumptive water use shall be issued only on condition that
efficient water use techniques or water conservation measures are proposed in
the application. Failure to implement the proposed measures shall be a
violation of the terms of the permit.
(5) Municipal water supplies, interstate
cooperation in water management, instream needs, out-of-stream needs, water
quality and watershed management are issues of concern in the Umatilla River
Basin. The Commission's policies on these issues are as follows:
(a) Municipal water supply: In addressing the
issue of municipal water supply in the Umatilla River Basin, it shall be the
Commission's policy to:
(A) Assist cities
with limited financial resources secure needed capital to develop, expand and
improve municipal water supplies;
(B) Promote and aid municipal water
conservation and encourage cities to plan for water service emergencies;
(C) Encourage the use of
artificial groundwater recharge to supplement city groundwater supplies and
help reduce water level declines in the basalt groundwater reservoir;
(D) Encourage and promote the
concept of regional municipal water supply systems and preserve the options for
proposed systems;
(E) Promote and
support the purchase and transfer of water rights to municipal use;
(F) Promote the continued viability of
municipal water systems reliant on the basalt groundwater reservoir.
(b) Interstate cooperation on
water management: In addressing the issue of interstate cooperation on water
management, it shall be the Commission's policy to:
(A) Coordinate and cooperate with the state
of Washington in managing the water resources of the Walla Walla subbasin to
the extent judicial decisions, stipulations and statutory authority allow;
(B) Open negotiations with the
Washington Department of Ecology by 1990.
(c) Instream needs: In addressing the issue
of instream needs, it shall be the Commission's policy to:
(A) Support the anadromous fish production
goals of the Northwest Power Planning Council, Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife and Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation for the
Umatilla River Basin;
(B) Protect
and enhance instream values by limiting new uses of water from heavily
appropriated streams and managing interconnected surface and groundwater
conjunctively;
(C) Support and
encourage watershed and riparian zone projects which improve instream habitat
and water quantity and quality, and which provide multiple water resources
benefits.
(d)
Out-of-stream use: In addressing the issue of out-of-stream use, it shall be
the Commission's policy to:
(A) Require
conservation and efficient water use;
(B) Control growth of water demand by
limiting new irrigation appropriations on selected streams to stored or
conserved water;
(C) Support the
efficient use of surplus surface and groundwater to supplement declining
groundwater levels through artificial groundwater recharge;
(D) Support development of multipurpose
surface storage consistent with policies in paragraphs (A), (B), and (C) of
this subsection.
(e)
Water quality: In addressing the issue of water quality, it shall be the
Commission's policy to:
(A) Encourage and
promote a formal groundwater quality monitoring program to ensure safe
municipal and domestic groundwater supplies;
(B) Encourage development of management plans
for groundwater aquifers susceptible to contamination;
(C) Support surface water quality standards
to satisfy selected subbasin beneficial water uses identified in this basin
program;
(D) Encourage and promote
control of nonpoint and point sources of water pollution.
(f) Watershed management: In addressing the
issue of watershed management, it shall be the Commission's policy to:
(A) Encourage and promote improvements in
water quality, quantity, and related resources through agency-public
cooperation and education about the benefits of watershed management;
(B) Encourage public and private
landowners and managers to employ best management practices to benefit water
quality and quantity;
(C) Encourage
and support the retirement of highly erodible cropland as a means to enhance
water quality and improve runoff patterns;
(D) Encourage and support riparian and stream
channel enhancement as a means of improving flow distribution, water quality
and related resource values.
Stat. Auth.: ORS 536 & 537
Stats. Implemented:
