OAR 690-512-0070: Scheduling Water Use Reductions to Meet the Permissible Total Withdrawal

(1) For the purposes of scheduling reductions, the total reduction in groundwater use for each subarea will be calculated as the difference between the total initial allotment for the subarea plus the greatest single year quantity of municipal and quasi-municipal use in the subarea between the years 2020 and 2024, within that same subarea and the permissible total withdrawal. (2) Notwithstanding adjustments made by the adaptive management methodology defined in OAR 690-512-0080, upon consideration of all water rights and after determining the initial allotment for each: (a) Water use within the Weaver Springs subarea will be scheduled to be reduced to the permissible total withdrawal with 75 percent of the total reduction being scheduled for 2028 and the remaining 25 percent of the reduction scheduled for 2034; (b) Water use within Silvies, Silver Creek, and Lower Blitzen Voltage subareas will be scheduled for reduction to the permissible total withdrawal with 40 percent of the total reduction scheduled for 2028, 30 percent of the total reduction scheduled for 2034, 15 percent of the total reduction scheduled for 2040, 10 percent of the total reduction scheduled for 2046, and 5 percent of the total reduction scheduled for 2052; (A) Reductions in use within a subarea will be deferred and evaluated as described in B if, prior to 2028, water right holders implement voluntary measures that achieve a reduction in groundwater use within the subarea of no less than 10 percent, as measured relative to the 2018 estimated pumping volume; (B) At each adaptive management checkpoint defined in OAR 690-512-0080, groundwater levels within the subarea will be evaluated using the criteria defined in rule and; (i) If groundwater levels are found to meet conditions in OAR 690-512-0080(4)(c) through (e), then the Department will take no action, (ii) If groundwater levels are found to meet the conditions in OAR 690-512-0080(4)(a) or (b), then the Department: (I) May recommend to the Commission the termination of voluntary agreements approved within the subareas; (II) Will implement 70 percent of the total reductions scheduled in the irrigation season following the checkpoint, and the remaining 30 percent will be reduced as scheduled across future adaptive management checkpoints. (c) The water use within the Northeast-Crane and Dog Mountain subareas of the Critical Groundwater Area will be scheduled for reduction to the permissible total withdrawal with 40 percent of the total reduction scheduled for 2028, 30 percent of the total reduction scheduled for 2034, 15 percent of the total reduction scheduled for 2040, 10 percent of the total reduction scheduled for 2046, and 5 percent of the total reduction scheduled for 2052; (d) The schedule for reductions will be based on the relative priority dates of the water rights within each subarea, with the most junior water rights being reduced first; (e) Municipal and quasi-municipal water use will be evaluated at each adaptive management checkpoint, and the schedule of reductions for all other non-exempt rights may be adjusted to account for the greatest single year quantity of municipal or quasi-municipal use reported to the Department in the preceding six years; (f) Corrective control orders reducing use will not be enforced until the completion of the contested case process specified in OAR 690-010-0170 through 230; (g) If enforcement of corrective control orders reducing use does not occur as scheduled in 2028, then at such time as enforcement occurs, all reductions scheduled under OAR 690-512-0070(1) and (2), including any adjustments that should have occurred at the adaptive management checkpoints defined in OAR 690-512-0080, will be included in the enforcement.