Mapleton residents seek a statutory fix to merge sewer and water districts; bill would let domestic water districts exercise sanitary powers

House Bill 3910 received a public hearing on March 24 focused on a small Oregon community’s effort to merge failing sewer infrastructure into the local water district so the combined entity can pursue grants and capital improvements.

What the bill would change: HB 3910 revises the statutory test in ORS 264.335 so that a domestic water supply district may exercise sanitary district powers when either “the health of the district residents” or “the general public interest” requires watershed-quality protection (the dash-1 amendment broadened conditional statements to expand justifications for a transfer).

Why it matters: Mapleton (Lane County) faces a failing sewer system, recent discharges of untreated effluent into the Siuslaw River, and limited capital to replace aging infrastructure. The local nonprofit that manages the sewer — the Mapleton Commercial Area Owners Association — is ineligible for many grants because of its 501(c)(3) structure. The proposed statutory change would make an expedited merger legally possible so that Mapleton Water District could assume sanitary authority, accept transferred assets, and pursue state and federal funding.

Key testimony

- Boomer Wright (sponsor, Representative) described Mapleton’s decades-old systems and the economic decline that has reduced the community’s tax base; he said the bill is a “technical fix” to allow district mergers and access to grants.

- Cynthia Mateos (President, Mapleton Commercial Area Owners Association/Mapleton Sewer) and Arthur Donnelly (Vice Chair, Mapleton Water District Board) testified the sewer association is at risk of bankruptcy and that a merger is the expedited solution to secure capital investment. Mateos described a 2024 discharge of unchlorinated effluent into the Siuslaw River and said the association spent its savings to purchase a new declarator system but remains “one part failure away from bankruptcy.”

- Lane County’s intergovernmental relations officer (Vanessa Cornwall) testified Lane County supports the merger and the statutory fix because it would allow the districts to seek grants and protect downstream users.

- Daryl Fuller of the Oregon On-site Wastewater Association registered neutral and expressed concerns about creating a broad carve-out in statute, noting the change reduces a four-part test to a simpler single resolution-based test and urging attention to long-term implications and guardrails.

Committee action: The public hearing record was taken; committee members asked for clarifications and for follow-up information offline about the prior four-part test and timing. The committee did not take a final vote on the bill during the March 24 hearing.

Clarifying details

- Statutory change: Amendment would modify ORS 264.335 to broaden conditions under which a domestic water district could exercise sanitary district powers.

- Local facts: Mapleton Sewer serves business district properties, some residences and a local RV park and marina; the sewer association is essentially insolvent without a merger or outside grant funds.

Next steps: Committee members asked staff and interested parties to provide additional background on the prior four-part test and the emergency context; the hearing record remains open for further information and amendment.

Ending: Testimony focused on a narrowly targeted statutory fix to enable an expedited local merger so Mapleton could pursue grants and prevent future discharges into the Siuslaw River.