to 196.921.

196.600 to 196.921.

����� (b) The provisions of ORS 196.906 to 196.919 are designed to protect the economic viability of Oregon�s farmers and ranchers by allowing for the maintenance of channels used for agricultural drainage to be conducted in a manner that protects, maintains or improves ecological function of the channels.

����� (2) The Legislative Assembly declares that it is the policy of the state:

����� (a) To adaptively manage the implementation of ORS 196.906 to 196.919 to allow for a workable process for persons to maintain traditionally maintained channels while protecting the ecological and life history functions of fish and wildlife that inhabit the channels; and

����� (b) To place a high priority on and to encourage the identification and development of opportunities for voluntary actions to restore, improve or enhance the ecological health or benefits of traditionally maintained channels. [2019 c.699 �2]

����� Note: 196.906 to 196.919 were added to and made a part of 196.600 to 196.921 by legislative action but were not added to any smaller series therein. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.

����� 196.909 Definitions. As used in ORS 196.906 to 196.919:

����� (1) �Adaptive management� has the meaning given that term in ORS 541.890.

����� (2) �Channel� means the defined bed and bank that serve to confine where a stream of water runs.

����� (3) �Dry� means:

����� (a) Channel conditions where no flowing or standing water is present, other than small quantities of water that may occur in low areas of the channel as a direct result of active maintenance activities; and

����� (b) For the channel of a waterway that is subject to tidal influence, the existence of channel conditions described in paragraph (a) of this subsection during all tidal conditions.

����� (4) �Maintenance� means channel upkeep and removal from the channel of sediment, vegetation or debris, in the minimum amount necessary to restore the serviceability of the channel for facilitating drainage.

����� (5) �Traditionally maintained channel� means the channel of a segment, set of segments or the entirety of a drainage ditch, intermittent stream or perennial stream that:

����� (a) Has been routinely subject to maintenance to facilitate drainage related to farming or ranching operations; and

����� (b) Has been serviceable for facilitating drainage within the past five years.

����� (6) �Undisturbed wetland� means a wetland that has not been materially affected by human activity and as further defined by the Department of State Lands by rule. [2019 c.699 �3; 2021 c.256 �1]

����� Note: See note under 196.906.

����� 196.910 [1997 c.508 �2; 1999 c.59 �54; 2003 c.253 �14; 2007 c.354 �3; renumbered 196.931 in 2019]

����� 196.911 Maintenance without permit; applicability; notice. (1) Notwithstanding the permit requirements of ORS 196.810, a person may engage in removal activities or fill activities, or both, for conducting maintenance of a traditionally maintained channel without a permit from the Department of State Lands if:

����� (a) The person has a valid notice of maintenance activities on file with the State Department of Agriculture prior to initiating activities for the maintenance of a traditionally maintained channel; and

����� (b) The maintenance activities are conducted in compliance with the notice described in paragraph (a) of this subsection and with ORS 196.913 and 196.915.

����� (2) Notwithstanding the permit requirements of ORS 196.810, a district organized under ORS chapter 545, 547, 552 or 553 or a district improvement company or district improvement corporation organized under ORS chapter 554 may engage in removal activities or fill activities, or both, for conducting maintenance of a traditionally maintained channel without a permit from the Department of State Lands if:

����� (a) The district, company or corporation has a valid notice of maintenance activities on file with the State Department of Agriculture prior to initiating activities for the maintenance of a traditionally maintained channel;

����� (b) The maintenance activities are conducted in compliance with the notice described in paragraph (a) of this subsection and with ORS 196.913 and 196.915; and

����� (c) The governing body of the district, company or corporation, as part of the notice filed pursuant to subsection (3) of this section, agrees to submit to the jurisdiction of the Department of State Lands and the State Department of Agriculture for purposes of enforcement of ORS 196.906 to 196.919.

����� (3) A person shall file a notice of maintenance activities with the State Department of Agriculture on a form developed by the department. A notice filed under this subsection is valid for a period of five years from the date that the notice is filed. The notice must:

����� (a) Identify the location of the traditionally maintained channel in which the maintenance activities will occur;

����� (b) Include a description of the maintenance activities that, at a minimum, identifies the linear miles of channel to be maintained and the estimated volume per linear mile of material that will be removed from the channel over the course of a five-year period; and

����� (c) If the maintenance activities will be undertaken in part by a district, company or corporation described in subsection (2) of this section and in part by persons subject to the jurisdiction of the district, company or corporation, clearly identify which activities will be undertaken by the district, company or corporation and which activities will be undertaken by a person subject to the jurisdiction of the district, company or corporation.

