Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1) By December 31 of each year, any
governmental entity holding water rights shall submit to the Department a
report detailing monthly water use under the rights for each point of
diversion. Reporting shall be for the previous water year (October 1 to
September 30). A governmental entity shall not be required to submit a report
under this rule for water rights held because of default in repayment of loans
or other debts owed to the state.
(2) The report shall be submitted on forms
supplied by, or in a format acceptable to the Department. It shall include:
(a) The name and address of the reporting
entity;
(b) The monthly volume of
water diverted or pumped from natural flow and/or stored water for each major
category of use at each point of diversion listed on the water rights, except
as noted in subsections (2)(c), (d), and (e) of this rule. The volume of water
diverted or pumped shall be determined as prescribed in OAR
690-085-0015;
(c) For in-reservoir uses, the volume of
water impounded on approximately the same day each month;
(d) For instream water rights, the monthly
volume of water flowing through the channel for at least one point covered by
the water right;
(e) For instream
uses supplied from storage, the volume of stored water released every
month.
(3) Except as
provided in section (4) of this rule, the reported monthly volumes of water
shall be accurate within plus or minus 15 percent by October 1992.
(4) The governmental entity may assume the
volume of water used each month, if any, is the maximum quantity allowed under
the right and report that volume if:
(a) The
water right is for storage of less than 9.2 acre-feet of water for in-reservoir
use or specifies a rate less than 0.1 cfs; or
(b) The Director has approved a time
extension for compliance with section (3) of this rule or the Commission has
waived compliance with any of the requirements of OAR
690-085-0015.
(5) The Director may grant a time
extension for compliance with section (3) of this rule:
(a) To qualify for an extension, the
governmental entity shall:
(A) Show that
compliance with section (3) of this rule would cause an economic
hardship;
(B) Show that an
allowance of additional time would enable it to meet the accuracy standards
prescribed in section (3) of this rule; and
(C) Submit a compliance schedule detailing
the steps, including the implementation time of those steps, it will take to
meet section (3) of this rule.
(b) Once the time extension is approved, the
governmental entity shall submit a progress report on the compliance schedule
in conjunction with each annual water use report;
(c) The Director may rescind his approval if
the governmental entity fails to comply with the compliance schedule;
(d) The Director may modify the terms of any
compliance schedule under this rule at the request of the governmental
entity.
(6) The
Commission may waive compliance with section (3) of this rule and/or any of the
requirements of OAR
690-085-0015.
The qualify for a waiver, the governmental entity shall show that:
(a) Complying with the rule(s) would cause an
economic hardship on the governmental entity; and
(b) The information to be collected would not
materially aid water management because:
(A)
The regulation for or of the use is unlikely due to the absence of other water
rights; or
(B) Use of water is
unlikely to materially affect water availability from the source since the
quantity of water allowed by the right in relation to the quantity of water
available from the source is deminimis; or
(C) Another similar situation
exists.
Stat. Auth.: ORS 537 & ORS 540
Stats. Implemented:
