72nd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2003 Regular Session
Enrolled
House Bill 3201
Sponsored by Representative JENSON
CHAPTER ................
AN ACT
Relating to water; amending ORS 536.050, 541.327, 541.329 and
541.331.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. ORS 541.327 is amended to read:
541.327. (1) If a district fails or refuses to act under ORS
541.329 and 541.331, the owner of land with an appurtenant water
right within a district and subject to assessment by the district
may transfer the use or place of use of the water right on or
before July 1, 1994, pursuant to ORS 541.333. An owner
transferring the use or place of use under this subsection shall
comply with ORS 536.050.
(2) If the owners of land within a quarter quarter of a section
in a district agree as to the use and place of use of all water
rights in the quarter quarter of the section subject to
assessment by the district, the owners may jointly submit an
application, without the fees required under ORS 536.050, to the
Water Resources Department to conform the department's records to
the present usage within the quarter quarter of a section. The
application must be filed in accordance with ORS 541.333 on or
before July 1, 1994.
(3) The district or users within a district authorized to
participate in the process described under ORS 541.325 to 541.333
shall be limited to those districts or users who have notified
the department on or before July 1, 1993, of their intention to
submit a petition.
{ + (4) Notwithstanding subsection (3) of this section, the
Walla Walla River Irrigation District, or its successor district
formed under ORS chapter 545 and created after July 1, 1994, may
participate in the process described under ORS 541.325 to 541.333
if the district notifies the department on or before June 30,
2004. + }
SECTION 2. ORS 541.329 is amended to read:
541.329. (1) Pursuant to the requirements of subsection (2) of
this section, a district may petition the Water Resources
Commission for approval and acceptance of a district map
indicating the location and use of the water rights within the
district or any part thereof. The petition and map shall be in a
form satisfactory to the commission and shall be certified by the
district rather than a certified water right examiner. { + For a
district that notifies the Water Resources Department under ORS
541.327 (4), the map must be submitted in an electronic format
meeting the standards set by the department. + } { - In no
Enrolled House Bill 3201 (HB 3201-A) Page 1
event shall - } The petition and map { + may not + } expand a
water right of the district or its users beyond the total right
of record of the district. If the district has met the
requirements of ORS 541.325 to 541.331 and after the opportunity
for hearing under ORS 541.331, the commission shall instruct the
director to issue a new certificate to the district listing the
requested locations and uses and retaining the original priority
date. If the commission denies the petition, the commission shall
hold a hearing on the denial. Notice and conduct of the hearing
shall be under the provisions of ORS 183.310 to 183.550
pertaining to contested cases. The hearing shall be conducted in
the area where the right is located unless the parties and the
persons who file the protest under this section stipulate
otherwise.
(2) The petition required under subsection (1) of this section
shall be submitted on or before July 1, 1994, { + or before June
30, 2010, for a district notifying the department under ORS
541.327 (4), + } and shall include:
(a) The name of the district and the certificate number of each
water right contained in the petition.
(b) The names of all users within the district whose lands are
included in the petition.
(c) A general description of the district boundaries.
(d) A general description of the users' land and { - the
water right - } { + all water rights + } per each parcel
affected by the petition and the map. If the water right is on a
tract of land of five acres or less, a notation of the acres of
water right on the assessor's tax map shall be sufficient for
identification of the place of use and the extent of use.
(e) A description of the use which is proposed to be made of
the water on each parcel.
(f) An affirmation by the petitioner that the map and petition
are accurate to the best of the petitioner's knowledge.
(3) A petition submitted under this section shall contain no
more acres of land than the { - lesser - } { + least + } of
the following:
(a) The number of acres assessed by the district as of July 1,
1989; { - or - }
(b) The number of acres assessed by the district as of July 1,
1993 { + ; or
(c) If a district notifies the department under ORS 541.327
(4), the number of acres assessed by the district as of December
31, 2003 + }.
(4) Before submitting a petition under subsection (2) of this
section, the district shall send a notice to the user of every
parcel whose right of record is to be altered, as evidenced by
the district's records. This notice shall be sent to the
last-known address for the user with a return receipt requested.
The notice shall include the number of acre-feet of water or its
equivalent, for which the user is being assessed, a general
description or tax lot of the land to which the water is
assigned, a description of the use and a request for confirmation
that the information in the notice is correct. Thirty days after
the notice is mailed, the district shall prepare a petition and
map as described in subsections (1) and (2) of this section.
Payment for water by the user or the user's predecessor for a
period of five years before the petition shall create a
rebuttable presumption that the number of acres billed and paid
by the user or the user's predecessor is equal to the user's
water right.
