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(Source: 2003 Guidebook –Chap 1 Pg 1-4)
Appendix K
Historical Background on
Oregon Administrative Rule 690-086
Oregon’s municipal water suppliers are permitted to “grow into” their water rights over a period of
time. Historically, the Department routinely issued five-year extensions to suppliers to continue
developing municipal permits. Once a community grew to a size where the permit was fully used, the
community submitted proof of perfection of the right and WRD issued a certificate of water right. In
1989, the statutes were amended to also allow many municipal water suppliers to certificate their water
rights in 25 percent increments while continuing to develop the balance of the permit. These
approaches are different than the procedures applied to holders of non-municipal permits where the
timelines for construction of facilities to divert and use the water authorized under a permit and for the
submittal of final proof documenting the beneficial use of water are less flexible.
In 1997, the state Attorney General issued advice to the Department that affected permit extensions in two
major ways: (1) In considering whether to grant an extension, the Department may evaluate the public
interest of continued development under the permit, and (2) in granting a permit extension, the
Department must authorize the extension for the full period of time that the permittee anticipates needing
to complete development under the permit rather than for fixed five-year increments. However, the
advice did indicate that subsequent extensions could be granted if development of the permit takes longer
than originally expected.
In 1998 while incorporating the advice of the Attorney General into the Department’s administrative
rules, both Department staff and the municipal stakeholders agreed that municipal permit extension
issues were unique, warranting a separate rule development process to focus on their resolution. In order
to move forward with the rulemaking, an exemption was created that allowed for continued development
of municipal permits despite the expiration of previously granted extensions of time. In addition, the
Department agreed to convene the Community Water Supply Work Group to review issues associated
with permit extensions and to recommend changes, where appropriate, to current laws and rules. The
work group included representatives from municipalities, environmental organizations, and WRD.
In 2001, after several meetings with the Community Water Supply Work Group, the Department proposed
an approach which linked long-term permit extensions to the development of a WMCP. Municipalities would
be granted extensions allowing development of their permits over a long period of time, consistent with
the needs of the community. In turn, municipal suppliers would be required to complete WMCPs
showing prudent management and conservation of the resource. This approach was adopted as rule by
the Water Resources Commission in October 2002.
Under these rules, a municipal permittee can ask for a long-term extension of time to complete
development of the permit. The period of the extension will depend on the municipality’s projections of
how long it will take to fully use the quantity of water allowed under the permit. However, under the
permit extension, the municipality will not be authorized to divert water beyond the quantity specified in
the development limitation condition set forth in the final order approving the permit extension.
Authorization to quantities of water beyond the development limitation may only be granted through the
Department’s review and approval of the municipality’s WMCP requesting such access. The Department
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will authorize the use of water under extended permits in 20-year blocks, as long as the WMCP provides
clear justification that the water will be needed and the municipality is managing and conserving water
in a responsible manner.
The rules are contained in OAR Chapter 690, Divisions 86 and 315— the former of which is the focus
of the material described in this guidebook. The updated rules include several key concepts:
 The historic procedure of renewing permit extensions every five years is eliminated. Municipal
permittees can now request extensions based on the period of time that will be needed to fully develop
the permit. Depending on the particular circumstances, an extension can be issued for as long as 50
years, or even longer with sufficient documentation.
 Most future municipal and quasi-municipal water right permit extensions will include a requirement that
the supplier prepare a new or updated WMCP within three years of approval of the extension and will be
conditioned with development limitations to “freeze” the quantity of water that may be diverted or
pumped under the extended permit. To access quantities of water beyond the development limitations
specified in the permit extension, the water supplier’s WMCP must request such access. OWRD will
evaluate the request and, if the criteria outlined in OAR 690-086-0130(7) are satisfied, grant access to water
beyond the development limitations imposed by the permit extension.
 The supplier will be required to gain OWRD approval for any expansion of the use of water under an
extended permit. This approval will be provided based on a demonstration in the supplier’s WMCP that
the water will be needed in the next 20 years. In approving a WMCP, OWRD will grant the
authorization to access and use the next increment of water under the extended permit. This “green
light” water will represent a limit on the extent to which the community is authorized to pump or divert
water under the extended permit until an updated WMCP is submitted and access to “green light” water
is approved by OWRD. Suppliers may submit updated plans seeking authorization for additional
“green light” water at any time.
 OWRD’s review of any WMCPs that are submitted after January 1, 2042 and that request authorization
to increase water diversions will include an evaluation of competing needs, environmental needs and
other public interest considerations.
 Water conservation is now viewed as a critical element in the State’s water supply inventory. Water
suppliers will need to show in their WMCPs that they have considered a range of water management
and conservation actions to minimize their needs and to develop their supplies in an environmentally
responsible manner. Conservation actions must be considered as an alternative to increased
development of water.
 All water suppliers must implement a core group of water conservation measures. Some water
suppliers must also consider the feasibility of a range of additional conservation actions. In general,
those water suppliers serving a population greater than 7,500 must consider the additional actions and
must document the basis for any decision not to implement the additional conservation measures. Some
water suppliers serving smaller communities will also need to consider the wider range of conservation
actions if they are expanding their use of sensitive resources.
There are many additional elements to preparing a WMCP, and these are explained in other chapters of
this guidebook.
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