Title 36A, Housing; Lottery and Games; Environment

As used in the laws relating to water pollution, unless the context requires otherwise: (1) “Disposal system” means a system for disposing of wastes, either by surface or underground methods and includes municipal sewerage systems, domestic sewerage systems, treatment works, disp…

(1) Except as otherwise provided in ORS 469.300 to 469.563, 469.590 to 469.619 and 469.930, insofar as the authority of the Environmental Quality Commission over water pollution granted by ORS 448.305, 454.010 to 454.040, 454.205 to 454.225, 454.505 to 454.535, 454.605 to 454.755…

Whereas pollution of the waters of the state constitutes a menace to public health and welfare, creates public nuisances, is harmful to wildlife, fish and aquatic life and impairs domestic, agricultural, industrial, recreational and other legitimate beneficial uses of water, and …

(1) Pollution of any of the waters of the state is declared to be not a reasonable or natural use of such waters and to be contrary to the public policy of the State of Oregon, as set forth in ORS 468B.015. (2) In order to carry out the public policy set forth in ORS 468B.015, th…

(1) Except as provided in ORS 468B.050 or 468B.053, no person shall: (a) Cause pollution of any waters of the state or place or cause to be placed any wastes in a location where such wastes are likely to escape or be carried into the waters of the state by any means. (b) Discharg…

In relation to the waters of the state, the Environmental Quality Commission by rule may establish effluent limitations, as defined in Section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended by Public Law 92-500, October 18, 1972, and other minimum requirements for dis…

(1) In addition to enforcement proceedings pursuant to ORS 468.090 for a violation of a provision, rule, permit or order under this chapter, the Department of Environmental Quality shall implement the procedures established under this section upon the request of the person to who…

(1) The Environmental Quality Commission may perform or cause to be performed any acts necessary to be performed by the state to implement within the jurisdiction of the state the provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, P.L. 92-500, as amended, and federal regulati…

To the extent allowable by federal law, the Department of Environmental Quality, through its administration of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and granting of variances, shall strive to protect human he…

When the Department of Environmental Quality grants a variance as part of its administration of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the department shall consult with the applicant and, to the extent allowa…

(1) The Department of Environmental Quality shall follow the procedures set forth in subsection (2) of this section: (a) When developing or selecting among methodologies for the assessment of waters of the state pursuant to sections 303(d) and 305(b) of the Federal Water Pollutio…

(1) The Director of the Department of Environmental Quality shall approve or deny certification of any federally licensed or permitted activity related to hydroelectric power development, under section 401 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, P.L. 92-500, as amended. In ma…

Within 60 days after the Department of Environmental Quality receives notice that any federal agency is considering a permit or license application related to a change to a hydroelectric project or proposed hydroelectric project that was previously certified by the Director of th…

(1) Except as provided in ORS 543A.110, nothing in ORS 468.065, 468B.040, 468B.045, 468B.046, 536.015, 536.050, 543.012 and 543.710 and ORS chapter 543A shall be construed to limit or affect any authority of the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality under existing l…

(1) The Environmental Quality Commission shall establish, by rule, a schedule of fees required for state certification under 33 U.S.C. 1341 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended. (2) The fees authorized by this section must be based on the nature of the underlyin…

(1) The Environmental Quality Commission by rule may establish standards of quality and purity for the waters of the state in accordance with the public policy set forth in ORS 468B.015. In establishing such standards, the commission shall consider the following factors: (a) The …

(1) Except as provided in ORS 468B.053 or 468B.215, without holding a permit from the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality or the State Department of Agriculture, which permit shall specify applicable effluent limitations, a person may not: (a) Discharge any wastes…

(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, the Environmental Quality Commission may increase the fees established under: (a) ORS 448.410, 454.745, 454.755, 454.792, 468B.047 or 468B.195; or (b) ORS 468.065 for permits issued under ORS 468B.050. (2) The commission may not incr…

In lieu of a permit required under ORS 468B.025 or 468B.050, the Environmental Quality Commission by rule may: (1) Exempt de minimis discharges from permit requirements. (2) Exempt from permit requirements subsurface injection of fluids that are authorized under the underground i…

(1) The Department of Environmental Quality may require that plans and specifications for the construction, installation or modification of disposal systems, treatment works and sewerage systems be submitted to the department for its approval or rejection. (2) If the department r…

(1) Where the injury, death, contamination or destruction of fish or other wildlife or injury or destruction of fish or wildlife habitat results from pollution or from any violation of the conditions set forth in any permit or of the orders or rules of the Environmental Quality C…

Consistent with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, P.L. 92-500, as amended, the Department of Environmental Quality may determine whether selected segments of the waters of the state are capable of attaining designated uses. In conducting its use attainability analysis, the…

(1) The Department of Environmental Quality may perform follow-up assessments of waters of the state that are included in the 1994-1996 list pursuant to section 303 (d) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, P.L. 92-500, as amended, for exceeding numeric temperature water qu…

(1) No municipality shall: (a) Dump polluting substances into any public or private body of water that empties directly or indirectly into any navigable body of water in or adjacent to a municipality, except by permit issued by the Department of Environmental Quality. (b) Dump po…

As used in ORS 468B.080: (1) “Buildings or structures” includes but is not limited to floating buildings and structures, houseboats, moorages, marinas, or any boat used as such. (2) “Garbage” means putrescible animal and vegetable wastes resulting from the handling, preparation, …

