71st OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2001 Regular Session
NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .
LC 964
House Bill 2156
Ordered printed by the Speaker pursuant to House Rule 12.00A (5).
Presession filed (at the request of Governor John A. Kitzhaber,
M.D., for State Department of Agriculture)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
Vests authority to implement confined animal feeding operation
portion of Federal Water Pollution Control Act with State
Department of Agriculture. Allows department to adopt rules.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to confined animal feeding operations; amending ORS
468B.035, 468B.050, 468B.205, 468B.215, 537.141, 537.545 and
561.175.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. ORS 468B.035 is amended to read:
468B.035. { + (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this
section, + } the Environmental Quality Commission may perform or
cause to be performed any { - and all - } acts necessary to be
performed by the state to implement within the jurisdiction of
the state the provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act, { - enacted by Congress, October 18, 1972, and Acts
amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto, - } { + P.L.
92-500, as amended, + } and federal regulations { - and - }
{ + or + } guidelines issued pursuant { - thereto - } { + to
the Act + }. The commission may adopt, modify or repeal rules,
pursuant to ORS 183.310 to 183.550, for the administration and
implementation
{ - of this section - } { + of this subsection + }.
{ + (2) The State Department of Agriculture may perform or
cause to be performed any acts necessary to be performed by the
state to implement the provisions of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act, P.L. 92-500, as amended, and any federal regulations
or guidelines issued pursuant to the Act, relating to the control
and prevention of water pollution from livestock and other
animal-based agricultural operations. The department may adopt
rules pursuant to ORS 183.310 to 183.550 for the administration
and implementation of this subsection. Any action taken or rules
adopted by the department under this subsection, including but
not limited to any action or rule in connection with the
investigation of a complaint or in connection with civil
penalties, shall comply with ORS 468B.200 to 468B.230, unless
otherwise required by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act,
P.L. 92-500, as amended, or by any federal regulations or
guidelines issued pursuant to the Act. + }
SECTION 2. ORS 468B.050 is amended to read:
468B.050. (1) Except as provided in ORS 468B.053 or 468B.215,
without first obtaining a permit from the Director of the
Department of Environmental Quality { + or the State Department
of Agriculture + }, which permit shall specify applicable
effluent limitations, no person shall:
(a) Discharge any wastes into the waters of the state from any
industrial or commercial establishment or activity or any
disposal system.
(b) Construct, install, modify or operate any disposal system
or part thereof or any extension or addition thereto.
(c) Increase in volume or strength any wastes in excess of the
permissive discharges specified under an existing permit.
(d) Construct, install, operate or conduct any industrial,
commercial, confined animal feeding operation or other
establishment or activity or any extension or modification
thereof or addition thereto, the operation or conduct of which
would cause an increase in the discharge of wastes into the
waters of the state or which would otherwise alter the physical,
chemical or biological properties of any waters of the state in
any manner not already lawfully authorized.
(e) Construct or use any new outlet for the discharge of any
wastes into the waters of the state.
(2) As used in this section, 'confined animal feeding
operation' has the meaning given { - in ORS 468B.205 - } { +
that term in rules adopted by the State Department of
Agriculture + }.
SECTION 3. ORS 468B.205 is amended to read:
468B.205. As used in ORS 468B.200 to 468B.230, 'confined animal
feeding operation' { - means the concentrated confined feeding
or holding of animals or poultry, including, but not limited to
horse, cattle, sheep or swine feeding areas, dairy confinement
areas, slaughterhouse or shipping terminal holding pens, poultry
and egg production facilities and fur farms, in buildings or in
pens or lots where the surface has been prepared with concrete,
rock or fibrous material to support animals in wet weather or
which have waste water treatment works - } { + has the meaning
given that term in rules adopted by the State Department of
Agriculture + }.
SECTION 4. ORS 468B.215 is amended to read:
468B.215. (1) Any person operating a confined animal feeding
operation shall pay a fee established under ORS 561.175.
(2) { + Unless otherwise required by federal law, + } a fee
shall not be assessed to nor a permit required { + under ORS
468B.050 (1)(d) + } of confined animal feeding operations of four
months or less duration or that do not have waste water control
facilities. A confined animal feeding operation { - in this
category shall be - } { + of four months or less duration or
that does not have waste water control facilities is + } subject
to all requirements of ORS chapters 468, 468A and 468B if found
to be discharging wastes into the waters of the state
{ - without a permit or in violation of a permit - } .
