Oregon Revised Statutes

Or. Rev. Stat. § 543.260 (2026)

Licenses; duration; terms and conditions; termination; denial of application; preference of municipality or utility district

✓ current as of May 2026

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543.260 Licenses; duration; terms and conditions; termination; denial of application; preference of municipality or utility district. (1) A license may be issued by the Water Resources Commission to any qualified person for a period not exceeding 50 years. If the project is subject to regulation by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the term shall be concurrent with and expire upon expiration of the federal license for the project. Each license shall be conditioned upon acceptance by the licensee of all the terms and conditions of ORS 543.010 to 543.610, and such further terms and conditions as the commission may prescribe, not inconsistent with those sections. All such terms and conditions, and their acceptance by the licensee, shall be expressed in the license. A license may be terminated for the reasons and in the manner provided in ORS 543.010 to 543.610. The form of license containing all the terms and conditions may be set forth in the preliminary permit.

(2) The commission may deny any application for a license if it appears that the applicant has failed to comply substantially with the terms and conditions of the preliminary permit or, notwithstanding the commission has issued a preliminary permit, if in the judgment of the commission the project is unfeasible or the public interest requires the denial thereof.

(3) A municipal corporation or people’s utility district shall be given preference on any project in the issuance of a license, upon condition that the municipal corporation or people’s utility district exercising such preference right shall be required to reimburse the holder of a preliminary permit for all reasonable actual expenditures made by the holder upon the project described or referred to therein. [Amended by 1983 c.740 §214b; 1985 c.673 §150; 1995 c.229 §5]

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 6 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1985–2021 · leading case: Emerald PUD v. PP & L, 729 P.2d 552 (Or. 1986).

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Emerald PUD v. PP & L, 729 P.2d 552 (Or. 1986). · cites it 3× “The parallel preference clause in chapter 67 was found in section 9, now ORS 543.260. As introduced, that section gave a preference in license issuance to any "municipal corporation.”

Emerald People's Util. Dist. v. Pac. Power & Light Co., 711 P.2d 179 (Or. Ct. App. 1985). · cites it 2× “Specifically, PUDs are granted a preference under section 9 (now ORS 543.260); that preference is saved to them, *595 notwithstanding their general exclusion from the application of the chapter.”

Emerald PUD v. PP & L, 711 P.2d 179 (Or. Ct. App. 1985). · cites it 2× “Specifically, PUDs are granted a preference under section 9 (now ORS 543.260); that preference is saved to them, notwithstanding their general exclusion from the application of the chapter.”

WaterWatch of Oregon v. Water Resources Dept., 468 P.3d 478 (Or. Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 2× “See ORS 543.260 (so providing). In the 1990s, the legislature recognized that many of the time-limited water rights and licenses for hydroelec- tric projects would soon expire.”

Emerald People's Util. Dist. v. Pac. Power & Light Co., 729 P.2d 552 (Or. 1986). · cites it 3× “The parallel preference clause in chapter 67 was found in section 9, now ORS 543.260. As introduced, that section gave a preference in license issuance to any “municipal corporation.”

WaterWatch of Oregon v. Water Resources Dept., 501 P.3d 507 (Or. 2021). “ORS 543.260(1). (Section 6 of the Federal Power Act limits FERC licenses to 50 years as well.”

— Or. Rev. Stat. § 543.260(1) — 1 case

WaterWatch of Oregon v. Water Resources Dept., 501 P.3d 507 (Or. 2021). “ORS 543.260(1). (Section 6 of the Federal Power Act limits FERC licenses to 50 years as well.”

— Or. Rev. Stat. § 543.260(3) — 2 cases

Emerald PUD v. PP & L, 729 P.2d 552 (Or. 1986). “The parallel preference clause in chapter 67 was found in section 9, now ORS 543.260. As introduced, that section gave a preference in license issuance to any "municipal corporation.”

Emerald People's Util. Dist. v. Pac. Power & Light Co., 729 P.2d 552 (Or. 1986). “The parallel preference clause in chapter 67 was found in section 9, now ORS 543.260. As introduced, that section gave a preference in license issuance to any “municipal corporation.”

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