690-093-0090 Scoring and Ranking; Funding Decisions (1) The primary elements in the process of scoring and ranking of applications include the following: (a) Initial review for completeness by the Department; (b) Public comment; (c) The Technical Review Team conducts the initial scoring and ranking for the projects, considers comments from applicants and the public and makes loan and grant funding recommendations to the Commission; and (d) The Commission determines the final scoring and ranking of projects, provides for additional public comment, and makes the final decision regarding which projects are awarded loans or grants from the account. (2) The Technical Review Team scoring methodology shall rank applications based upon the public benefits of the project and additional considerations set forth in ORS 541.677 subsection (1)(b), (1)(d) and (1)(e). The Technical Review Team shall use a score sheet provided by the Department. Each of the three public benefit categories shall be given equal importance in the evaluation and will have scoring sublevels including but not limited to the following: (a) The evaluation of economic benefits for a project based on the changes in economic conditions expected to result from the project related to: (A) Job creation or retention; (B) Increases in economic activity; (C) Increases in efficiency or innovation; (D) Enhancement of infrastructure, farmland, public resource lands, industrial lands, commercial lands or lands having other key uses; (E) Enhanced economic value associated with tourism or recreational or commercial fishing, with fisheries involving native fish of cultural significance to Indian tribes or with other economic values resulting from restoring or protecting water in-stream; and (F) Increases in irrigated land for agriculture. (b) The evaluation of environmental benefits for a project based on the changes in environmental conditions expected to result from the project related to: (A) A measurable improvement in protected streamflows that: (i) Supports the natural hydrograph; (ii) Improves floodplain function; (iii) Supports state or federally listed sensitive, threatened or endangered fish species; (iv) Supports native fish species of cultural importance to Indian tribes; or (v) Supports riparian habitat important for wildlife; (B) A measurable improvement in groundwater levels that enhances environmental conditions in groundwater restricted areas or other areas; (C) A measurable improvement in the quality of surface water or groundwater; (D) Water conservation; (E) Increased ecosystem resiliency to climate change impacts; and (F) Improvements that address one or more limiting ecological factors in the project watershed. (c) The evaluation of the social or cultural benefits for a project based on the changes in social or cultural conditions expected to result from the project related to: (A) The promotion of public health and safety and of local food systems; (B) A measurable improvement in conditions for members of minority or low-income communities, economically distressed rural communities, tribal communities or other communities traditionally underrepresented in public processes; (C) The promotion of recreation and scenic values; (D) Contribution to the body of scientific data publicly available in this state; (E) The promotion of state or local priorities, including but not limited to the restoration and protection of native fish species of cultural significance to Indian tribes; and (F) The promotion of collaborative basin planning efforts, including but not limited to efforts under the state Integrated Water Resources Strategy. (3) Scoring sublevels shall have a numeric point scale that accounts for positive and negative effects of the project. Sublevel scores shall be summed to a public benefit category level. The Department shall set a minimum score for the application to proceed. (4) The Technical Review Team will use the total score from the score sheet provided by the Department to rank all applications and make loan and grant funding recommendations to the Commission. (5) The Commission shall determine the final scoring and ranking of projects and make the final decision regarding which projects are awarded loans or grants from the account based on criteria in OAR 690-093-0100. (6) The Department shall document the ranking of all applications and make the application ranking publicly available after the funding decisions by the Commission have been published. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 541.651 - 541.696 Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 541.651 - 541.696 History: WRD 6-2015, f. & cert. ef. 7-2-15