{ - (3) In order to recover costs associated with increased
monitoring and inspection, for the three years after a confined
animal feeding operation owner or operator is assessed a civil
penalty for violation of any provisions of ORS chapters 468, 468A
and 468B, any rule adopted under ORS chapter 468, 468A and 468B
or any permit condition, the owner or operator shall pay an
annual inspection fee of $1,000 rather than the fee established
under ORS 561.175 and shall have an annual inspection for each of
the three years. An owner or operator shall be considered to have
been assessed a civil penalty only if the penalty has been
adjudicated pursuant to ORS 468.135. - }
{ - (4) - } { + (3) + } The { + State + } Department of
{ - Environmental Quality - } { + Agriculture + } may impose
on the permit required for a confined animal feeding operation
only those conditions necessary to assure that wastes are
disposed of in a manner that does not cause pollution of the
surface and ground waters of the state.
{ - (5) - } { + (4) + } A permit for a confined animal
feeding operation
{ - shall not expire, but - } may be revoked or modified by
the
{ - Director of the Department of Environmental Quality - }
{ + State Department of Agriculture + } or may be terminated
upon request by the permit holder. Each confined animal feeding
operation under permit may be inspected by the State Department
of Agriculture.
SECTION 5. ORS 537.141 is amended to read:
537.141. (1) The following water uses do not require an
application under ORS 537.130 or 537.615, a water right permit
under ORS 537.211 or a water right certificate under ORS 537.250:
(a) Emergency fire-fighting uses;
(b) Nonemergency fire-fighting training conducted by public
fire departments and rural fire protection districts, provided:
(A) The source of the water is existing storage and the use
occurs with permission of the owner of the stored water; or
(B) If the source of water is other than existing storage, the
use occurs with the prior written approval of the watermaster in
the district where the training will take place and subject to
any conditions the watermaster determines are necessary to
prevent injury to existing water rights and to protect in-stream
resources;
(c) Water uses that divert water to water tanks or troughs from
a reservoir for a use allowed under an existing water right
permit or certificate for the reservoir;
(d) Fish screens, fishways and fish by-pass structures, as
exempted by rule of the Water Resources Commission;
(e) Land management practices intended to save soil and improve
water quality by temporarily impeding or changing the natural
flow of diffuse surface water across agricultural lands when
storage of public waters is not an intended purpose. Such
practices include but are not limited to:
(A) Terraces;
(B) Dikes;
(C) Retention dams and other temporary impoundments; and
(D) Agronomic practices designed to improve water quality and
control surface runoff to prevent erosion, such as ripping,
pitting, rough tillage and cross slope farming;
(f) Livestock watering operations that comply with the
requirements under subsections (2) and (3) of this section;
(g) Forest management activities that require the use of water
in conjunction with mixing pesticides as defined in ORS 634.006,
or in slash burning;
(h) The collection of precipitation water from an artificial
impervious surface and the use of such water; and
(i) Land application of ground water so long as the ground
water:
(A) Has first been appropriated and used under a permit or
certificate issued under ORS 537.625 or 537.630 for a water right
issued for industrial purposes or a water right authorizing use
of water for confined animal feeding purposes;
(B) Is reused for irrigation purposes and the period of
irrigation is a period during which the reused water has never
been discharged to the waters of the state; and
(C) Is applied pursuant to a permit issued by the Department of
Environmental Quality { + or the State Department of
Agriculture + } under either ORS 468B.050 to construct and
operate a disposal system or ORS 468B.215 to operate a confined
animal feeding operation.
(2) The use of surface water for livestock watering may be
exempted under subsection (1) of this section if:
(a) The water is diverted from a stream or other surface water
source to a trough or tank through an enclosed water delivery
system;
(b) The delivery system either is equipped with an automatic
shutoff or flow control mechanism or includes a means for
returning water to the surface water source through an enclosed
delivery system; and
(c) The operation is located on land from which the livestock
would otherwise have legal access to both the use and source of
the surface water source.
(3) If the diversion system described in subsection (2) of this
section is located within or above a scenic waterway, the amount
of water that may be used without a water right is limited to
one-tenth of one cubic foot per second per 1,000 head of
livestock. Nothing in this section shall prevent the Water
Resources Commission from approving an application for a water
right permit for a delivery system not qualifying under
subsection (2) of this section.
