1. (1) Except as provided in section (2) of this rule, the Department shall issue a final order or schedule a contested case hearing on an application for a water right within 180 days after the Department proceeds with the application under OAR 690-310-0080(2).

2. (2) If the applicant requests an administrative hold on processing of the application, the Department may extend the 180-day period set forth in section (1) of this rule for a reasonable period of time. The cumulative length of extensions requested through administrative holds shall not exceed 180 days except upon a finding by the Director that the applicant has shown that a longer extension is reasonable and necessary for the applicant to:

   1. (a) Bring a well into compliance with current minimum well construction standards, and the extension does not exceed two years;
   2. (b) Engage in collaborative conversations with interested parties that provided public comment under OAR 690-310-0090(4), and the extension does not exceed two years;
   3. (c) Explore mitigation under OAR 690, division 33 for impacts to sensitive, threatened, or endangered fish species, or mitigation under OAR 690-310-0260 for impacts to a scenic waterway, including submitting a mitigation proposal to the Department, and the extension does not exceed two years;
   4. (d) Exhaust the administrative appeal process for a land use approval, and the extension does not exceed two years; or
   5. (e) Collect Annual High Water Level data sufficient to evaluate Reasonably Stable Groundwater Levels, as those terms are defined in OAR 690-008, and the extension does not exceed seven years, except that the administrative hold shall expire if the applicant fails to submit the first static water level measurement to the Department within three years of approval of the administrative hold.
3. (3) If the applicant does not request an extension under section (2) of this rule and the Department fails to issue a proposed final order or schedule a contested case hearing on an application for a water right within 180 days after the Department proceeds with the application under OAR 690-310-0080(2), the applicant may apply in the Circuit Court for Marion County for a writ of mandamus to compel the Department to issue a final order or schedule a contested case hearing on an application for a water right. If the application is for an out-of-stream use or for the use of ground water, the writ of mandamus shall compel the Department to issue a water right permit, unless the Department shows by affidavit that to issue a permit may result in harm to an existing water right holder.

Statutory/Other Authority

ORS 536.027

Statutes/Other Implemented

ORS 537.175, ORS 537.627, Or Laws 2025, ch 575, section 7 & Or Laws 2025, ch 575, section 19

History

WRD 3-2026, amend filed 03/20/2026, effective 04/01/2026
WRD 1-1996, f. & cert. ef. 1-31-96