Relating to siting of energy facilities in designated critical ground water areas.
Summary
House Bill 3346 directs the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD), working with the Department of Revenue, the State Department of Energy, and the Water Resources Department, to study how small-scale renewable energy facilities can be sited in designated critical groundwater areas east of the Cascade Range. The study must examine policy and regulatory options that could make these projects easier to approve through conditional use processes instead of requiring a land use goal exception.
The bill also asks agencies to evaluate tax-related barriers and possible changes to reduce property tax burdens for these facilities, including issues tied to special assessment disqualification and additional tax liabilities when land is converted from farm use. In addition, the study must consider whether electric cooperatives could participate in developing or investing in these projects, and it must address siting issues for different technologies and project sizes, including solar, wind, geothermal, net-metered systems, community solar, and projects over two megawatts. DLCD must report its findings to the Legislature by November 30, 2026.
Impact
HB 3346 does not itself change land use, energy, or tax law; instead, it creates a formal interagency study and reporting requirement that could inform future legislation, administrative rule changes, statewide planning goal revisions, or local land use code updates. Its practical effect is to place critical groundwater areas east of the Cascades and small-scale renewable energy siting on the policy agenda, with attention to both permitting pathways and property tax treatment for affected projects and landowners.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests broad support at the committee level: the House committee voted 9-0 to pass the bill with amendments and refer it to Ways and Means. The absence of recorded opposition in the provided materials indicates the measure was viewed as a relatively low-conflict study bill, likely because it gathers information rather than immediately imposing substantive regulatory changes.
Contention
The main policy tensions reflected in the bill are between renewable energy development and groundwater/land use constraints, especially in eastern Oregon. Potential points of contention include whether facilities should be approved through conditional use permits rather than goal exceptions, how much tax relief should be provided to energy projects, whether farmland conversion should trigger reduced tax penalties, and whether electric cooperatives should be encouraged to invest in or develop these facilities. These issues affect landowners, local governments, renewable energy developers, electric cooperatives, and state agencies responsible for land use and water resources.