Oregon Revised Statutes

Or. Rev. Stat. § 537.735 (2026)

Rules designating critical ground water area

✓ current as of May 2026
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      537.735 Rules designating critical ground water area. (1) A rule adopted by the Water Resources Commission under ORS 537.730 shall:

      (a) Define the boundaries of the critical ground water area and shall indicate which of the ground water reservoirs located either in whole or in part within the area in question are included within the critical ground water area. Any number of ground water reservoirs which either wholly or partially overlie one another may be included within the same critical ground water area.

      (b) Contain a provision requiring a periodic review of conditions in the critical ground water area. The review shall be in sufficient detail to evaluate the continuing need for the critical ground water area designation and shall occur no less frequently than once every 10 years.

      (2) In adopting the rule, the commission shall consider any orders or permits applicable to the reservoir issued by the governing board or State Geologist of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries under ORS chapter 522.

      (3) A rule by the commission under subsection (1) of this section may include any one or more of the following corrective control provisions:

      (a) A provision closing the critical ground water area to any further appropriation of ground water, in which event the commission shall thereafter refuse to accept any application for a permit to appropriate ground water located within such critical area.

      (b) A provision determining the permissible total withdrawal of ground water in the critical area each day, month or year.

      (c) The disposition of any application for a water right permit for the use of water in the area that is pending at the time the commission initiates the rulemaking process or that is received during the rulemaking process.

      (d) Any one or more provisions making such additional requirements as are necessary to protect the public welfare, health and safety in accordance with the intent, purposes and requirements of ORS 537.505 to 537.795 and 537.992.

      (e) A provision closing all or part of the critical ground water area to further appropriation of ground water for its thermal characteristics.

      (f) A provision determining the permissible change in thermal characteristics of ground water in all or part of the critical ground water area each day, month or year. Insofar as may be reasonably done, the Water Resources Director shall apportion the permissible total temperature impact among those appropriators whose exercise of valid rights in the critical area affect the thermal characteristics of the ground water, in accordance with the relative dates of priority of such rights. [1955 c.708 §27; 1981 c.589 §6; 1981 c.919 §1; 1985 c.673 §63; 1989 c.201 §5; 1991 c.400 §5]

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases, 1977–2000 · leading case: Doherty v. Oregon Water Resources Dir., 783 P.2d 519 (Or. 1989).
Doherty v. Oregon Water Resources Dir., 783 P.2d 519 (Or. 1989). · cites it 8× “730 and ORS 537.735 authorized the director to establish a critical ground water area if the available supply is “being or about to be *547 overdrawn,” water levels “are declining or have declined excessively,” or if wells “interfere substantially with one another.”
Doherty v. Oregon Water Resources Dir., 758 P.2d 865 (Or. Ct. App. 1988). · cites it 12× “Petitioners challenge the Water Resources Director’s 1 amended order designating 274 square miles near Hermiston as a “critical ground water area,” pursuant to ORS 537.735. 2 The Director also divided the critical area into six *25 subareas for management purposes and ordered…”
Ashland Drilling, Inc. v. Jackson Cnty., 4 P.3d 748 (Or. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 2× “ORS 537.735(3). Further, after designating by rule an area as a "critical ground water area, the commission may initiate a contested case proceeding to limit the use of ground water in the area * * *.”
Dinsdale v. Young, 697 P.2d 196 (Or. Ct. App. 1985). · cites it 7× “” Among the specific corrective measures the director is authorized to take at the conclusion of the proceedings is to close *646 “* * * the critical ground water area to any further appropriation of ground water, in which event the director shall thereafter refuse to accept any…”
Campbell Ranch Inc. v. Water Resources Dep't, 558 P.2d 1295 (Or. Ct. App. 1977). · cites it 3× “730(1), 2 *246 and order corrective measures, ORS 537.735(3). 3 Persons who might be affected by such an order must be notified of the public hearing.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 537.735(1) — 2 cases
Doherty v. Oregon Water Resources Dir., 783 P.2d 519 (Or. 1989). “730 and ORS 537.735 authorized the director to establish a critical ground water area if the available supply is “being or about to be *547 overdrawn,” water levels “are declining or have declined excessively,” or if wells “interfere substantially with one another.”
Doherty v. Oregon Water Resources Dir., 758 P.2d 865 (Or. Ct. App. 1988). “Petitioners challenge the Water Resources Director’s 1 amended order designating 274 square miles near Hermiston as a “critical ground water area,” pursuant to ORS 537.735. 2 The Director also divided the critical area into six *25 subareas for management purposes and ordered…”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 537.735(2) — 1 case
Doherty v. Oregon Water Resources Dir., 758 P.2d 865 (Or. Ct. App. 1988). “Petitioners challenge the Water Resources Director’s 1 amended order designating 274 square miles near Hermiston as a “critical ground water area,” pursuant to ORS 537.735. 2 The Director also divided the critical area into six *25 subareas for management purposes and ordered…”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 537.735(3) — 2 cases
Ashland Drilling, Inc. v. Jackson Cnty., 4 P.3d 748 (Or. Ct. App. 2000). “ORS 537.735(3). Further, after designating by rule an area as a "critical ground water area, the commission may initiate a contested case proceeding to limit the use of ground water in the area * * *.”
Campbell Ranch Inc. v. Water Resources Dep't, 558 P.2d 1295 (Or. Ct. App. 1977). “730(1), 2 *246 and order corrective measures, ORS 537.735(3). 3 Persons who might be affected by such an order must be notified of the public hearing.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 537.735(4) — 3 cases
Doherty v. Oregon Water Resources Dir., 783 P.2d 519 (Or. 1989). “730 and ORS 537.735 authorized the director to establish a critical ground water area if the available supply is “being or about to be *547 overdrawn,” water levels “are declining or have declined excessively,” or if wells “interfere substantially with one another.”
Doherty v. Oregon Water Resources Dir., 758 P.2d 865 (Or. Ct. App. 1988). “Petitioners challenge the Water Resources Director’s 1 amended order designating 274 square miles near Hermiston as a “critical ground water area,” pursuant to ORS 537.735. 2 The Director also divided the critical area into six *25 subareas for management purposes and ordered…”
Dinsdale v. Young, 697 P.2d 196 (Or. Ct. App. 1985). “” Among the specific corrective measures the director is authorized to take at the conclusion of the proceedings is to close *646 “* * * the critical ground water area to any further appropriation of ground water, in which event the director shall thereafter refuse to accept any…”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 537.735(4)(a) — 1 case
Dinsdale v. Young, 697 P.2d 196 (Or. Ct. App. 1985). “” Among the specific corrective measures the director is authorized to take at the conclusion of the proceedings is to close *646 “* * * the critical ground water area to any further appropriation of ground water, in which event the director shall thereafter refuse to accept any…”
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.