Current through 2024 Regular Session legislation
Section 541.566 - Planning studies eligible for grants or direct service cost payments(1) A planning study receiving a grant or payment for direct services under ORS 541.561 may include, but is not limited to:(a) Analyses of hydrological refill capacity;(b) Water needs analyses;(c) Refined hydrological analyses;(d) Engineering and financial feasibility studies;(f) Water exchange studies;(g) Analyses of by-pass, optimum peak, flushing and other ecological flows of the affected stream and the impact of a proposed water conservation, reuse or storage project on those flows;(h) Comparative analyses of alternative means of supplying water, including but not limited to the costs and benefits of conservation and efficiency alternatives and the extent to which long-term water supply needs may be met using those alternatives;(i) Analyses of environmental harm or impacts from a proposed water conservation, reuse or storage project;(j) Analyses of public benefits accruing from a proposed water conservation, reuse or storage project;(k) Fiscal analyses of a proposed water conservation, reuse or storage project, including estimated project costs, financing for the project and projected financial returns from the project;(l) Hydrological analyses of a proposed water conservation, reuse or storage project, including the anticipated effects of climate change on hydrological refill capacity; and(m) Analyses of potential water quality impacts of the project.(2) If a planning study concerns a proposed storage project that would impound surface water on a perennial stream, divert water from a stream that supports sensitive, threatened or endangered fish or divert more than 500 acre-feet of surface water annually, a grant or direct services payment may be provided only if the study contains: (a) Analyses of by-pass, optimum peak, flushing and other ecological flows of the affected stream and the impact of the storage project on those flows;(b) Comparative analyses of alternative means of supplying water, including but not limited to the costs and benefits of conservation and efficiency alternatives and the extent to which long-term water supply needs may be met using those alternatives;(c) Analyses of environmental harm or impacts from the proposed storage project;(d) Evaluation of the need for and feasibility of using stored water to augment in-stream flows to conserve, maintain and enhance aquatic life, fish life and any other ecological values; and(e) For a proposed storage project that is for municipal use, analysis of local and regional water demand and the proposed storage project's relationship to existing and planned water supply projects.