ORS 527.690: Failure to comply with order to reforest or repair damage; estimate of cost of repair; notification; board authorization for repair; cost of repair as lien upon operator, timber owner or landowner.

(1) In the event an order issued pursuant to ORS 527.680 (2)(b) directs the repair of damage or correction of an unsatisfactory condition, including compliance with reforestation requirements, and if the operator or landowner does not comply with the order within the period specified in such order and the order has not been appealed to the State Board of Forestry within 30 days, the State Forester based upon a determination by the forester of what action will best carry out the purposes of ORS 527.630 shall: (a) Maintain an action in the Circuit Court for Marion County or the circuit court for the county in which the violation occurred for an order requiring the landowner or operator to comply with the terms of the forester’s order or to restrain violations thereof; or (b) Estimate the cost to repair the damage or the unsatisfactory condition as directed by the order and shall notify the operator, timber owner and landowner in writing of the amount of the estimate. Upon agreement of the operator, timber owner or the landowner to pay the cost, the State Forester may proceed to repair the damage or the unsatisfactory condition. In the event approval of the expenditure is not obtained within 30 days after notification to the operator, timber owner and landowner under this section, the State Forester shall present to the board the alleged violation, the estimate of the expenditure to repair the damage or unsatisfactory condition and the justification for the expenditure. (2) The board shall review the matter presented to it pursuant to subsection (1) of this section and shall determine whether to authorize the State Forester to proceed to repair the damage or correct the unsatisfactory condition and the amount authorized for expenditure. The board shall afford the operator, timber owner or landowner the opportunity to appear before the board for the purpose of presenting facts pertaining to the alleged violation and the proposed expenditure. (3) If the board authorizes the State Forester to repair the damage or correct the unsatisfactory condition, the State Forester shall proceed, either with forces of the State Forester or by contract, to repair the damage or correct the unsatisfactory condition. The State Forester shall keep a complete account of direct expenditures incurred, and upon completion of the work, shall prepare an itemized statement thereof and shall deliver a copy to the operator, timber owner and landowner. In no event shall the expenditures exceed the amount authorized by subsection (2) of this section. An itemized statement of the direct expenditures incurred by the State Forester, certified by the State Forester, shall be accepted as prima facie evidence of such expenditures in any proceeding authorized by this section. If the State Forester’s action to repair the damage or correct the unsatisfactory condition arose from an operation for which a bond, cash deposit or other security was required under ORS 527.760, the State Forester shall retain any applicable portion of a cash deposit and the surety on the bond or holder of the other security deposit shall pay the amount of the bond or other security deposit to the State Forester upon demand. If the amount specified in the demand is not paid within 30 days following the demand, the Attorney General, upon request by the State Forester, shall institute proceedings to recover the amount specified in the demand. (4) The expenditures in cases covered by this section, including cases where the amount collected on a bond, deposit or other security was not sufficient to cover authorized expenditures, shall constitute a general lien upon the real and personal property of the operator, timber owner and landowner within the county in which the damage occurred. A written notice of the lien, containing a statement of the demand, the description of the property upon which the expenditures were made and the name of the parties against whom the lien attaches, shall be certified under oath by the State Forester and filed in the office of the county clerk of the county or counties in which the expenditures were made within six months after the date of delivery of the itemized statement referred to in subsection (3) of this section, and may be foreclosed in the manner provided in ORS chapter 88. (5) All moneys recovered under this section shall be paid into the State Forestry Department Account. [1971 c.316 §11; 1981 c.757 §10; 1983 c.28 §1; 1991 c.919 §12]