(1) Subject to the provisions of ORS § 543A.410, any person submitting a notice of intent to seek reauthorization, a preliminary application or an application for reauthorization of a project under ORS § 543A.030, 543A.035, 543A.075, 543A.080 or 543A.095 shall pay all expenses related to the review and decision of the Hydroelectric Application Review Team that are incurred by the team and any agency participating as part of the team, and that are not otherwise covered by the fee paid under ORS § 543.078.

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(2) Every person submitting a notice of intent to seek reauthorization of a project shall submit the fee required under ORS § 536.050 (1)(r) to the Water Resources Department when the notice of intent is submitted.

(3) Before submitting an application to reauthorize a state project under ORS § 543A.035, the applicant shall request from the team an estimate of the costs expected to be incurred in processing the application. The team shall inform the applicant of that amount and require the applicant to make periodic payments of such costs pursuant to a cost reimbursement agreement. The cost reimbursement agreement shall provide for payment of 25 percent of the estimated costs when the applicant submits an application under ORS § 543A.035.

(4) Before the close of public comment on study proposals developed by the applicant for a federally licensed project under ORS § 543A.085, the team shall estimate the costs expected to be incurred in evaluating the project. The team shall inform the applicant of that amount and require the applicant to make periodic payments of such costs pursuant to a cost reimbursement agreement. The cost reimbursement agreement shall provide for a first payment of 25 percent of the estimated costs on a schedule established in the agreement.

(5) If costs of the team’s evaluation of a project exceed the estimate in the cost reimbursement agreement, the applicant shall pay any excess costs shown in an itemized statement prepared by the team. In no event shall the team and its participating agencies incur evaluation expenses in excess of 110 percent of the fee initially estimated unless the team provided prior notification to the applicant and a detailed projected budget the team believes is necessary to complete evaluation of the application. If costs are less than the fee paid, the team shall refund the excess to the applicant.

(6) The Water Resources Department shall reimburse participating agencies for costs incurred in their review of a project. Such costs shall not include expenses of other state agencies for which a fee is otherwise collected under state law. [1997 c.449 § 33; 2001 c.369 § 7; 2021 c.516 § 7]