����� (4) A district, company or corporation described in subsection (2) of this section shall endeavor to submit the notice required under subsection (2) of this section in coordination with submission of notices under subsection (1) of this section by persons subject to the jurisdiction of the district, company or corporation. The State Department of Agriculture may develop a consolidated form for the filing of notices by districts, companies and corporations and persons subject to the jurisdiction of the districts, companies and corporations. [2019 c.699 �4]

����� Note: See note under 196.906.

����� 196.913 Prohibitions; conditions. (1) Activities for conducting maintenance of a traditionally maintained channel pursuant to a notice submitted under ORS 196.911 may not result in:

����� (a) The removal of more than 3,000 cubic yards per linear mile of traditionally maintained channel over the course of the five-year period for which the notice is valid;

����� (b) The spreading of material in:

����� (A) A wetland or converted wetland pursuant to subsection (2)(k) of this section in a volume greater than 3,000 cubic yards per linear mile of traditionally maintained channel over the course of the five-year period for which the notice is valid; or

����� (B) An undisturbed wetland;

����� (c) The removal or fill of material, or any other maintenance, occurring in a channel that has been designated by rule and mapped by the Department of State Lands as essential indigenous anadromous salmonid habitat as defined in ORS 196.810; or

����� (d) The enlargement of a water right or in otherwise causing injury to another existing water right.

����� (2) In addition to complying with all applicable laws related to fish passage as described in ORS 509.585 and all applicable laws related to water quality, maintenance activities conducted pursuant to a notice submitted under ORS 196.911 must comply with the following conditions:

����� (a) A traditionally maintained channel must be dry before the commencement of any removal activities in the channel. If there is standing water in the channel that is due to a rain event and not indicative of a perennial stream, a person must request a variance under ORS 196.915 (5) prior to initiation of maintenance activities.

����� (b) A person must complete removal activities during the applicable regional dry maintenance time period established by the State Department of Fish and Wildlife for the region where the traditionally maintained channel is located.

����� (c) The body of motorized equipment used to conduct removal or fill activities must be operated from the bank of the channel, with only the bucket or portion of the motorized equipment that actively removes material operating within the channel.

����� (d) The bottom of the channel bed must be excavated on a smooth grade, in a manner that avoids creating depressions or grade changes within the channel.

����� (e) Maintenance activities must be conducted in a manner that minimizes new erosion into the channel.

����� (f) Removal of woody vegetation must be limited to the minimum amount needed to complete the maintenance activity.

����� (g) Revegetation must occur for any riparian areas that serve as a buffer adjacent to the channel and that experience vegetation loss as a result of the maintenance activity. This condition is satisfied whether revegetation occurs naturally or after seeding.

����� (h) Work related to the maintenance activity must be conducted only from one bank of the channel, on either the north or east side, when practicable, to minimize the ecological impacts of the maintenance activity.

����� (i) Motorized equipment used for maintenance activities must utilize existing crossings, if crossing the channel is necessary to complete maintenance activities.

����� (j) Maintenance activities must begin at the most upstream location of the traditionally maintained channel and progress downstream.

����� (k) Material that is removed from the channel may be temporarily placed in a wetland or converted wetland to dry, provided that the material must, no later than one year after the date that the maintenance activity was completed, be moved to uplands or be spread in a thin layer outside the riparian area that serves as a buffer adjacent to the channel. Fill activities related to the maintenance of a traditionally maintained channel must be limited to fill pursuant to this paragraph.

����� (L) Maintenance activities may not result in converting wetlands to uplands and may not materially change the depth or functionality of a wetland.

����� (m) Impacts to wetlands by the maintenance activities must be temporary and must be limited to impacts related to accessing the site to conduct removal activities in the channel, the removal of material and the disposal of removed material.

����� (n) Maintenance activities may not result in a change in location of a channel through the digging of a new channel and the diversion of the flow from the old channel into the new channel or in increasing the width or depth of the channel beyond the width or depth to which the channel has routinely been maintained to facilitate drainage.

����� (o) The maintenance activities must not alter any existing inlet or outlet connections with other waterways. [2019 c.699 �5; 2021 c.256 �2]

����� Note: See note under 196.906.

