OAR 690-028-0025: General Instructions for Registration Statements and Statements of Claim

For purposes of filing registration statements and statements and proofs of claim in an adjudication: (1) Each registration statement or statement and proof of claim shall be neatly printed in ink or typewritten on a form or in a format approved by the Department. The registration statement shall be verified as accurate by the registrant and notarized. (2) One registration statement or statement and proof of claim may include multiple uses with one common date of priority for parcels of contiguous land. Separate statements shall be registered for non-contiguous properties or different priority dates. (3) Each item on the form shall be completed. If the answer to a question is not available a statement to that effect shall be made for each such entry. (4) The required map shall be prepared by a certified water right examiner. The certified water right examiner shall confirm the map by an on-site inspection. Maps submitted become a part of the registration. The survey and map standards shall be the same as OAR 690-011 and 690-014-0170. In addition the map shall include: (a) The date the survey was performed; (b) The point of beginning and the referenced land survey corner of the deed, if applicable; (c) The dimensions and the capacity of any existing diversion systems; and (d) The number of acres irrigated in each quarter-quarter shall be shown to the nearest tenth of an acre. (5) Any person or agency claiming a federal or Indian reserved water right shall also identify the reservation upon which the claimed rights are made. They shall state the primary purpose or purposes of the reservation, the date of the reservation, and attach copies of the reservation documents. The Director may request additional documentation of Indian allotments and chain of title to the time the lands may have passed out of Indian ownership, if appropriate. (6) Forms prepared by the Department for filing registration statements shall be provided upon request. Forms shall be available at all state watermaster offices. The completed statement shall be filed with the required map, fees and supporting documentation, in the office of the Department in Salem, Oregon. (7) Requests for exceptions to the mapping standards or for modification of the application form shall be requested in advance of filing. The request may be approved at the discretion of the Director. (8) Pursuant to ORS 539.040(3)(a) and 539.240(10), the Director may authorize waivers of the requirements of these rules, so long as substantially the same information required by ORS 539.240(2) is provided. Requests for waivers shall be submitted to the Director in writing no less than 30 days prior to filing of a registration statement or statement and proof of claim. The Director may approve a waiver only upon a finding that the waiver does not diminish the Department’s ability to evaluate the registration statement or statement and proof of claim. The Director’s decision as to whether to grant or deny a waiver shall be made in a timely manner, shall be in writing and shall become a part of the record of the adjudication.