(1) When issuing a water right certificate under ORS § 537.250 to a district, or to a government agency for a district, the Water Resources Department may issue the water right certificate for land not described in the permit if:

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(a) Water furnished by the district under the permit has been applied beneficially to the land;

(b) The land not described in the permit that is proposed to be included in the certificate is included within the legally established boundaries of the district and is subject to the charges, assessments and liens of the district;

(c) The certificate does not authorize a greater rate, duty or acreage than is authorized by the terms of the permit, and all other conditions of the permit are satisfied;

(d) The inclusion of land not described in the permit will not result in injury to other existing water rights or in enlargement of the right authorized under the permit; and

(e) The impact to the water source of including land not described in the permit will not differ significantly from the impact expected at the time the permit was issued for the lands described in the permit.

(2) If a district proposes to use water on lands not described in the permit, the Water Resources Department may issue a certificate that includes such additional lands if all of the conditions of subsection (1) of this section are satisfied and if, no later than 60 days before the district actually applies the water to the lands not described in the permit, the district provides written notice to the department. The notice shall include a copy of the original permit map modified to show the lands to be added and lands to be removed from the description of the place of use of the water. Upon receipt of the notice from the district, the department shall provide public notice of the proposed change by means of publication in the department’s weekly notice and by publication once each week for two successive weeks in a newspaper having general circulation in the county or counties in which the affected lands are located. The cost of publication shall be paid by the district.

(3) If a district has issued an order of inclusion or exclusion, the boundaries of the irrigation district shall be deemed to have been legally changed in the absence of approval of the Secretary of the Interior.

(4) As used in this section:

(a) ‘District’ has the meaning given in ORS § 540.505.

(b) ‘Legally established boundaries’ means the boundaries of a district as established at the time of creation of the district and as the boundaries may have changed after creation of the district by an inclusion, exclusion or merger proceeding according to state law. [1995 c.218 § 2; 1995 c.416 § 21b; 2003 c.14 § 343; 2011 c.52 § 4]