1. (1) The Water Resources Commission shall design the minimum criteria for the project scoring and ranking system described in ORS 541.669 to achieve the following outcomes:

   1. (a) Issuing grants or loans only to projects that provide benefits in each of the three categories of public benefit described in ORS 541.673.
   2. (b) Preferring partnerships and collaborative projects.
   3. (c) Funding projects of diverse sizes, types and geographic locations.
   4. (d) If a project proposes to divert water, preferring projects that provide a measurable improvement in protected streamflows.
   5. (e) If a project proposes to increase efficiency, preferring projects that provide a measurable increased efficiency of water use.
2. (2) The commission shall periodically review the loan and grant program to assess to what extent the loan and grant program is achieving desired outcomes and providing public benefits.
3. (3) The commission shall modify the project selection process as necessary to better achieve the desired outcomes described in subsection (1) of this section.

Note: See note under 541.651.

[2013 c.784 §9; 2025 c.82 §9]