Relating to exempt uses of water.
HB 3372 revises Oregon’s groundwater exemption laws, with a particular focus on exempt uses of groundwater for domestic, agricultural, industrial, and commercial purposes. The bill keeps the general framework that certain low-volume groundwater uses do not require a permit or registration, but it adds new reporting and mapping requirements for exempt wells, including a requirement that well constructors submit a map showing the exact well location and a $300 recording fee. It also clarifies that exempt groundwater use can still create a recognized right to appropriate groundwater, tied to the date water use began if regulation becomes necessary.
A major substantive change is the creation of a temporary carve-out for the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area. In that area, the existing exemption for watering commercial gardens does not apply until January 2, 2028. The bill also defines “commercial garden” and excludes cannabis grows unless the grower is licensed under Oregon’s cannabis law. In addition, it preserves and updates provisions allowing certain reused industrial or confined-animal-feeding-operation water to be land-applied under environmental permits, and it updates civil penalty authority for violations involving exempt well recording and related rules.
The bill amends ORS 536.900, 537.545, and 540.045, affecting Oregon’s groundwater permitting, well-recording, and watermaster enforcement systems. It imposes new administrative duties on the Water Resources Department and Water Resources Commission, including collecting recording fees, maintaining exempt-use records, and adopting rules to implement and enforce the new requirements. It also gives the Water Resources Department clearer authority to regulate exempt uses by relying on well logs or other documentation to establish priority dates, and it authorizes civil penalties for noncompliance with the new exempt-well recording provisions.
The voting history suggests the bill was generally supported, though not unanimously. It passed the House committee 6-3, the House floor 41-16, the Senate committee 5-0, and the Senate floor 29-1, indicating broad bipartisan acceptance in the Senate and more divided support in the House. The final House concurrence vote of 38-12 shows that some concerns remained, but the bill still advanced comfortably overall.
The main points of contention appear to center on groundwater regulation, added compliance costs, and the temporary restriction on commercial garden watering in the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area. Supporters likely viewed the bill as a needed groundwater management and accountability measure, especially in an area facing water-quality and supply concerns. Opponents may have objected to the new $300 fee, the added mapping/reporting burden on exempt well users, and the targeted suspension of an exemption for commercial gardens, which could affect agricultural and nursery operations. The cannabis exclusion in the definition of commercial garden may also have been a point of policy sensitivity, though the bill text limits that exclusion to unlicensed grows.