72nd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2003 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 2563
 
                         House Bill 3217
 
Sponsored by Representative WESTLUND; Representative KNOPP,
  Senator CLARNO
 
 
                             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.
 
  Removes application requirement for transfer of type of use of
water if prior type of use was irrigation and person transferring
water is municipality located within Deschutes River Basin.
 
                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to water; amending ORS 540.520.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1. ORS 540.520 is amended to read:
  540.520. (1) Except when the application is made under ORS
541.327 or when an application for a temporary transfer is made
under ORS 540.523, whenever the holder of a water use subject to
transfer for irrigation, domestic use, manufacturing purposes, or
other use, for any reason desires to change the place of use, the
point of diversion, or the use made of the water, an application
to make such change, as the case may be, shall be filed with the
Water Resources Department.
  (2) The application required under subsection (1) of this
section shall include:
  (a) The name of the owner;
  (b) The previous use of the water;
  (c) A description of the premises upon which the water is used;
  (d) A description of the premises upon which it is proposed to
use the water;
  (e) The use which is proposed to be made of the water;
  (f) The reasons for making the proposed change; and
  (g) Evidence that the water has been used over the past five
years according to the terms and conditions of the owner's water
right certificate or that the water right is not subject to
forfeiture under ORS 540.610.
  (3) If the application required under subsection (1) of this
section is necessary to allow a change in a water right 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, the department, at the discretion of the
Water Resources Director, may waive or assist the applicant in
satisfying the requirements of subsection (2)(c) and (d) of this
section. The assistance provided by the department may include,
but need not be limited to, development of an application map.
 
  (4) If the application is to change the point of diversion, the
transfer shall include a condition that the holder of the water
right provide a proper fish screen at the new point of diversion,
if requested by the State Department of Fish and Wildlife.
  (5) Upon the filing of the application the department shall
give notice by publication in a newspaper having general
circulation in the area in which the water rights are located,
for a period of at least three weeks and not less than one
publication each week. The notice shall include the date on which
the last notice by publication will occur. The cost of the
publication shall be paid by the applicant in advance to the
department. In applications for only a change in place of use or
for a change in the point of diversion of less than one-fourth
mile, and where there are no intervening diversions between the
old diversion of the applicant and the proposed new diversion, no
newspaper notice need be published. The department shall include
notice of such applications in the weekly notice published by the
department.
  (6) Within 30 days after the last publication of a newspaper
notice of the proposed transfer or the mailing of the
department's weekly notice, whichever is later, any person may
file, jointly or severally, with the department, a protest
against approval of the application.
  (7) Whenever a timely protest is filed, or in the opinion of
the Water Resources Director a hearing is necessary to determine
whether the proposed changes as described by the application
would result in injury to existing water rights, the department
shall hold a hearing on the matter. Notice and conduct of the
hearing shall be under the provisions of ORS 183.310 to 183.550,
pertaining to contested cases, and shall be held in the area
where the rights are located unless all parties and persons who
filed a protest under this subsection stipulate otherwise.
  (8) An application for a change of use under this section is
not required if the beneficial use authorized by the water use
subject to transfer is irrigation and { + :
  (a) + } The owner of the water right uses the water for
incidental agricultural, stock watering and other uses related to
irrigation use,   { - so - }   { + as + } long as there is no
increase in the rate, duty, total acreage benefited or season of
use { + ; or
  (b) The owner of the water right is a municipality that is
located within the Deschutes River Basin and the change will not
increase the rate, duty, total acreage benefited or season of
use.  As used in this paragraph, 'municipality' means a city, a
domestic water supply district formed under ORS chapter 264, a
water supplier as defined in ORS 448.115 or a water authority
formed under ORS chapter 450 + }.
  (9) A water right transfer under subsection (1) of this section
is not required for a general industrial use that was not
included in a water right certificate issued for a specific
industrial use if:
  (a) The quantity of water used for the general industrial use
is not greater than the rate allowed in the original water right
and not greater than the quantity of water diverted to satisfy
the authorized specific use under the original water right;
  (b) The location where the water is to be used for general
industrial use was owned by the holder of the original water
right at the time the water right permit was issued; and
  (c) The person who makes the change in water use provides the
following information to the Water Resources Department:
  (A) The name and mailing address of the person using water
under the water right;
  (B) The water right certificate number;
  (C) A description of the location of the industrial facility
owned by the holder of the original water right at the time the
water right permit was issued; and
  (D) A description of the general industrial use to be made of
the water after the change.
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