ORS tit. 46, ch. 570, CONTROL AREAS, TEMPORARY PROVISIONS RELATING to LIMITS ON WILLAMETTE VALLEY CANOLA PRODUCTION ARE COMPILED AS NOTES FOLLOWING ORS 570.450
ORS tit. 46, ch. 570, CONTROL AREAS, TEMPORARY PROVISIONS RELATING to LIMITS ON WILLAMETTE VALLEY CANOLA PRODUCTION ARE COMPILED AS NOTES FOLLOWING ORS 570.450
Sections 1 to 4, chapter 370, Oregon Laws 2023, provide:
Sec. 1. (1) As used in this section:
(a) "Canola" means plants of the genus Brassica:
(A) In which seeds having a high oil content are the primary economically valuable product; and
(B) That have a high erucic acid content suitable for industrial uses or a low erucic acid content suitable for edible oils.
(b) "Willamette Valley Protected District" means the area encompassed within a rectangle formed by the point in Tillamook County that is the northwest corner of township 1 north, range 6 west, the point in Multnomah County that is the most northeastern point of township 1 north, range 2 east within Oregon, the point in Lane County that is the southeast corner of township 19 south, range 2 east and the point in Lane County that is the southwest corner of township 19 south, range 6 west.
(2) A person growing canola within the Willamette Valley Protected District must receive prior approval by license from the State Department of Agriculture.
(3) The department may:
(a) Authorize a person to grow canola within the Willamette Valley Protected District only in a manner determined to be compatible with the growing of other crops, including but not limited to the maintenance of isolation distances between canola and other crops that equal or exceed the industry-recommended isolation distance between specialty seed crops of the genus Brassica and other crops.
(b) Authorize canola production within the Willamette Valley Protected District, not to exceed 500 acres per year.
(4) The department may assess a civil penalty, not to exceed $25,000, against a person that violates subsection (2) of this section or the terms of a license issued under this section. [2023 c. 370, § 1]
Sec. 2. The Legislative Assembly intends that if this 2023 Act becomes law after July 1, 2023, section 1 of this 2023 Act operates retroactively to July 1, 2023. All canola planted within the Willamette Valley Protected District after July 1, 2023, and prior to the effective date of this 2023 Act [July 18, 2023] is subject to the requirements set forth in section 1 of this 2023 Act. Any lawful action described in section 1 of this 2023 Act that is taken by the State Department of Agriculture after July 1, 2023, and prior to the effective date of this 2023 Act is hereby ratified and approved. [2023 c. 370, § 2]
Sec. 3. (1) As used in this section, "canola" and "Willamette Valley Protected District" have the meanings given those terms in section 1 of this 2023 Act.
(2) On or before September 30, 2023, the State Department of Agriculture shall report, in the manner prescribed in ORS 192.245, to a committee or interim committee of the House of Representatives related to agriculture on recommendations for legislation to establish a program that identifies fields in the Willamette Valley Protected District that produce seed crops of the genus Brassica in order to mitigate conflicts related to the production of seed crops of the genus Brassica.
(3) The report may include, but need not be limited to:
(a) A discussion of a pinning map of the production of seed crops of the genus Brassica in the Willamette Valley Protected District that is operated by the department and accessible to the public, including a discussion of the potential costs for the implementation and ongoing management of the pinning map.
(b) Recommendations for geographic or acreage limitations on the production of seed crops of the genus Brassica in the Willamette Valley Protected District.
(c) Any changes to provisions of law, or new provisions of law, including provisions concerning the department's authority, that are needed to implement the recommendations.
(4) To help inform the report, the department shall convene a work group of relevant stakeholders, including, but not limited to:
(a) Organic, specialty and other producers of seed crops of the genus Brassica;
(b) Canola growers; and
(c) Subject matter experts connected to research and technical assistance at Oregon State University. [2023 c. 370, § 3]
Sec. 4. Sections 1 and 3 of this 2023 Act are repealed on July 1, 2024. [2023 c. 370, § 4]