Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 537 § 537.532 — Injection of ground water into aquifers; standards

Injection of ground water into aquifers; standards. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the injection into aquifers of water that complies with drinking water standards established by the Oregon Health Authority under ORS 448.273 under an aquifer storage and recovery limited license or permit: (a) Shall not be considered a waste, contaminant or pollutant; (b) Shall be exempt from the requirement to obtain a discharge permit under ORS 468B.050 or 468B.053 or a concentration limit variance from the Department of Environmental Quality; (c) Shall comply with all other applicable local, state or federal laws; and (d) May be located within or outside an urban growth boundary in conformance with land use laws. (2) In order to continue to protect the high quality of Oregon’s aquifers for present and future uses, the Legislative Assembly recognizes the need to minimize concentrations of constituents in the injection source water that are not naturally present in the aquifer. Each aquifer storage and recovery limited license or permit shall include conditions to minimize, to the extent technically feasible, practical and cost-effective, the concentration of constituents in the injection source water that are not naturally present in the aquifer. In no case may an aquifer storage and recovery limited license or permit establish concentration limits for water to be injected in excess of the standards established by the authority under ORS 448.273 or the maximum measurable levels established by the Environmental Quality Commission under ORS 468B.165, whichever are more stringent. (3) Except as otherwise provided, if the injection source water contains constituents regulated under ORS 448.273 or 468B.165 that are detected at greater than 50 percent of the established levels, the aquifer storage and recovery limited license or permit may require the permittee to employ, or continue the employment of, technically feasible, practical and cost-effective methods to minimize concentrations of such constituents in the injection source water. Constituents that have a secondary maximum contaminant level or constituents that are associated with disinfection of the water may be injected into the aquifer up to the standards established under ORS 448.273. (4) The Water Resources Department may, based upon valid scientific data, further limit certain constituents in the injection source water if the department finds the constituents will interfere with or pose a threat to the maintenance of the water resources of the state for present or future beneficial uses. [1995 c.487 §3; 1997 c.286 §9; 2009 c.595 §984]