OAR 690-505-0605: Deschutes Basin Groundwater Mitigation Rules: Definitions

The following definitions apply to OAR 690-505-0500 through 690-505-0630: (1) "Allocation of conserved water" means an application approved under ORS 537.455 to 537.500 and OAR 690, division 18 in which the Department may award mitigation credits for the applicant’s portion of the conserved water that is legally protected for instream use resulting from conservation measures, such as canal lining and piping or other improvements in the technology or method for diverting, transporting, applying, or recovering water. (2) "Consumptive use" means the Department’s determination of the amount of a ground water appropriation that does not return to surface water flows in the Deschutes Basin due to transpiration, evaporation or movement to another basin. (3) "Department" means the Oregon Water Resources Department. (4) "Deschutes Ground Water Study Area" means the Deschutes River Basin drainage area indicated in Exhibit 1. (5) "General zone of impact" means anywhere above the Madras gage on the Lower Deschutes River or, for wells determined by the Department to have a localized impact on surface water, anywhere within the impacted subbasin of the Deschutes River including the Metolius, Squaw Creek, Little Deschutes, and Crooked River subbasins as identified by the Department. (6) "Ground water use subject to transfer" means a ground water use established by: (a) A water right certificate; (b) A water use permit for which a request for issuance of a water right certificate under ORS 537.250 has been received and approved by the Water Resources Commission under ORS 537.250; or (c) A transfer application for which an order approving the change has been issued under ORS 540.530 and for which proper proof of completion of the change has been filed with the Water Resources Commission. (7) "Measurable reduction" as defined in ORS 390.835(12) means that ground water use will individually or cumulatively reduce surface water flows within the scenic waterway in excess of a combined cumulative total of one percent of the average daily flow or one cubic foot per second, whichever is less. (8) "Mitigation" means to moderate the impacts to surface water flows from a ground water appropriation by obtaining mitigation credits or by providing for implementation of a mitigation project that results in mitigation water. (9) "Mitigation bank" means an entity that is authorized by the Water Resources Commission to obtain, hold and assign mitigation credits pursuant to Chapter 659, 2001 Oregon Laws (HB 2184) and OAR 690, division 521. (10) "Mitigation credit" is a means of accounting for mitigation water, calculated in acre-feet, made available by a mitigation project. One mitigation credit is equal to one acre-foot of mitigation water. Mitigation credits are determined and awarded by the Department under Chapter 659, 2001 Oregon Laws (HB 2184) and OAR 690, division 521. (11) "Mitigation obligation" means the amount of mitigation water needed for the appropriation of ground water as determined by the Department, calculated in acre-feet. (12) "Mitigation project" means a project approved by the Department that results in mitigation water. (13) "Mitigation water" means water that is legally protected for instream use from implementation of a mitigation project, calculated in acre-feet. [ED. NOTE: Exhibits referenced are available from the agency.]