Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Aquifer Recharge Asr topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Agencies and basin groups back study to streamline aquifer recharge and storage procedures
Summary
Agency and basin representatives told the committee HB 2988 should be used to modernize how Oregon evaluates and authorizes large-scale aquifer recharge and aquifer storage and recovery projects, citing technical complexity and inconsistent permitting expectations as barriers.
The Oregon Water Resources Department and representatives of Northeast Oregon water interests described House Bill 2988 as a directive to modernize permitting and interagency coordination for artificial recharge and aquifer storage and recovery (ASR).
Doug Woodcock, Deputy Director of the Oregon Water Resources Department, outlined the two primary methods used in Oregon — surface infiltration basins (artificial recharge) and injection wells (ASR). He described both as technical authorizations that rely on limited-license testing, monitoring and a transition to permanent permits or certificates once tests show operations are protective of groundwater and surface-water resources. "These are highly technical and complicated projects," Woodcock said, and noted the agencies involved include OWRD (permitting and hydrogeology), the Department of Environmental Quality (underground injection control and water-quality protections), the Oregon Health Authority (drinking-water standards) and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (stream protections when surface-water diversions are involved).
J.R. Cook, director of the Northeast Oregon Water Association, testified that Oregon pioneered recharge in the United States — citing the County Line project and other early efforts — but that testing and permitting have become more difficult in recent years. He urged reform to ensure limited-license testing can proceed to five-year tests that generate usable, comparable data and warned that inconsistent modeling and changing agency expectations have deterred funders and delayed projects. "What we really need to boil down on and get to a crisp discussion around is what do we need to do to ensure that testing can occur in the state of Oregon and that the efforts leading up to the 5-year test... are accountable," Cook said.
Woodcock said OWRD takes no position on the bill text itself but emphasized the program’s value and the agencies’ heavy technical workload, and he agreed that improvements in coordination and modernization would be useful. Committee members requested the agencies provide a list of specific barriers and suggested possible remedies for the committee’s consideration.
No vote was taken; the bill directs an interagency review, draft guidance and a report to the Legislature in October 2026 if enacted.
