468B.048 Rules
for standards of quality and purity; factors to be considered; meeting
standards. (1) The
Environmental Quality Commission by rule may establish standards of quality and
purity for the waters of the state in accordance with the public policy set
forth in ORS 468B.015. In establishing such standards, the commission shall
consider the following factors:
(a) The extent,
if any, to which floating solids may be permitted in the water;
(b) The extent,
if any, to which suspended solids, settleable solids, colloids or a combination
of solids with other substances suspended in water may be permitted;
(c) The extent,
if any, to which organisms of the coliform group, and other bacteriological
organisms or virus may be permitted in the waters;
(d) The extent of
the oxygen demand which may be permitted in the receiving waters;
(e) The minimum
dissolved oxygen content of the waters that shall be maintained;
(f) The limits of
other physical, chemical, biological or radiological properties that may be
necessary for preserving the quality and purity of the waters of the state;
(g) The extent to
which any substance must be excluded from the waters for the protection and
preservation of public health; and
(h) The value of
stability and the public’s right to rely upon standards as adopted for a
reasonable period of time to permit institutions, municipalities, commerce,
industries and others to plan, schedule, finance and operate improvements in an
orderly and practical manner.
(2) Standards
established under this section shall be consistent with policies and programs
for the use and control of water resources of the state adopted by the Water
Resources Commission under ORS 536.220 to 536.540.
(3) Subject to
the approval of the Department of Environmental Quality, any person responsible
for complying with the standards of water quality or purity established under
this section shall determine the means, methods, processes, equipment and
operation to meet the standards. [Formerly 449.086 and then 468.735]
Notes of Decisions
City of Klamath Falls v. Env't Quality Comm'n, 870 P.2d 825 (Or. 1994).
· cites it 8× “ORS 468B.048(1) authorizes EQC to make rules to “establish standards of quality and purity for the waters of the state in accordance with the public policy set forth in ORS 468B.”
Riverkeepers v. Oregon Dep't of Env't Quality, 230 P.3d 559 (Or. Ct. App. 2010).
· cites it 2× “015 and to conform to the standards of water quality and purity established under ORS 468B.048.” ORS 468B.020 (emphasis added); see also Springfield Education Assn.”
Hayes Oyster Co. v. DEQ, 504 P.3d 15 (Or. Ct. App. 2021).
“3 ; ORS 468B.048. As noted, a TMDL iden- tifies the amount of pollution, or load, a waterbody can have without exceeding the WQS.”
PacifiCorp v. DEQ, 344 Or. App. 11 (Or. Ct. App. 2025).
· cites it 3× “015 and to conform to the standards of water quality and purity established under ORS 468B.048.” Petitioner responds that the statutes setting out pol- icy objectives do not assist ODEQ’s position because those statutes do not delegate authority to ODEQ to apply a water quality…”
Nw. Env't Def. Ctr. v. Env't Quality Comm'n, 223 P.3d 1071 (Or. Ct. App. 2009).
“See also ORS 468B.048 (authorizing EQC to establish, by rule, “standards of quality and purity for the waters of the state in accordance with the public policy set forth in ORS 468B.”
Hawes v. State, 125 P.3d 778 (Or. Ct. App. 2005).
“” Water quality impaired streams are those that violate ambient water quality standards — that is, general water quality standards that do not distinguish between sources of pollution — developed by the DEQ pursuant to ORS 468B.048 and Section 303 of the Clean Water Act.”
Nedc v. Eqc, 223 P.3d 1071 (Or. Ct. App. 2009).
“[6] See also ORS 468B.048 (authorizing EQC to establish, by rule, "standards of quality and purity for the waters of the state in accordance with the public policy set forth in ORS 468B.”
PacifiCorp v. DEQ, 344 Or. App. 11 (Or. Ct. App. 2025).
· cites it 3× “015 and to conform to the standards of water quality and purity established under ORS 468B.048.” Petitioner responds that the statutes setting out pol- icy objectives do not assist ODEQ’s position because those statutes do not delegate authority to ODEQ to apply a water quality…”
Anderson v. Kulongoski, 909 P.2d 157 (Or. 1996).
· cites it 3× “They provide: “[N]o person shall allow livestock in the waters of the state or within designated riparian land if the waterway is designated as water quality limited by the Department of Environmental Quality and livestock contribute to the violation of the applicable standards…”
Hayes Oyster Co. v. Dept. of Agric. (Or. Ct. App. 2024).
“3 ; ORS 468B.048. As noted, a TMDL identifies the amount of pollution, or load, a waterbody can have without exceeding the WQS.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 468B.048(1) — 3 cases
City of Klamath Falls v. Env't Quality Comm'n, 870 P.2d 825 (Or. 1994).
“ORS 468B.048(1) authorizes EQC to make rules to “establish standards of quality and purity for the waters of the state in accordance with the public policy set forth in ORS 468B.”
PacifiCorp v. DEQ, 344 Or. App. 11 (Or. Ct. App. 2025).
“015 and to conform to the standards of water quality and purity established under ORS 468B.048.” Petitioner responds that the statutes setting out pol- icy objectives do not assist ODEQ’s position because those statutes do not delegate authority to ODEQ to apply a water quality…”
PacifiCorp v. DEQ, 344 Or. App. 11 (Or. Ct. App. 2025).
“015 and to conform to the standards of water quality and purity established under ORS 468B.048.” Petitioner responds that the statutes setting out pol- icy objectives do not assist ODEQ’s position because those statutes do not delegate authority to ODEQ to apply a water quality…”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 468B.048(2) — 1 case
City of Klamath Falls v. Env't Quality Comm'n, 870 P.2d 825 (Or. 1994).
“ORS 468B.048(1) authorizes EQC to make rules to “establish standards of quality and purity for the waters of the state in accordance with the public policy set forth in ORS 468B.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 468B.048(h) — 1 case
City of Klamath Falls v. Env't Quality Comm'n, 870 P.2d 825 (Or. 1994).
“ORS 468B.048(1) authorizes EQC to make rules to “establish standards of quality and purity for the waters of the state in accordance with the public policy set forth in ORS 468B.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 468B.048(l)(f) — 1 case
City of Klamath Falls v. Env't Quality Comm'n, 870 P.2d 825 (Or. 1994).
“ORS 468B.048(1) authorizes EQC to make rules to “establish standards of quality and purity for the waters of the state in accordance with the public policy set forth in ORS 468B.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.