OAR 340-056-0005: Purpose

(1) These rules provide the framework for the Department to apply to the Water Resources Department for instream water rights for pollution abatement. Instream water rights protect streamflows for public uses, as defined in OAR 340-056-0100, including pollution abatement. The rules set the policy, definitions, procedures, and methodologies by which the Department will prioritize waterbodies for water rights application, determine the streamflow needed to protect water quality, and apply to WRD for instream water rights to protect those flow levels. (2) The Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) has adopted numeric and narrative standards and policies to protect the beneficial uses of state waters (OAR 340, division 41 specifies the beneficial uses and the standards and policies). The amount of pollutants discharged to a receiving stream, the activity occurring adjacent to or within the stream, and the amount of streamflow present, determine whether a stream will achieve the water quality standards. The following rules identify the process whereby the Department will apply for instream water rights for streamflows needed to assimilate loads and/or impacts of adjacent or instream activities in order to protect and maintain water quality standards.