Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1) The primary elements in the process of
scoring and ranking of applications include the following:
(a) Initial review for completeness by the
Department;
(b) Public comment;
(c) The Technical Review Team
conducts the initial scoring and ranking for the projects, considers comments
from applicants and the public and makes loan and grant funding recommendations
to the Commission; and
(d) The
Commission determines the final scoring and ranking of projects, provides for
additional public comment, and makes the final decision regarding which
projects are awarded loans or grants from the account.
(2) The Technical Review Team scoring
methodology shall rank applications based upon the public benefits of the
project and additional considerations set forth in ORS
541.677 subsection (1)(b),
(1)(d) and (1)(e). The Technical Review Team shall use a score sheet provided
by the Department. Each of the three public benefit categories shall be given
equal importance in the evaluation and will have scoring sublevels including
but not limited to the following:
(a) The
evaluation of economic benefits for a project based on the changes in economic
conditions expected to result from the project related to:
(A) Job creation or retention;
(B) Increases in economic activity;
(C) Increases in efficiency or
innovation;
(D) Enhancement of
infrastructure, farmland, public resource lands, industrial lands, commercial
lands or lands having other key uses;
(E) Enhanced economic value associated with
tourism or recreational or commercial fishing, with fisheries involving native
fish of cultural significance to Indian tribes or with other economic values
resulting from restoring or protecting water in-stream; and
(F) Increases in irrigated land for
agriculture.
(b) The
evaluation of environmental benefits for a project based on the changes in
environmental conditions expected to result from the project related to:
(A) A measurable improvement in protected
streamflows that:
(i) Supports the natural
hydrograph;
(ii) Improves
floodplain function;
(iii)
Supports state or federally listed sensitive, threatened or endangered fish
species;
(iv) Supports native fish
species of cultural importance to Indian tribes; or
(v) Supports riparian habitat important for
wildlife;
(B) A
measurable improvement in groundwater levels that enhances environmental
conditions in groundwater restricted areas or other areas;
(C) A measurable improvement in the quality
of surface water or groundwater;
(D) Water conservation;
(E) Increased ecosystem resiliency to climate
change impacts; and
(F)
Improvements that address one or more limiting ecological factors in the
project watershed.
(c)
The evaluation of the social or cultural benefits for a project based on the
changes in social or cultural conditions expected to result from the project
related to:
(A) The promotion of public
health and safety and of local food systems;
(B) A measurable improvement in conditions
for members of minority or low-income communities, economically distressed
rural communities, tribal communities or other communities traditionally
underrepresented in public processes;
(C) The promotion of recreation and scenic
values;
(D) Contribution to the
body of scientific data publicly available in this state;
(E) The promotion of state or local
priorities, including but not limited to the restoration and protection of
native fish species of cultural significance to Indian tribes; and
(F) The promotion of collaborative basin
planning efforts, including but not limited to efforts under the state
Integrated Water Resources Strategy.
(3) Scoring sublevels shall have a numeric
point scale that accounts for positive and negative effects of the project.
Sublevel scores shall be summed to a public benefit category level. The
Department shall set a minimum score for the application to proceed.
(4) The Technical Review Team will use the
total score from the score sheet provided by the Department to rank all
applications and make loan and grant funding recommendations to the Commission.
(5) The Commission shall determine
the final scoring and ranking of projects and make the final decision regarding
which projects are awarded loans or grants from the account based on criteria
in OAR 690-093-0100.
(6) The
Department shall document the ranking of all applications and make the
application ranking publicly available after the funding decisions by the
Commission have been published.
Stat. Auth.: ORS
541.651 -
541.696
Stats. Implemented: ORS
541.651 -
541.696
