Oregon Revised Statutes
As used in ORS 448.005 to 448.090, unless the context requires otherwise: “Authority” means the Oregon Health Authority. “Bathhouse” means a structure that contains dressing rooms, showers and toilet facilities for use with an adjacent public swimming pool. “Director” means the Director of the Oregon Health Authority. “Person” has the meaning given that …
The Oregon Health Authority shall adopt rules pertaining to construction plan submission, plan approval, design, construction, size, shape, purification equipment, piping, operation, sanitation and accident prevention for public swimming pools, public spa pools, public wading pools and bathhouses as the authority deems necessary.
ORS 448.005 to 448.090 shall not apply to those facilities described in ORS 446.435.
A person may not construct or perform a major alteration or reconstruction of a public swimming pool, public spa pool, public wading pool or bathhouse without plan approval to do so from the Oregon Health Authority.
Any person desiring to construct any public swimming pool, public spa pool, public wading pool or bathhouse shall file an application for plan approval with the Oregon Health Authority. The application must be accompanied by a description of the sources of water supply, amount and quality of water available and intended to be used, method and manner of wate…
A person may not operate or maintain a public swimming pool, public spa pool, public wading pool or bathhouse without a license to do so from the Oregon Health Authority. An annual fee of $275 shall be paid for a license to operate a public swimming pool, public spa pool, public wading pool or bathhouse. The annual license fee for each additional public swi…
A person applying for a variance shall submit a variance application accompanied by a fee of $480 to the Oregon Health Authority. If the authority approves the application, the authority shall grant a variance, stating the terms and conditions of the variance. The authority may waive the fee for variance applications precipitated by change in the authority’…
For the purposes of ORS 448.005 to 448.090, the Director of the Oregon Health Authority may at all reasonable times enter upon any part of the premises of public bathing and swimming places to make examination and investigation to determine the sanitary conditions of such places and whether ORS 448.005 to 448.090 or the rules of the Oregon Health Authority p…
The Director of the Oregon Health Authority shall inspect all public swimming pools, public spa pools, public wading pools and bathhouses to determine the sanitary conditions of such places and whether ORS 448.005 to 448.090 and the rules of the Oregon Health Authority pertaining to public swimming pools, public spa pools, public wading pools and bathhouses …
A public swimming pool, public spa pool, public wading pool or bathhouse may not remain open to the public after the permit, plan approval or license to operate the facility has been suspended, denied or revoked. Any public swimming pool, public spa pool, public wading pool or bathhouse constructed, operated or maintained contrary to ORS 448.005 to 448.090 …
All moneys collected under ORS 448.005 to 448.090 shall be paid into the General Fund in the State Treasury for credit to the Public Health Account and such moneys hereby are appropriated continuously and shall be used only for the administration and enforcement of ORS 448.005 to 448.090.
No provisions of ORS 448.005 to 448.100 apply to natural bathing places.
The Director of the Oregon Health Authority shall delegate to any county board of commissioners that requests any of the duties and functions of the director under ORS 448.005, 448.011, 448.020 to 448.035 and 448.040 to 448.060 and this section if the director determines that the county is able to carry out the rules of the Oregon Health Authority relating t…
DRINKING WATER QUALITY AND WATER SYSTEMS (Generally)
As used in ORS 448.115 to 448.285, 454.235 and 454.255 unless the context requires otherwise: “Authority” means the Oregon Health Authority. “Connection” means the connection between a water system and a customer that enables the customer to receive potable water from the system. “Construction standards” means criteria for constructing or installing water…
Before a water system is subject to regulation under ORS 448.119 to 448.285, 454.235 and 454.255, the system must have at least four service connections, or it must serve water to public or commercial premises which are used by an average of at least 10 individuals daily at least 60 days each year. In a housing subdivision of four or more living units where …
It is the purpose of ORS 448.119 to 448.285, 454.235 and 454.255 to: Ensure that all Oregonians have safe drinking water. Provide a simple and effective regulatory program for drinking water systems. Provide a means to improve inadequate drinking water systems. In carrying out the purpose set forth in subsection (1) of this section, the Oregon Health Aut…
ORS 448.119 to 448.285, 454.235 and 454.255 may be referred to as the Oregon Drinking Water Quality Act.