Enrolled House Bill 3201 (HB 3201-A) Page 2
(5) Within 30 days after the commission issues a proposed order
regarding the petition, the district shall send notice to the
users of the district whose right of record is to be altered by
the proposed order. This notice shall be sent to the last-known
address of the user with a return receipt requested. The notice
shall include the number of acres of land, or its equivalent, for
which the user is being assessed, a general description or tax
lot number of the land to which the water is assigned and a
description of the use. In addition to the notice of the proposed
order that the district sends to the users, the district shall
publish at the same time notice in a newspaper having general
circulation in the area in which the water rights are located for
a period of at least three weeks. Not less than one publication
in each week shall be made. The notice shall state:
(a) The number of acres of water right that each parcel shall
receive { + and the associated priority dates + };
(b) That the proposed map and order are available for
inspection at the office of the district during normal business
hours for a period of { - 120 - } { + 60 + } days from the
date of first publication;
(c) That { - 120 - } { + not less than 60 + } days after
the date of first publication, the commission shall approve the
petition and map and issue a final order unless a protest is
filed or the petition does not meet the requirements of
subsections (1) and (2) of this section; and
(d) That the user has the right to protest the proposed order
and map as described in ORS 541.331.
(6) If the commission returns a petition or map to a district
for correction, the commission may prescribe a deadline for the
petitioner to provide additional information or correct the
petition or map. If the petitioner fails to meet the deadline
prescribed by the commission, the commission may deny the
petition.
SECTION 3. ORS 541.331 is amended to read:
541.331. (1) Any user may file with the Water Resources
Department, within 60 days after the date of first publication,
under ORS 541.329, a protest against a proposed order approving
the petition. Whenever a timely protest is filed or in the
opinion of the Water Resources Director a hearing is necessary to
determine whether the district has met the requirements of ORS
541.325 to 541.333 or the proposed changes described in the
proposed order would result in injury to existing water rights,
the department shall hold a hearing on the matter. The hearing
shall be conducted according to the provisions of ORS 183.310 to
183.550 applicable to contested cases. The hearing shall be held
in the area where the rights are located unless the parties and
the persons who filed the protest under this section stipulate
otherwise.
(2) If after examination or hearing, the department finds that
the district has met the requirements of ORS 541.325 to 541.331
and that the changes described in the proposed order would not
result in injury to existing water rights, the department shall
issue a final order approving the petition and map as described
in the proposed order. If a water right certificate for the water
right has been issued previously, the department shall cancel the
previous certificate and issue a new certificate that conforms to
the final order and map and retains the original priority date.
(3) A certificate issued under this section shall have the
evidentiary effect provided for in ORS 537.270 except when the
Enrolled House Bill 3201 (HB 3201-A) Page 3
right to appropriate water described in the certificate is
abandoned after the certificate is amended or issued.
(4) The department may approve for inclusion in a new
certificate under ORS 541.329 and this section only land which,
on July 1, 1993, { + or, if a district notifies the department
under ORS 541.327 (4), on December 31, 2003, + } is:
(a) Land within the legal boundaries of the district as those
boundaries were originally described or as they may have been
changed by legally prescribed inclusion or exclusion proceedings.
(b) Land for which inclusion in the district has been requested
previously as prescribed by law.
(c) Land on which a previously perfected water right has been
applied beneficially and for which the user has been charged or
assessed by the district in at least one of the last five years
and for which the user is currently being charged or assessed.
SECTION 4. ORS 536.050 is amended to read:
536.050. (1) For applications filed after July 23, 1997, the
following fees shall be collected by the Water Resources
Department in advance:
(a) Except as provided under ORS 543.280 for an application for
a hydroelectric project, for examining an application for a
permit to appropriate water, $250, plus $150 for the first
second-foot or fraction thereof, plus $75 for each additional
second-foot or fraction thereof.
(b) For examining an application for a permit:
(A) To store water under ORS 537.400 or 537.534 (4), $250, plus
$10 for the first acre-foot up to 10 acre-feet, plus $1 for each
additional acre-foot up to 1,000 acre-feet, plus 25 cents for
each additional acre-foot in excess of 1,000.
(B) To exclusively appropriate stored water, $100, plus $10 for
the first acre-foot up to 10 acre-feet, plus $1 for each
additional acre-foot up to 1,000 acre-feet, plus 25 cents for
each additional acre-foot in excess of 1,000.
(c) For recording a permit to appropriate or store water, $175.
(d) For filing or recording any other water right instrument,
$25 for the first page and $5 for each additional page.
(e) For copying records in the department, $2 for the first
page and 50 cents for each additional page.
