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DateNameCompanyComment
02/11/2016Lisa BrownWaterWatch of OregonWaterWatch of Oregon comments on extension application for permit R-12177 1. ORS 537.230(2) applies to this extension because it would be an extension of a permit for municipal use. The permit specifies that the “[p]urpose or use of the stored water” is to be appropriated (under another City of Seaside permit) “for municipal use.” Because this would be the first extension issued pursuant to ORS 537.230(2) after June 29, 2005, the extension is subject to the standards set forth in ORS 537.230(2)(c) (fish persistence). Conceivably, WRD could have treated the December 11, 2015 extension order, issued pursuant to ORS 537.248, as the first extension issued after June 29, 2005 and thus conditioned that extension pursuant to ORS 537.230(2)(c). However, WRD did not do that. The statutory term “first extension issued after June 29, 2005” has to attach to one of the post-2005 extensions for this permit. The extension must also be conditioned pursuant to ORS 537.230(2)(b) (Water Management and Conservation Plan), which applies to all extensions of permits for municipal use. 2. ORS 537.230(3) is inapplicable to this extension, because it is an extension of a permit for municipal use (see number one) and thus governed by ORS 537.230(2). If this were not a permit for municipal use, WRD would need to process the extension application consistent with OAR 690-315-0040 (“Criteria for Department Review of Extension Applications for Other Than Municipal and Quasi-Municipal Water Use”). Those rules include, among others, the requirement to consider the “habitat needs of sensitive, threatened, or endangered species, in consultation with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.” OAR 690-315-0040(4)(c). Bare recitation by WRD that such species inhabit the waters affected by the permit, and lacking any consultation with ODFW, do not meet the requirements of this rule. Additionally, if this were not a permit for municipal use, it would be subject to non-discretionary cancellation if the applicant cannot demonstrate that construction began under permit R-12177 within one year of permit issuance (by May 14, 1998). OAR 690-315-0040(5). Thank you for the opportunity to comment.