OAR 635-400-0040: Review and Coordination of Instream Water Right Applications Submitted by Other Agencies

(1) Within 30 days of receipt, the Department Habitat Conservation Division shall review and return comments on all draft instream water right applications from other agencies, in accordance with OAR 690-077-0020, for potential adverse impacts or benefits to fish and wildlife populations or their habitats, angling, hunting, trapping and nonconsumptive uses of fish and wildlife: (a) Every effort shall be made by the Department to resolve conflicts with draft applications, identified in section (1) of this rule, before the applications are submitted to WRD by other agencies; (b) The Department Instream Water Right Coordinator shall track the WRD process for instream water right applications submitted by other agencies in which the Department has an interest. (2) The following standards will be used to determine the level of Department participation in the application and certification process: (a) The Department shall support and shall provide staff assistance, if needed, to the agency making an instream water right application if the following standards apply: (A) State sensitive or state or federally listed threatened or endangered fish or wildlife or their habitats are involved; (B) The requested instream water right is beneficial to conserving, maintaining or enhancing significant native fish and wildlife populations or habitat; (C) The requested instream water right is beneficial to conserving, maintaining or enhancing Department fish and wildlife management objectives for commercial harvest, angling, hunting, trapping or nonconsumptive uses of fish or wildlife; (D) Requested instream water right is in a state Scenic Waterway or federal Wild and Scenic River. (b) The Department shall support but may elect not to provide staff assistance to an agency making application if the following standards apply: (A) An adequate instream water right for fish and wildlife populations or their habitats already exists; (B) The application is for a waterway that provides no identified benefits for fish or wildlife populations or their habitats; (C) The application is for general recreation or esthetics; (D) The waterway does not meet priorities and standards established in OAR 635-400-0020. (c) The Department shall oppose draft instream water right applications submitted by agencies if such applications cause one or more of the following problems: (A) Increased instream flows provided by storage are greater than the natural or traditional instream flows occurring during any time period and cause adverse impacts to fish and wildlife populations or habitats, commercial harvest, angling, hunting, trapping or nonconsumptive uses of fish and wildlife; (B) Decreased lake or reservoir water surface elevations occur that are lower than the natural or traditional water surface elevations during any time period and cause losses to fish or wildlife populations or their habitats, commercial harvest, angling, hunting, trapping or nonconsumptive uses of fish and wildlife; (C) Any proposed storage releases or reservoir filling schedules that are required to meet the instream water right and adversely affect Commission policies and program direction established for that waterway or other affected waterways.