(1) The Water Resources Commission shall design the minimum criteria for the project scoring and ranking system described in ORS § 541.669 to achieve the following outcomes:

(a) The issuance of grants or loans only to projects that provide benefits in each of the three categories of public benefit described in ORS § 541.673.

(b) Preference for partnerships and collaborative projects.

(c) The funding of projects of diverse sizes, types and geographic locations.

(d) If a project proposes to divert water, preference for projects that provide a measurable improvement in protected streamflows.

(e) If a project proposes to increase efficiency, preference for projects that provide a measurable increased efficiency of water use.

(2) The Water Resources Department shall review the loan and grant program on a biennial basis to assess to what extent the outcomes described in subsection (1) of this section are being achieved, and shall report the review findings to the Water Resources Commission. The commission shall modify the project selection process as necessary to better achieve the outcomes described in subsection (1) of this section. [2013 c.784 § 9]

See note under 541.651.

[1985 c.545 § 4; renumbered 196.760 and then 196.895 in 1989]