(Administration)
The Oregon Health Authority shall adopt water quality standards that are necessary to protect the public health through insuring safe drinking water within a water system. In order to insure safe drinking water, the authority shall prescribe: Construction standards governing the performance of a water system insofar as they relate to the safety of drinking…
The Oregon Health Authority may grant variances from standards if: There is no unreasonable risk to health; The water supplier has provided sufficient evidence to confirm that the best available treatment techniques are unable to treat the water in question so that it meets maximum contaminant levels; The water supplier agrees to notify the customers of t…
A water system that does not comply with the rules and standards of the Oregon Health Authority shall be operated only after the water supplier has received a permit for the system from the authority if: The authority has not granted a variance from standards as provided under ORS 448.135 to the water supplier; and The water system is providing water that …
A permit shall be issued by the Oregon Health Authority when there are economic or other compelling factors such that the water supplier is unable to install the water treatment facilities or to meet the maximum contaminant levels. The authority shall prescribe a compliance schedule, including interim measures to eliminate the risk to health, which sets a s…
The Oregon Health Authority shall: Conduct periodic sanitary surveys of drinking water systems and sources, take water samples and inspect records to ensure that the systems are not creating an unreasonable risk to health. The authority shall provide written reports of the examinations to water suppliers and to local public health administrators, as defined…
The State Drinking Water Advisory Committee is created to advise and assist the Oregon Health Authority on policies related to the protection, safety and regulation of public drinking water in Oregon. The committee created under this section shall consist of 15 members appointed by the Public Health Officer. The officer shall make the appointments after con…
The Oregon Health Authority: May provide technical assistance and organize, coordinate and conduct training for water system personnel. Shall conduct a program designed to stimulate public participation in matters relating to water systems through public presentations, dissemination of informational materials and other similar efforts.
The Legislative Assembly finds and declares harmful algal blooms to be a threat to safe drinking water supplies and a menace to public health and welfare. The Oregon Health Authority, in coordination with the Department of Environmental Quality as further provided for in ORS 468B.600, shall: Determine and identify drinking water sources that are susceptibl…
The Oregon Health Authority shall maintain a plan outlining actions to be taken by the authority during emergencies relating to water systems. The authority may require that a water supplier compile an emergency plan if it appears necessary to the Director of the Oregon Health Authority.
Counties may develop water service plans. These plans should encourage small water systems to combine management functions and to consolidate where possible. Water service plans must be in keeping with county land use plans. Cities or counties, whichever have authority to issue building permits, must certify that the Oregon Health Authority has approved the…
The Oregon Health Authority may enter into an agreement with a local public health authority, as defined in ORS 431.003, under which the local public health authority performs the duties of the Oregon Health Authority under the Oregon Drinking Water Quality Act. The duration of the agreement, the duties to be performed and the remuneration to be paid by the …
Subject to ORS chapter 183, the Oregon Health Authority: Shall require that the water suppliers give public notice of violations in the water system. May refuse to allow expansion of or additional connections to a water system until the water system meets water quality standards and requirements. May enter an order requiring a water supplier to acquire or…
The Oregon Health Authority may grant waivers on construction standards if the authority is satisfied there will be no unreasonable risk to health.
Whenever a water system or part thereof presents or threatens to present a public health hazard requiring immediate action to protect the public health, safety and welfare, the Director of the Oregon Health Authority may request the district attorney of the county wherein the system is located to institute an action. The action may be commenced without the n…
Whenever the Director of the Oregon Health Authority has reasonable grounds to believe that a water system or part thereof is being operated or maintained in violation of any rule adopted pursuant to ORS 448.115 to 448.285, 454.235 and 454.255, the director shall give written notice to the water supplier responsible for the system. The notice required under…
It shall be unlawful for any person to do any of the following if the result would be to pollute a source of a water system or to destroy or endanger a water system: Establish or maintain any slaughter pen, stock-feeding yards or hogpens. Deposit or maintain any unclean or unwholesome substance. Violation of subsection (1)(a) or (b) of this section is a p…
If, as a result of its activities under ORS 448.150, or through the review of other relevant data, the Oregon Health Authority confirms the persistent and prevalent presence in ground water drinking water supplies of contaminants resulting at least in part from suspected nonpoint source activities, the authority shall recommend that the Environmental Quality…
