2015 Oregon Revised Statutes
Volume : 05 - State Government, Government Procedures, Land Use
Chapter 196 - Columbia River Gorge; Ocean Resource Planning; Wetlands; Removal and Fill
Section 196.620 - Resource values and credits for mitigation banks; use and withdrawal of credits; annual evaluation of system by director.

(1) For each mitigation bank, the Department of State Lands shall establish a system of resource values and credits.

(2) A credit from a mitigation bank may be withdrawn for a condition imposed on a permit in accordance with ORS 196.825 (5), for any other authorization issued in accordance with ORS 196.800 to 196.905 or to resolve a violation of ORS 196.800 to 196.905. At the request of a mitigation bank sponsor, the Director of the Department of State Lands may authorize the withdrawal of mitigation bank credits by a public benefit corporation as defined in ORS 65.001 or a public body as defined by ORS 174.109 designated by the director for the purpose of reserving credits for future use in accordance with this subsection. The director shall manage such transactions to ensure that each credit is used no more than one time to satisfy a use in accordance with this section.

(3) Credits from a mitigation bank may be used only as described in subsection (2) of this section for permits, authorizations or resolutions of violations approved within the service area of the mitigation bank, consistent with the mitigation bank instrument, unless the director determines that it is environmentally preferable to exceed this limitation.

(4) Credits from an estuarine mitigation bank may be used only as described in subsection (2) of this section for permits, authorizations or resolutions of violations approved within the same estuarine ecological system unless the director determines that it is environmentally preferable to exceed this limitation.

(5) The director may not withdraw any credits from any mitigation bank until the director has:

(a) Taken actions sufficient to establish hydrological function of the mitigation bank site;

(b) Conducted other creation, restoration, enhancement or preservation actions to establish other functions and values at the mitigation bank site; and

(c) Evaluated the results of the actions and determined that a high probability exists that the functions and values of the mitigation bank site are equal to or greater than the functions and values of the area to be impacted or that the functions and values of the mitigation bank compensate for unavoidable adverse effects on the waters of this state due to the activities otherwise allowed under ORS 196.600 to 196.905.

(6) The price for any mitigation credit shall be set at an amount that will compensate the state for all of the costs and expenses the state has incurred and is expected to incur in establishing and maintaining that portion of the mitigation bank.

(7) The director shall not consider the availability or nonavailability of mitigation bank credits in deciding whether to grant or deny any removal or fill permit under ORS 196.600 to 196.905.

(8) The director annually shall:

(a) Evaluate the functions and values created within each mitigation bank site; and

(b) Compare the current functions and values with those that the director anticipated that the mitigation bank would provide. If the director finds any significant disparity between the actual and anticipated functions and values, the director shall:

(A) Suspend the withdrawal of credits to that mitigation site; or

(B) Take prompt action to ensure that the anticipated functions and values are established.

(9) The director may not withdraw credits from the mitigation bank for a specific permit, authorization or resolution of a violation if the director determines that:

(a) The credits for that specific permit, authorization or resolution of a violation would not adequately maintain habitat or species diversity;

(b) The mitigation bank site for which credits are proposed to be withdrawn is not sufficiently similar in functions and values to the area to be impacted; or

(c) The functions and values of the mitigation bank do not compensate for unavoidable adverse effects on the waters of this state due to the activities otherwise allowed under ORS 196.600 to 196.905.

[Formerly 541.565; 1997 c.444 §3; 2003 c.738 §7; 2005 c.22 §135; 2007 c.804 §70; 2007 c.849 §10; 2009 c.343 §5; 2011 c.370 §2]