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 Steph HayesWaterWatch of Oregon1. The Department should withhold action on the transfer applications until the land use approval process is completed. Oregon state law requires the coordination of agencies with respect to land use and water management, which are integrally related. ORS 197.180(1); OAR 690-005-0020(1). The Water Resources Commission places a “high priority” on achieving compatibility with state and local goals and land use plans, and state water laws require protection of the “public interest in all waters of the state.” OAR 690-005-0020(1). Water right transfer decisions are actions that must be coordinated with local land use governments to protect important local water resources. OAR 690-005-0025(3); OAR 690-005-0035. On 2/1/23, the transfer applicant, Bandon Biota LLC, withdrew its land use application with the Coos County Planning Department for approval of the golf course. (withdrawal_notice.pdf (coos.or.us)) The land use application had received considerable public opposition largely due to its likely adverse impacts on the local water supply and consequential injuries to other water rights and local industry. Allegedly, a new land use application for the golf course has been submitted, but Coos County has not yet deemed it complete. There is no information publicly available on this application and if or how it differs from the previous application. OAR 690-005-0035(4)(a) requires an applicant to submit land use information prior to the Department taking action on the water use. If local land use approvals are pending, the Department shall withhold issuance of the water use approval until the applicant obtains all required local land use approvals, or place conditions on the approval to preclude use and any associated construction until the applicant obtains all required land use approvals. OAR 690-005-0035(4)(c). At this point, there are many unknowns and uncertainties about the proposed project. Because the prior land use approval process revealed multiple land use and water issues that were controversial and contested by the local community, the current land use process may very likely end in denial. The Department should therefore withhold action on the three transfer applications until the local land use approval process is complete. This will ensure compliance with state law and policy requiring coordination of land use and water management to protect the public interest in state waters. 2. Transfer T-14439 will reduce stream flows and injure Instream Water Right Certificate 76268 on Twomile Creek. Transfer T-14439 proposes to change the place of use for Certificate 73636. Certificate 73636 has been leased instream intermittently since 2001under IL-107, with the current lease agreement in place from 2021 to 2025. The certificate’s authorized place of use is 53 acres of land directly north and adjacent to Twomile Creek in three quadrants. The proposed place of use is the new golf course which is not adjacent to Twomile Creek but spread out over six quadrants south of the creek. This proposed transfer would therefore cause significant changes to the flows within Twomile Creek because it would no longer receive the return flows it received when the land under the certificate was being irrigated. When a proposed transfer would result in another, existing water not receiving previously available water to which it is legally entitled, that is an injury. OAR 690-380 0100(3). The Department cannot approve proposed transfers that would result in injury. OAR 690-380-5000(1)(d). This is especially important because Twomile Creek within this reach is protected by an instream water right. ISWR Certificate 76268 exists to provide required stream flow for anadromous fish migration, spawning, egg incubation, fry emergence, and juvenile rearing, and flows are protected throughout the reach. Additionally, Twomile Creek is listed by the Oregon Department of State Lands as Essential Habitat for Fall chinook, winter steelhead, and coho. 3. Transfer T-14439 will cause injury to other water rights. The application’s proposed change in the place of use will most likely cause injury to other water rights, including, but not limited to, certificates 26397, 90113, and 90096. When a proposed transfer would result in another, existing water not receiving previously available water to which it is legally entitled, that is an injury OAR 690-380 0100(3). The Department cannot approve proposed transfers that would result in injury. OAR 690-380-5000(1)(d). These water rights source water from Two Mile Creek, which, as a result of the transfer, will not receive any return flows from irrigation of the original land under Certificate 73636 if the place of use is changed to an expansive golf course south of and further away the creek. This is the example of when the place of use for senior water right “A” is moved to a location where the return flows no longer enter the stream above the diversion for junior water right “B,” leading to less water for “B” and potential injury. (Field Operations Manual, Section 11.01, p. 2-3)