(1) No garbage or sewage shall be discharged into or in any other manner be allowed to enter the waters of the state from any building or structure unless such garbage or sewage has been treated or otherwise disposed of in a manner approved by the Department of Environmental Qual…

(1) The Environmental Quality Commission shall adopt rules as to the beneficial use of chassis, bodies, shells, and tires of motor vehicles in the waters of the state, including the means and methods of placing them in the waters of the state. In adopting such rules the commissio…

Subject to ORS 468B.083, a person, including a person in the possession or control of land, may not deposit, discard or place the chassis, body or shell of a motor vehicle as defined by ORS 801.360, a vehicle as defined by ORS 801.590, a manufactured structure as defined in ORS 4…

(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, and unless prohibited by federal law, the Environmental Quality Commission and the Department of Environmental Quality may, in a permit applicable to a seafood processing facility for the discharge of wastewater effluent in…

(1) The Department of Environmental Quality may issue a permit to discharge shrimp and crab processing by-products into the waters of an Oregon estuary under ORS 468B.050 or 468B.053 for the purpose of enhancing aquatic life production. The permit shall impose the following condi…

(1) The Director of the Department of Environmental Quality shall issue a general permit for the discharge of geothermal spring water to surface water. The general permit shall cover any activity with the following characteristics: (a) The chemical nature of the water is not chan…

The Environmental Quality Commission shall adopt by rule requirements for the use of sludge on agricultural, horticultural or silvicultural land including, but not limited to: (1) Procedure and criteria for selecting sludge application sites, including providing the opportunity f…

As used in ORS 468B.105 and 468B.110, “forestlands” and “operation” have the meaning for those terms provided in ORS 527.620. [1991 c.919 §22a]

Upon request of the State Board of Forestry, the Environmental Quality Commission shall review any water quality standard that affects forest operations on forestlands. The commission’s review may be limited to or coordinated with the triennial or any other regularly scheduled re…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, as necessary to achieve and maintain standards of water quality or purity adopted under ORS 468B.048, the Environmental Quality Commission or Department of Environmental Quality may, by rule or order, impose and enforce li…

As used in ORS 468B.112 to 468B.118: (1) “Essential indigenous anadromous salmonid habitat” has the meaning given that term in ORS 196.810, as further defined and designated by rule by the Department of State Lands pursuant to ORS 196.810. (2) “Line of ordinary high water” has th…

(1) An operator may not allow a discharge to waters of the state from a motorized in-stream placer mining operation or activity without having an individual permit or being covered by a general permit issued under ORS 468B.050. (2) In order to protect indigenous anadromous salmon…

(1) An application for a permit under ORS 468B.050 to engage in motorized in-stream placer mining must include: (a) The name and address of the operator; (b) Information on how the proposed motorized in-stream placer mining location will be accessed by the operator; (c) A written…

A person shall pay the following fees to the Department of Environmental Quality for a general permit issued under ORS 468B.050 for motorized in-stream placer mining, unless the Environmental Quality Commission establishes a lower fee amount under ORS 468.065: (1) A fee of $250 f…

As used in ORS 468B.120 to 468B.135: (1) “Cleaning agent” means any product, including but not limited to soaps and detergents, containing a surfactant as a wetting or dirt emulsifying agent and used primarily for domestic or commercial cleaning purposes, including but not limite…

(1) The Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon finds that: (a) Phosphorous loading of the waters of the state is a serious pollution problem affecting water quality in some river basins in the state. (b) Phosphate detergents contribute significant phosphorous loading to the …

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a person may not sell, offer to sell or distribute for sale within Oregon any cleaning agent containing more than 0.5 percent phosphorus by weight. (2) A cleaning agent used in automatic commercial dishwashers may be sold,…

ORS 468B.130 (1) and (2) do not apply to any cleaning agent: (1) Used in dairy, beverage or food processing equipment; (2) Used as an industrial sanitizer, brightener, acid cleaner or metal conditioner, including phosphoric acid products or trisodium phosphate; (3) Used in hospit…

As used in ORS 468B.138 to 468B.144: (1) “Legacy” means a pollutant, the use of which has been banned or restricted for several years, that remains at detectable levels in sediment and tissue samples. (2) “Municipality” means a city or special district that operates and maintains…

(1) The Department of Environmental Quality shall conduct a study of persistent pollutants discharged in the State of Oregon and report the results of that study to an appropriate interim committee of the Legislative Assembly related to the environment by June 1, 2010. (2) The de…

(1)(a) By July 1, 2011, each permittee shall submit to the Department of Environmental Quality a plan for reducing the permittee’s discharges of persistent pollutants listed on the priority listing described in ORS 468B.139 (2)(a): (A) That occur in concentrations greater than th…

In accordance with applicable provisions of ORS chapter 183, the Environmental Quality Commission may adopt rules necessary for the administration of ORS 468B.139 and 468B.140. [2007 c.696 §5]

(1) The Department of Environmental Quality may apply to any circuit court for an order compelling compliance with any rule adopted by the Environmental Quality Commission under ORS 468B.141. If the court finds that the defendant is not complying with any rule so adopted, the cou…

The Persistent Pollutant Control Account is established, separate and distinct from the General Fund. Moneys may be credited to the account from any public or private source. Moneys in the account are continuously appropriated to the Department of Environmental Quality and may be…

All moneys received by the Department of Environmental Quality under ORS 468B.142 shall be deposited to the credit of the Persistent Pollutant Control Account established under ORS 468B.143. [2007 c.696 §8] (Ground Water)