After a declaration of a ground water quality management area under ORS 468B.180, the Oregon Health Authority shall, in consultation with local health authorities, develop and implement a public health response plan. The public health response plan shall be based on the preliminary assessment prepared under ORS 468B.178 (3). If no preliminary assessment has …
In any transaction for the sale or exchange of real estate that includes a well that supplies ground water for domestic purposes, the seller of the real estate shall, upon accepting an offer to purchase that real estate, have the well tested for arsenic, nitrates and total coliform bacteria. The Oregon Health Authority also may, by rule, require additional t…
The Legislative Assembly finds that an agreement between this state and the federal government to assume primary enforcement responsibility in this state for the federal Safe Drinking Water Act is in the best interest of this state, subject to the following assumptions: The federal government provides an annual program grant in an amount no less than that a…
The Oregon Health Authority is authorized to enter into an agreement with the federal government to administer the federal Safe Drinking Water Act in this state. The agreement is subject to the legislative assumption stated in ORS 448.273. The agreement shall remain in effect subject to annual renegotiation of the duties to be performed and the remuneration …
The Oregon Health Authority shall establish a program for regulating cross-connections and the backflow assemblies that are part of a water system. The authority may assess an annual fee on community water systems for the purpose of implementing the cross-connection and backflow assembly program established pursuant to this section. The fee may not exceed: …
The Oregon Health Authority by rule shall establish a certification program for persons who inspect cross-connections or test backflow assemblies. The program shall include minimum qualifications necessary for a person to be certified to: Conduct a cross-connection inspection; and Test a backflow assembly. Except for an employee of a water supplier as def…
In addition to any other penalty provided by law: Any person who violates any rule of the Oregon Health Authority relating to the construction, operation or maintenance of a water system or part thereof shall incur a civil penalty not to exceed $500 for each day of violation, except that a violation at any water system that serves more than 10,000 people sh…
The Director of the Oregon Health Authority shall adopt by rule a schedule or schedules establishing the amount of civil penalty that may be imposed for a particular violation. No civil penalty shall exceed $500 per day, except that a violation at any water system that serves more than 10,000 people shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 fo…
Civil penalties under ORS 448.285 shall be imposed as provided in ORS 183.745. All amounts recovered under this section shall be paid into the State Treasury and credited to the General Fund. (Jurisdiction of Cities)
Subject to the authority of the Oregon Health Authority, for the purpose of protecting from pollution their domestic water supply sources, cities shall have jurisdiction over all property: Occupied by the distribution system or by the domestic water supply sources by and from which the city or any person or corporation provides water to the inhabitants of t…
Cities may prescribe by ordinance what acts constitute offenses against the purity of the water supply and the punishment or penalties therefor and may enforce those ordinances within their corporate limits and on property described in ORS 448.295.
Subject to subsection (2) of this section, by ordinance a city may prohibit or restrict access for purposes of fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, picnicking, trapping of wild animals or birds, harvesting of timber or mining or removal of minerals or carrying on any other activity in its watershed area, or by ordinance may permit any such activity in its wate…
The officer in charge of the domestic water supply source or the community water supply system serving the city shall investigate complaints made concerning purity of the source or system and if the complaint appears to be well founded, file a complaint against the person violating ordinances of the city and cause arrest and prosecution.
The mayor or authorities having control of the community water supply system supplying the city may appoint special police officers who: After taking oath, shall have the powers of constables. May arrest with or without warrant any person committing, within the territory described in ORS 448.295, for: Any offense against the purity of the domestic water s…
In cases of violation of any ordinance adopted under ORS 448.300 or 448.305 any city or any corporation owning a domestic water supply source or the community water supply system for the purpose of supplying any city or its inhabitants with water may have the nuisance enjoined by civil action in the circuit court of the proper county. The injunction may be p…
The Director of the Oregon Health Authority may prohibit the sale of water pipe used to carry potable water and solders, fillers or brazing material used in making up joints and fittings in this state and the installation or use of water pipe used to carry potable water and solders, fillers or brazing material used in making up joints and fittings in any pri…
As used in this section, “water supplier” and “water system” have the meanings given those terms in ORS 448.115. The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board shall establish a program to provide grants to water suppliers to protect, restore or enhance sources of drinking water. Grants awarded under this section shall be used by a grant recipient for: Acquiring …
No later than April 1 of each even-numbered year, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board shall submit a report, in the manner provided by ORS 192.245, to the interim committees of the Legislative Assembly related to water. The report shall describe the performance of the grant program established under ORS 448.370. The report must include, but need not be li…
