Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Harney County Court backs joint letter accusing water agency of failing to meet land-use coordination
Summary
The Harney County Court voted to join a joint letter with the cities of Burns and Hines to notify the Oregon Water Commission that the county believes the Oregon Water Resources Department failed to meet required land-use coordination for Division 5.12 rulemaking; the letter will be submitted before Dec. 10.
Harney County Court voted to support and co-sign a time-sensitive joint letter to the Oregon Water Commission alleging the Oregon Water Resources Department failed to meet required land-use coordination obligations in Division 5.12 rulemaking.
Speaker 1 introduced the drafted letter and told the court it was time-sensitive and could qualify for emergency handling. The speaker said the letter "is calling out the lack of coordination done by Oregon Water Resource Department and the county and the cities," and emphasized that the letter does not take a position on the rulemaking itself but requests the commission be made aware of procedural deficiencies.
Participants discussed whether the tribe would be a cosigner; Speaker 1 explained the tribe was not listed as a cosigner because, late in the process, the department coordinated directly with tribal representatives and met the tribe's coordination requirement. County members discussed minor drafting edits made by Dominic, agreed the edits did not change the letter's substantive nature, and clarified that the intended submission would show a joint municipal sign-on from Harney County, the City of Burns and the City of Hines.
Speaker 3 moved to approve the joint letter (titled in the motion as a letter on "failure to meet required land use coordination obligations in Division 5.12 rulemaking"). The motion was seconded and carried by voice vote.
Next steps: county staff will finalize the letter, obtain required municipal signatures or written concurrence, and submit the joint letter to the Oregon Water Commission prior to the time-sensitive deadline identified by staff.
