WaterWatch of Oregon, Inc. v. Water Resources Commission

DEITS, J. pro tempore

Petitioners seek review of two sets of rules that the Water Resources Commission (commission) adopted in September 2002. OAR 690-505-0400 to 690-505-0630; OAR 690-521-0100 to 690-521-0600. Those rules govern the commission’s decision to grant groundwater permits in the Deschutes River Basin. One set of rules amended the Deschutes Basin Program, a water management and use program, to allow for the appropriation of groundwater in the basin and to establish mitigation requirements. The other set of rules provides for the establishment of mitigation banks and mitigation…