Rep. Reschke, 22 Legislators send letter to OWRD addressing Division 10 rulemaking concerns

The following is a press release from the Office of Representative E. Werner Reschke

SALEM, Ore. – Yesterday, Representative E. Werner Reschke (R-Klamath Falls) and 22 bi-cameral legislators sent a letter to the Oregon Water Resources Department outlining their concerns surrounding the Division 10 rulemaking on critical groundwater areas. Lawmakers stated the need for new rules has not been adequately explained. 

“If OWRD believes the existing rules are legally inadequate, it raises serious questions regarding the legal sufficiency of the existing designations,” wrote the lawmakers. “Without a clear statement of the problem the rules are designed to address, there is no yardstick by which the proposed rules may be measured.”

Lawmakers addressed several concerns with the rulemaking process including a lack of public engagement on the proposed rules, protecting existing water rights owners and ensuring their due process be protected, as well as considering the various basins most likely to be impacted in developing rules. 

“OWRD should recognize that unique circumstances in various areas of the state may make designations of critical groundwater areas more or less appropriate. For example, in the Klamath Basin, groundwater use in Oregon is already heavily regulated, whereas groundwater use immediately across the border in California is not,” wrote the lawmakers. “In light of this circumstance, it is difficult to understand why Oregon would advance administrative rules to further restrict groundwater usage in Oregon without first undertaking efforts to restrict excess groundwater use in California through equitable apportionment of the groundwater resource, or by other means.”