(f) For certifying to copies, documents, records, or maps, $10
for each certificate.
(g) For blueprint copy of any map or drawing, the actual cost
of the work.
(h) For examining an application for approval of a change to an
existing water right, $200, plus $100 for each additional type of
change requested, plus, if a request for a change in place of use
or type of use or for a water exchange under ORS 540.533, $100
for each second-foot or fraction thereof requested in addition to
the first second-foot.
(i) For examining an application for a temporary change in
place of use under ORS 540.523 or 540.570, $100, plus:
(A) For nonirrigation uses, $50 for each second-foot or
fraction thereof requested in addition to the first second-foot;
or
(B) For irrigation uses, 25 cents per acre of land irrigated.
(j) For submitting a protest under ORS 537.153, 537.621 or
543A.120, $200, reduced by the amount of any protest previously
paid toward the same application and for filing any other protest
with the department, $25.
Enrolled House Bill 3201 (HB 3201-A) Page 4
(k) For filing an application for extension of time within
which irrigation or other works shall be completed or the right
perfected, $100.
(L) For a limited license under ORS 537.143 or 537.534 (2), the
fee established by rule by the Water Resources Commission.
(m) For filing, examining and certifying a petition under ORS
541.329, $250 plus 10 cents per acre of water involved in the
application. For purposes of computing this fee, when any acreage
within a quarter quarter of a section is involved, the 10 cents
per acre shall apply to all acres in that quarter quarter of a
section. { + Notwithstanding the fee amount established in this
paragraph, a district notifying the department under ORS 541.327
(4) shall pay the actual cost of filing, examining and certifying
the petition. + }
(n) For requesting standing under ORS 537.153 (5), 537.621 (6)
or 543A.120, $50.
(o) For participating in a contested case proceeding under ORS
537.170 (2), 537.622 (2) or 543A.130, $150.
(p) Except for an applicant, for obtaining a copy of both a
proposed final order and a copy of a final order for a water
right application under ORS 537.140 to 537.252, 537.505 to
537.795 or 543A.005 to 543A.300, $10.
(q) For submitting an application for a water right permit for
a reservoir under ORS 537.409, $10 for each acre-foot, but not
more than $100 per application.
(r) For submitting a notice of intent under ORS 543A.030 or
543A.075, the amount established by the director under ORS
543A.410.
(s) For examining an application for a substitution made under
ORS 540.524, $100.
(2) Notwithstanding the fees established under subsection (1)
of this section, the commission may by rule establish examination
and permit fees lower than those under subsection (1) of this
section for:
(a) The right to appropriate water for a storage project of
five acre-feet or less; or
(b) The right to appropriate water for the purpose of allowing
the applicant to water livestock outside of a riparian area. As
used in this paragraph, 'riparian area' has the meaning given
that term in ORS 541.351.
(3) Notwithstanding subsections (5) and (6) of this section, if
the Water Resources Director determines a refund of a fee paid
under this section is appropriate in the interest of fairness to
the public or necessary to correct an error of the department,
the director may refund all or part of a fee paid to the
department.
(4) Notwithstanding subsections (5) and (6) of this section,
the Water Resources Director may waive all or part of a fee for a
change to a water right permit under ORS 537.211 (4) or a water
right subject to transfer under ORS 540.520 or 540.523, if the
change is made pursuant to ORS 537.348, is necessary to complete
a project funded under ORS 541.375, or is approved by the State
Department of Fish and Wildlife as a change that will result in a
net benefit to fish and wildlife habitat.
(5) Except as provided in subsection (6) of this section, all
moneys received under subsection (1) of this section shall be
deposited in the Water Resources Department Operating Account and
credited to the Water Resources Department. Such moneys are
continuously appropriated to the Water Resources Department to
Enrolled House Bill 3201 (HB 3201-A) Page 5
pay the department's expenses in administering and enforcing the
provisions of ORS chapters 536 to 543A.
(6) All fees received for power purposes under ORS 543.280
shall be paid to the Water Resources Department Hydroelectric
Fund established in ORS 536.015.
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Passed by House July 28, 2003
...........................................................
Chief Clerk of House
...........................................................
Speaker of House
Passed by Senate August 6, 2003
...........................................................
President of Senate
Enrolled House Bill 3201 (HB 3201-A) Page 6
Received by Governor:
......M.,............., 2003
Approved:
......M.,............., 2003
...........................................................
Governor
Filed in Office of Secretary of State:
......M.,............., 2003
...........................................................
Secretary of State
Enrolled House Bill 3201 (HB 3201-A) Page 7