(1) The Water Resources Commission shall adopt rules establishing a system for scoring and ranking projects to determine which projects are to be awarded loans and grants from the Water Supply Development Account, including but not limited to the application of minimum criteria designed to achieve the outcomes described in ORS § 541.677. The criteria shall be based on the public benefit categories described in ORS § 541.673. The commission shall make the loan and grant funding decisions at least twice each year. Applications must be filed with the Water Resources Department. The department shall accept an application for a loan or grant at any time, but shall establish a separate deadline for the filing of applications before each time the commission makes loan and grant funding decisions.

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(2) The department shall conduct a preliminary review of applications to check for completeness, eligibility and minimum requirements upon receipt of each application. The department shall return incomplete applications to the applicant. The department shall provide public notice by posting new funding applications on the department’s website for a 60-day period prior to reviewing the applications. The department shall provide for the receipt of public comment on the applications during the 60-day period that applications are posted on the department’s website.

(3) The department shall forward applications that have passed preliminary review, along with any comments received from applicants or the public, to a technical review team consisting of representatives of the Water Resources Department, the Department of Environmental Quality, the State Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State Department of Agriculture, the Oregon Business Development Department, affected Indian tribes, any collaborative body established by the Governor to address challenges, opportunities and priorities for the region affected by the project and additional experts as determined by the Water Resources Department. The technical review team shall conduct the initial scoring and ranking for the projects described in the applications, consider comments from applicants and the public and make loan and grant funding recommendations to the commission. The commission shall determine the final scoring and ranking of projects and make the final decision regarding which projects are awarded loans or grants from the account. Before the commission makes a final decision on an application, the commission shall offer one additional opportunity for public comment.

(4) The commission is not required to obligate all available account moneys during a funding cycle. Any available account moneys that are not obligated during a funding cycle shall be carried forward and be made available for projects in future funding cycles.

(5) The department shall document the ranking of all applications and make the application ranking publicly available after the funding decisions by the commission have been published. [2013 c.784 § 7; 2023 c.606 § 27]

See note under 541.651.

[1985 c.545 § 6; 1987 c.855 § 16; 1989 c.837 § 22; renumbered 196.750 and then 196.885 in 1989]