����� 196.915 State agencies� review and responses to notice; additional conditions; expedited review; variances; inspections; records; rules. (1) The State Department of Agriculture shall, no later than five days after the date the department receives a notice filed pursuant to ORS 196.911, provide a copy of the notice to the State Department of Fish and Wildlife. The State Department of Fish and Wildlife shall, within 30 days after receiving a copy of the notice, provide a response to the State Department of Agriculture. The response may indicate that a review was conducted and the work may proceed, or may provide recommendations on:

����� (a) Whether the maintenance activities described in the notice will meet the requirements of ORS 196.913; and

����� (b) Whether conditions in addition to those required under ORS 196.913 are necessary to address the presence of endangered or threatened species, to protect endangered or threatened species� habitat quality or quantity, or to otherwise protect the existing functions of the channel.

����� (2)(a) Except as provided under paragraph (b) of this subsection, the State Department of Agriculture shall include any conditions recommended by the State Department of Fish and Wildlife in the response to the notice required under subsection (3) of this section.

����� (b) If the State Department of Agriculture disagrees with the recommendations of the State Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State Department of Agriculture shall provide a copy of the notice and of the recommendations to the Department of State Lands for the Department of State Lands to make a final determination regarding:

����� (A) Whether the maintenance activities described in the notice may occur without a removal or fill permit; and

����� (B) What conditions in addition to those required under ORS 196.913, if any, are necessary for the maintenance activities to occur without a removal or fill permit.

����� (c) The Department of State Lands shall provide any final determination required pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subsection to the State Department of Agriculture within five days after receiving the copies of the notice and recommendations.

����� (3) The State Department of Agriculture shall provide a response to a notice filed pursuant to ORS 196.911 no later than 45 days after the date that the notice is received. The response must include any conditions in addition to those required under ORS 196.913 that the departments have determined are necessary, pursuant to the process described in subsection (2) of this section, for maintenance activities to occur in the traditionally maintained channel without a removal or fill permit. If the State Department of Agriculture does not provide a response to a notice within the time period described in this subsection, maintenance activities may proceed as described in the notice and pursuant to ORS 196.913.

����� (4) Upon a request from the person submitting a notice under ORS 196.911, the State Department of Agriculture and the State Department of Fish and Wildlife may provide for expedited review under subsections (1) to (3) of this section, if the expedited review is necessary to allow for maintenance activities to occur within a specific time period.

����� (5) Prior to initiation of maintenance activities, a person who has a notice of maintenance activities on file with the State Department of Agriculture may request from the State Department of Agriculture a variance from any condition required under ORS 196.913 (2) or this section. The State Department of Agriculture shall consult with the State Department of Fish and Wildlife before granting a variance under this subsection. A person that has applied for a variance may not commence maintenance activities until after the State Department of Agriculture has granted the variance and informed the person of any modifications to conditions or additional conditions that must be met for the maintenance to occur.

����� (6)(a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, the State Department of Agriculture or the State Department of Fish and Wildlife may enter onto and inspect lands for which notices have been filed under ORS 196.911 in order to develop the recommendations and response required by subsections (1) to (3) of this section or to ascertain compliance with ORS 196.906 to 196.919.

����� (b) To enter onto and inspect lands under this subsection:

����� (A) The Department of Agriculture shall first make a reasonable attempt to notify the landowner;

����� (B) The departments may only enter onto and inspect the lands at a reasonable time; and

����� (C) The State Department of Fish and Wildlife may not, without the express agreement of the person, district, company or corporation that filed the notice, enter onto and inspect the lands unless accompanied by the State Department of Agriculture.

����� (7) The State Department of Agriculture shall maintain a record of a notice filed pursuant to ORS 196.911 and any related correspondence for 10 years after the date that the notice is received.

����� (8)(a) The Department of State Lands may, after consultation with the State Department of Agriculture and the State Department of Fish and Wildlife, adopt rules as necessary to implement ORS 196.906 to 196.919. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection may include, but need not be limited to, rules:

����� (A) Modifying the volume limits for removal or fill set forth in ORS 196.913 (1) or applying different volume limits within certain geographies for certain types or categories of traditionally maintained channels; or

����� (B) Modifying the conditions that apply for maintenance of a traditionally maintained channel set forth in ORS 196.913 (2).

����� (b) Any rules adopted under paragraph (a)(A) or (B) of this subsection must be based on the best available scientific information and on findings that the rules will:

����� (A) Allow for maintenance of traditionally maintained channels to be conducted in a manner that protects, maintains or improves the existing ecological and habitat function of traditionally maintained channels; and

����� (B) Result in appropriate changes to the conditions required for conducting maintenance activities, under an adaptive management approach, for carrying out the state policy stated in ORS 196.906.

����� (9) Nothing in ORS 196.906 to 196.919 limits or otherwise changes the exemptions under ORS