2011 Oregon Revised Statutes
ORS Volume 13, Chapters 536 - 644
ORS Chapter 541
541.611 Application for grant from Water Investment Grant Fund; fee.

(1) Any person or entity described in ORS 541.606 may file an application with the Water Resources Department for a grant from the Water Investment Grant Fund to enable the construction of a water development project located in the Columbia River Basin.

(2) An application filed under this section must be in a form prescribed by the Water Resources Commission and include the following:

(a) A description of the nature and the primary and secondary purposes of the project.

(b) An analysis of the need for the project and for the water that the project is intended to deliver.

(c) Identification and description of the project components sufficient to meet the conditions for project funding approval under ORS 541.631.

(d) A description of the economic feasibility of the project, including but not limited to:

(A) The costs of the project; and

(B) Information about the financial and other aspects of the operation and maintenance plans for the project.

(e) Suggestions for interim and long-term project performance benchmarks.

(f) An analysis of the project impacts including, but not limited to, the:

(A) Expected economic public benefits.

(B) Expected social and cultural public benefits.

(C) Expected net environmental public benefits.

(g) An evaluation of the potential impact on water quality, based upon water quality standards.

(h) Proof that the applicant has acquired at least a final order or limited license for necessary water permits from the department.

(i) Letters of support for the proposed water resource development project.

(j) If the project has not previously received state funding, a statement regarding whether other moneys are available or have been sought or received for the implementation of the project.

(k) Information sufficient to demonstrate that the amount of the requested funding will be matched by the funding from another source that is not less than a dollar-for-dollar match.

(L) Any other information required by the department.

(3) If the project will receive surface water impounded from a perennial stream, water diverted from a stream that supports sensitive, threatened or endangered fish, or more than 500 acre-feet of diverted surface water annually, in addition to the other information required under this section the application shall include the following completed studies:

(a) An analysis of by-pass, optimum peak, flushing and other ecological flows of the affected stream and of the impact of the project on those flows, that conforms to standards set by the department in consultation with the State Department of Fish and Wildlife and other relevant agencies;

(b) An independent comparative analysis of alternative means of supplying the water intended to be generated by the project, including but not limited to the costs and benefits of conservation, reuse and alternatives and the extent to which long-term water supply needs may be met using those alternatives; and

(c) Evaluation of the need for and feasibility of using project-derived water to augment in-stream flows to conserve, maintain and enhance aquatic life, fish life and any other ecological values.

(4) If the applicant is an agricultural water supplier, the applicant must have an approved agriculture water management and conservation plan, have submitted a completed agricultural water management and conservation plan to the Water Resources Department for approval or be in the process of completing or updating a water management and conservation plan.

(5) The commission may establish fees for filing applications for a grant under this section. Moneys from the application fees established by the commission shall be deposited to the Water Investment Grant Fund.

(6) An analysis and evaluation conducted as part of a study performed pursuant to ORS 541.561 to 541.581 and sections 5 and 6, chapter 13, Oregon Laws 2008, is deemed to satisfy the requirements of subsection (3) of this section. [2009 c.907 19]