(4) The Water Resources Department, in conjunction with local
soil and water conservation districts, the State Department of
Agriculture and the State Department of Fish and Wildlife and any
other organization interested in participating, shall develop and
implement a voluntary educational program on livestock management
techniques designed to keep livestock away from streams and
riparian areas.
(5) To qualify for an exempt use under subsection (1)(g) of
this section, the user shall:
(a) Submit notice of the proposed use, including the
identification of the proposed water source, to the Water
Resources Department and to the State Department of Fish and
Wildlife at the time notice is provided to other affected
agencies pursuant to ORS 527.670; and
(b) Comply with any restrictions imposed by the department
pertaining to sources of water that may not be used in
conjunction with the proposed activity.
(6) Except for the use of water under subsection (1)(i) of this
section, the Water Resources Commission by rule may require any
person or public agency diverting water as described in
subsection (1) of this section to furnish information with regard
to such water and the use thereof. For a use of water described
in subsection (1)(i) of this section, the Department of
Environmental Quality { + or the State Department of
Agriculture + } shall provide to the Water Resources Department a
copy of the permit issued under ORS 468B.050 or 468B.215
authorizing the land application of ground water for reuse. The
permit shall provide the information regarding the place of use
of such water and the nature of the beneficial reuse.
SECTION 6. ORS 537.545 is amended to read:
537.545. (1) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this
section, no registration, certificate of registration,
application for a permit, permit, certificate of completion or
ground water right certificate under ORS 537.505 to 537.795 and
537.992 is required for the use of ground water for:
(a) Stockwatering purposes;
(b) Watering any lawn or noncommercial garden not exceeding
one-half acre in area;
(c) Watering the lawns, grounds and fields not exceeding 10
acres in area of schools located within a critical ground water
area established pursuant to ORS 537.730 to 537.740;
(d) Single or group domestic purposes in an amount not
exceeding 15,000 gallons a day;
(e) Down-hole heat exchange purposes;
(f) Any single industrial or commercial purpose in an amount
not exceeding 5,000 gallons a day; or
(g) Land application, so long as the ground water:
(A) Has first been appropriated and used under a permit or
certificate issued under ORS 537.625 or 537.630 for a water right
issued for industrial purposes or a water right authorizing use
of water for confined animal feeding purposes;
(B) Is reused for irrigation purposes and the period of
irrigation is a period during which the reused water has never
been discharged to the waters of the state; and
(C) Is applied pursuant to a permit issued by the Department of
Environmental Quality { + or the State Department of
Agriculture + } under either ORS 468B.050 to construct and
operate a disposal system or ORS 468B.215 to operate a confined
animal feeding operation.
(2) The use of ground water for a use exempt under subsection
(1) of this section, to the extent that it is beneficial,
constitutes a right to appropriate ground water equal to that
established by a ground water right certificate issued under ORS
537.700. Except for the use of water under subsection (1)(g) of
this section, the Water Resources Commission by rule may require
any person or public agency using ground water for any such
purpose to furnish information with regard to such ground water
and the use thereof. For a use of water described in subsection
(1)(g) of this section, the Department of Environmental
Quality { + or the State Department of Agriculture + } shall
provide to the Water Resources Department a copy of the permit
issued under ORS 468B.050 or 468B.215 authorizing the land
application of ground water for reuse. The permit shall provide
the information regarding the place of use of such water and the
nature of the beneficial reuse.
(3) If it is necessary for the Water Resources Department to
regulate the use or distribution of ground water, including uses
exempt under subsection (1) of this section, the department shall
use as a priority date for the exempt uses the date indicated in
the log for the well filed with the department under ORS 537.765
or other documentation provided by the well owner showing when
water use began.
(4) After declaration of a ground water management area, any
person intending to make a new use of ground water that is exempt
under subsection (1) of this section shall apply for a ground
water permit under ORS 537.505 to 537.795 and 537.992 to use the
water. Any person applying for a permit for an otherwise exempt
use shall not be required to pay a fee for the permit.
SECTION 7. ORS 561.175 is amended to read:
561.175. (1) The State Department of Agriculture by rule shall
establish a schedule of annual fees, not to exceed $25, to be
paid under ORS 468B.215 by any persons operating a confined
animal feeding operation.
(2) As used in this section, 'confined animal feeding
operation' has the meaning given { - in ORS 468B.205 - } { +
that term in rules adopted by the State Department of
Agriculture + }.
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