1. (1) The place of use of a water right permit may be changed, provided the land on which the water is to be used is owned or controlled by the permit holder of record and the proposed place of use is contiguous to the land to which the permit is appurtenant.

2. (2) Notwithstanding the requirements of section (1) of this rule, the water right permit holder of record may change the place of use of all or any portion of water under the permit to land that is not contiguous to the land to which the permit is appurtenant if:

   1. (a) The change to noncontiguous land is in furtherance of mitigation or conservation efforts undertaken for the purposes of benefiting a species listed as sensitive, threatened or endangered under ORS 496.171 to 496.176 and OAR 635-100-0040 or the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (PL 93-205, 16 U.S.C. § 1531, as amended), as determined by the listing agency; and
   2. (b) All other requirements of OAR 690-380-7300 are met.
3. (3) For water right permits with an authorized place of use tied to specific acreage, including but not limited to irrigation, nursery operations, or cranberry operations, a change in place of use must involve a physical movement that alters the location of the water right permit from the existing authorized place of use to the proposed place of use such that, consistent with OAR 690-380-7300(1)(c) and OAR 690-380-0100(2)(c), the lands from which the water right is removed do not continue to receive water from the same source.

4. (4) As used in this rule, “contiguous” means land sharing a common border or touching, but includes land separated from the land to which a water right permit is appurtenant by the following:

   1. (a) Roads;
   2. (b) Utility corridors;
   3. (c) Irrigation ditches; or
   4. (d) Publicly owned rights of way.

Statutory/Other Authority

ORS 536.025 & ORS 536.027

Statutes/Other Implemented

ORS 537.211

History

WRD 3-2026, adopt filed 03/20/2026, effective 04/01/2026