The Community Drinking Water Enhancement and Protection Fund is established in the State Treasury, separate and distinct from the General Fund. Interest earned by the Community Drinking Water Enhancement and Protection Fund shall be credited to the fund. The fund shall consist of all moneys credited to the fund, including moneys appropriated or transferred t…
As used in ORS 448.405 to 448.465: “Commission” means the Environmental Quality Commission. “Department” means the Department of Environmental Quality. “Director” means the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality. “Operator” means a person responsible for the operation of a potable water treatment plant, water distribution system or sewage tr…
To aid and advise the Environmental Quality Commission and the Oregon Health Authority in the adoption of rules under ORS 448.410 and 448.450, the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality and the Director of the Oregon Health Authority shall appoint an advisory committee. The members of the committee shall include but need not be limited to repres…
On or before January 1 of each odd-numbered year, the Department of Environmental Quality and the Oregon Health Authority shall develop and submit a joint report to the Legislative Assembly. The report shall include, but need not be limited to: A summary of actions taken under ORS 448.405 to 448.465, 448.992 and 448.994; An evaluation of the effectiveness …
The Environmental Quality Commission shall: Adopt rules necessary to carry out the provisions of ORS 448.410 to 448.430 and 448.992. Classify all sewage treatment works. In classifying the sewage treatment works, the commission shall take into consideration size and type, character of wastewater to be treated and other physical conditions affecting the sew…
Except as provided in ORS 448.430, any sewage treatment works, whether publicly or privately owned, used or intended for use by the public or private persons must be supervised by an operator certified pursuant to ORS 448.410. The operator’s certification must correspond to the classification of the sewage treatment works supervised by the operator. Except …
On and after September 27, 1987, an operator holding a current Oregon sewage treatment certification issued under a voluntary certification program shall be considered certified under the program established under ORS 448.410 at the same classification and grade. Certification of operators by any state that, as determined by the Director of the Department of…
Any fees collected pursuant to the schedule adopted under ORS 448.410 shall be deposited in the General Fund of the State Treasury to the credit of the Department of Environmental Quality. Such fees are continuously appropriated to the department to pay the cost of administering the provisions of ORS 448.410 to 448.430 and 448.992. Note: See note under 448.…
The requirements of ORS 448.415 shall not apply to: Any sewage treatment works with an approved design flow of less than 75,000 gallons a day, if the owner has contracted with a certified operator to provide part-time supervision as the Environmental Quality Commission by rule determines necessary; or A subsurface sewage disposal system as defined in ORS 4…
The Oregon Health Authority shall: Adopt rules necessary to carry out the provisions of ORS 448.450 to 448.465, 448.992 and 448.994. Classify all potable water treatment plants and water distribution systems actually used or intended for use by the public. In classifying the potable water treatment plants and water distribution systems, the authority shall…
Any potable water treatment plant or water distribution system whether publicly or privately owned, used or intended for use by the public or private persons must be supervised by an operator certified pursuant to ORS 448.450. The operator’s certification must correspond to the classification of the water treatment plant or distribution system supervised by …
On and after September 27, 1987, an operator holding a current Oregon water treatment certification issued under a voluntary certification program shall be considered certified under the program established under ORS 448.450 at the same classification and grade. Certification of operators by any state that, as determined by the Oregon Health Authority, accep…
Any fees collected pursuant to the schedule adopted under ORS 448.450 shall be deposited in the General Fund of the State Treasury to the credit of the Oregon Health Authority. Such fees are continuously appropriated to the authority to pay the cost of administering the provisions of ORS 448.450 to 448.465, 448.992 and 448.994. Note: See note under 448.405.
PENALTIES
Violation of ORS 448.005 to 448.090 by any person, firm or corporation, whether acting as principal or agent, employer or employee, is a Class B misdemeanor. Each day that the violation continues is a separate offense. Subject to ORS 153.022, violation of any of the following is a Class A misdemeanor: Any rule of the Oregon Health Authority adopted pursuan…
Any person who knowingly and willfully violates ORS 448.415 (2) commits a Class B misdemeanor. Any person who knowingly makes any false statement, representation, or certification in any application, record, report, plan or other document filed or required to be maintained under ORS 448.410 to 448.430, or by any rule adopted under ORS 448.410 to 448.430, co…
Any person who knowingly and willfully violates ORS 448.455 (2) commits a Class B misdemeanor. Subject to ORS 153.022, any person who knowingly makes any false statement, representation, or certification in any application, record, report, plan or other document filed or required to be maintained under ORS 448.450 to 448.465 and 448.992, or by any rule adop…