As used in ORS § 541.700 to 541.855, unless the context requires otherwise:

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(1) ‘Commission’ means the Water Resources Commission appointed under ORS § 536.022.

(2) ‘Construction’ means the construction, or improvement or rehabilitation, in whole or in part, of a water development project, including planning and engineering work, purchasing or refinancing directly related to such construction or improvement or rehabilitation, or any combination of such construction or improvement or rehabilitation. As used in this subsection:

(a) ‘Purchasing’ means the purchasing of materials, land or existing facilities necessary to complete a water development project.

(b) ‘Refinancing’ includes refinancing existing debt of a water developer, as defined in subsection (7)(f) to (m) and (o) of this section, in order to complete a water development project or to provide adequate security for a water development loan, but does not include refinancing existing debt only to reduce interest rates or costs to the borrower or to pay off existing debt.

(3) ‘Director’ means the Water Resources Director appointed pursuant to ORS § 536.032.

(4) ‘Federal water development project’ means any water development project that receives funding from the federal government, or any agency or instrumentality of the United States.

(5)(a) ‘Secondary use’ means:

(A) Any water-related recreational use.

(B) Any flood control use.

(C) Any power generation use.

(D) Any water supply system utilized as a domestic water system for the benefit of an individual residence related to the operation of the water development project.

(b) ‘Secondary use’ does not include any use that is incompatible with a water development project.

(6) ‘Water development project’ means:

(a) An undertaking, in whole or in part, in this state for the purpose of irrigation, including structures for the application of water for agricultural harvest activities, dams, storage reservoirs, wells or well systems, pumping plants, pipelines, canals, ditches, revetments, water supply systems used for the purpose of agricultural temperature control and any other structure, facility and property necessary or convenient for supplying lands with water for irrigation purposes.

(b) An undertaking, in whole or in part, in this state for the purpose of drainage, including ditching, tiling, piping, channel improvement, pumping plants or other agronomically approved methods of land drainage that will increase soil versatility and productivity.

(c) An undertaking, in whole or in part, in this state for the purpose of providing water for municipal use, which may include safe drinking water for communities with population less than 30,000, including dams, storage reservoirs, wells or well systems, pumping plants, treatment facilities, pipelines, canals, ditches, revetments and all other structures and facilities necessary or convenient for supplying water. An undertaking may provide water to two or more communities with a combined population of more than 30,000. An undertaking may be part of a project that provides water to a community with a population of more than 30,000, but loans of moneys from the Water Development Fund, including moneys in ORS § 285B.563 (11) may be made only to communities served by the project that have a population of less than 30,000.

(d) An undertaking, in whole or in part, in this state for the purpose of fish protection, including fish screening or by-pass devices, fishways and all other structures and facilities necessary or convenient for providing fish protection.

(e) An undertaking, in whole or in part, in this state for the purpose of enhancing watershed health or improving fish habitat, including methods and materials to restore, maintain and enhance the biological, chemical and physical integrity of the riparian zones and associated uplands of the state’s rivers, lakes and estuaries systems and recommended by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board established under ORS § 541.900.

(f) Secondary uses in conjunction with projects described in paragraphs (a) to (e) of this subsection.

(7) ‘Water developer’ means:

(a) Any individual resident of this state;

(b) Any partnership for profit subject to the provisions of ORS Chapter 67 or 70, whose principal income is from farming in Oregon;

(c) Any corporation for profit subject to the provisions of ORS Chapter 60, whose principal income is from farming in Oregon;

(d) Any nonprofit corporation subject to the provisions of ORS Chapter 65, whose principal income is from farming in Oregon;

(e) Any cooperative subject to the provisions of ORS Chapter 62, whose principal income is from farming in Oregon;

(f) Any irrigation district organized under or subject to ORS Chapter 545;

(g) Any water improvement district organized under ORS Chapter 552;

(h) Any water control district organized under ORS Chapter 553;

(i) Any irrigation or drainage corporation organized under or subject to ORS Chapter 554;

(j) Any drainage district organized under ORS Chapter 547 or subject to all or part of ORS Chapter 545;

(k) Any corporation, cooperative, company or other association formed prior to 1917 for the purpose of distributing water for irrigation purposes;

(L) Any port district organized under ORS § 777.005 to 777.725, 777.915 to 777.953 and 777.990;

(m) Any city or county;

(n) Any organization formed for the purpose of distributing water for community water supply; or

(o) Any local soil and water conservation district organized under ORS § 568.210 to 568.808 and 568.900 to 568.933. [1977 c.246 § 1; 1981 c.166 § 1; 1981 c.592 § 1; 1985 c.673 § 184; 1985 c.677 § 65; 1987 c.94 § 103; 1987 c.636 1,5; 1989 c.1010 § 177; 1991 c.944 § 5; 1993 c.765 § 89; 1995 c.42 § 180; 1997 c.775 § 90; 1999 c.212 § 1; 1999 c.509 § 46; 2009 c.907 § 3; 2013 c.784 § 32]

(Loan Applications)