OAR 690-601-0400: Best Practices of Water Projects for use in Community Engagement Plans

(1) The Department recognizes ten best practices to invite and support meaningful involvement of disproportionately impacted communities in the identification, scoping, design, or implementation of water projects that are eligible to be supported by grants or loans pursuant to ORS 541.561-541.581 or ORS 541.651 - 541.696. Department recognized best practices for use in the development, implementation, or both, of community engagement plans include: (a) Identifying and inviting disproportionately impacted communities interested in engaging in water project planning. (b) Defining the water project’s purpose and goals, including what will be done to meaningfully involve disproportionately impacted communities. (c) Developing new, or assessing current, decision-making processes to identify opportunities to enhance access to the project decision-making process for disproportionately impacted communities. (d) Inviting tribal communities in Oregon to participate in the water project, acknowledging their preferences and capacity for collaboration, regardless of whether tribal members are represented in the community demographics. (e) Co-creating water project capacity opportunities that are inclusive, including to disproportionately impacted communities, with the community and across water project participants. (f) Building collaborative relationships with disproportionately impacted communities. (g) Coordinating with the community and across water project participants to leverage resources, staff, and data. (h) Ensuring water project communications and information are shared in a timely, transparent manner, and in languages, and formats commonly used or preferred by disproportionately impacted communities. (i) Evaluating the effectiveness of community engagement before, during, and after the water project, based on the purposes, goals, and capacities of communities’ and projects. (j) Striving to monitor and document the positive and negative impacts of the water project on disproportionately impacted communities and their environments. (2) Community engagement plans for water projects that are eligible to be supported by grants or loans pursuant to ORS 541.561-541.581 or ORS 541.651 - 541.696 shall: (a) Be designed to promote meaningful involvement of disproportionally impacted communities. Plans shall include, but are not limited to, the following components: (A) A description of how disproportionately impacted communities will be identified using established systems. (B) A framework for how communities, including disproportionally impacted communities, will be engaged in water projects, which include: (i) Goals for equitable participation of disproportionately impacted communities in water projects. (ii) Realistic and achievable approaches for use in meeting those goals. (iii) Guidelines for the consideration and inclusion of community feedback in water project planning and implementation. (C) A set of metrics and timelines to evaluate the community engagement plan progress and success in increasing meaningful participation of disproportionately impacted community in water projects. (b) Be conducted using the Departments recognized best practices.