[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6310421,"mediaKeyId","2403088-f0275e611775f3e568a6f71111413a51","parentId",2403088,"title","Heated testimony for and against HB 2965, bill proposing ban on marine net pens in Oregon","audioSeconds",1966,"startMs",4007520,"endMs",5974391,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2403088-f0275e611775f3e568a6f71111413a51&start=4007&end=5974","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2403088-f0275e611775f3e568a6f71111413a51/thumbnail_4007520.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6310421/Oregon/Heated-testimony-for-and-against-HB-2965-bill-proposing-ban-on-marine-net-pens-in-Oregon","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6310421-c66e814c9596b1f47799f4b0e93ae3f1/orig.mp4?Expires=1770636197&Signature=JTbRLtgW9h2VA~zVWkjOzOoXZS07OTUKT97KJVBngoSOs-CseH-5ADk5nQc~ieA21ScsHH-tsx5VZzRg9FmU7WnWXL0jjNrtKobo3dh2treSGg-j7GLagSk~FqpkU~d4jAifAheKgSdxIM32KHPiPt-sYcFfk10mmrDiqyTA8cySQw0TgCQmQGr-jvMFkpsj~pIj~VG15OC8Yx3~UGehh~nY29ityZBPtGYOV5dFx5xfn1MwdG8ylY~nLbEMMJAKroQFRTB6l3vBL0ECcu72nZuKQM7Vyr8mAsW9VKh~6KuA5IbItUOryDj14poEtybG2Zg9ALzfUOZZSKsiBzDOsA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Oregon State Legislature","date","2025-02-26T00:00:00Z","article","Co-Chair Owens opened a public hearing on House Bill 2965. Representative Mark Gamba, the bill sponsor, described the dash-5 amendment: the legislation would prohibit use of net pens for fish farming in ocean and estuarine waters in Oregon, while preserving the ability for the aquaculture industry to pursue other, non-net-pen approaches.

Proponents told the committee that net pens are open systems that allow waste, pharmaceuticals, pathogens and escapes to pass to the wild environment. Amy Van Saan (senior attorney, Center for Food Safety) said the bill would protect native fisheries, coastal economies and the broader aquatic ecosystem, and cited repeated instances of escapes and disease outbreaks in other jurisdictions. Alex Cerousi (Mercy for Animals) and other conservation groups urged passage and said the dash-5 amendment reflects stakeholder negotiations and will not affect state-run hatcheries.

Opponents including Maria Smithson (Salish Fish strategist), John Moll (50-year aquaculture professional), Gil Sylvia (Emeritus Professor and Port of Newport commissioner), Randy Bentz (Oregon Aquaculture Association president) and Laurie Steele (West Coast Seafood Processors Association) argued the bill is unnecessary or misplaced. They said Oregon already has a complex regulatory framework across state and federal agencies, that geography and currents reduce risk in Oregon estuaries, and that sustainable, well-regulated aquaculture can provide local seafood, economic opportunity and help reduce imports. Several opponents said they had not been contacted about the bill and sought a more data-driven approach.

Speakers on both sides referenced escape events, disease risks, feed and waste management, and the precautionary principle. Local practitioner Peter Donovan had recommended earlier in the water-data hearing that datasets be organized by watershed to support local planning; that comment was noted by committee members as an example of local engagement priorities.

Committee members asked jurisdictional questions (state territorial sea vs. federal waters) and clarified that federal waters (beyond three nautical miles) are not currently open to net-pen aquaculture under existing federal law. The hearing record included multiple contested technical claims; sponsors and supporters urged a work session and vote to advance the dash-5 amendment version of HB 2965. The committee accepted the public testimony and closed the hearing; no committee vote was recorded during this session.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Committee On Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water 02/26/2025 8:00 AM","oneSentenceSummary","Representative Mark Gamba presented House Bill 2965 (dash-5), which would ban the use of net pens for fish farming in Oregon's ocean and estuarine waters; supporters cited risks from escapes, disease and pollution while opponents urged existing regulatory controls and science-based solutions.","taxTitle","Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water, House of Representatives, Committees, Legislative, Oregon","taxId",17399,"location","Oregon","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6310426,"Committee hears progress report on Oregon Water Data Portal pilot; staff say long-term governance and funding needed",2793,208105,3001300,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2403088-f0275e611775f3e568a6f71111413a51&start=208&end=3001","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2403088-f0275e611775f3e568a6f71111413a51/thumbnail_208105.jpg","/articles/6310426/Oregon/Committee-hears-progress-report-on-Oregon-Water-Data-Portal-pilot-staff-say-long-term-governance-and-funding-needed","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6310426-eb0bf45e0449fe28d757c9e2d34d1fe6/orig.mp4?Expires=1770636197&Signature=I86SQDHbJgPELsDQISsFDUctsv4GiDUYRZWxMINAxdxcQaPHqqFcan96FH8TGeTPVUjbkpBSbOFGT3AZ~jhEcbVkKimKKfp1nCTRbpBgPlavkyow~KzfxgX70mtmFLfw6sC-iPVLQYOdNueuhsG5Ae8SmBQUvcZMGrFU~SACENBoQst6Z~63XpI71vd~rkaXkHBW8TD3iaWF9ovZY0KN2Vt27O4Z4PlvemsQ31PlJr4aDb53k3eI43YzRipUn3a90YXZB4kxmZ6nm6B5KSBcSIlZIRc1tEx0Izz-TF1~mxeeq6SKmFTlny~GBCu27pmtzULHFGRVx4mQLxIcJ5ALrg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Co-Chair Helm opened a public hearing on House Bill 3106. Riley (staff member) summarized the bill language in the dash-1 amendment: the measure would create an Integrated Water Data Team, an Integrated Water Data Portal, and an Integrated Water Data Account and appropriate funds from the General Fund to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to support the portal.

Jennifer Weigel, water quality administrator at DEQ, led the agency presentation and said the portal effort is a cooperative, multi-agency project to give the public and water managers a single point of access to water-related datasets now scattered across state, local and federal systems. Weigel said the pilot portal has been developed with technical partners and that the project identified more than 500 candidate datasets across the state enterprise; the pilot currently integrates seed datasets representing a range of types, including in-stream water concentration data and water rights information.

Courtney Schaff (Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, monitoring and reporting manager) and Doug Woodcock (Oregon Water Resources Department deputy director) described the technical phases: a 2022--2023 scoping and inventory phase and a biennial pilot-development phase that produced a public beta. Woodcock told the committee the project organized interagency working groups, performed a data-inventory and needs assessment, and identified technical constraints: many critical datasets are not in interoperable formats or are not digitized, and integration requires technical connectors (APIs or equivalents) and agency-level preparation.

Lillian Watson of the Internet of Water Coalition described cross-state experience, noting that Texas and New Mexico launched hubs with state leadership and mixed funding sources; Oregon's portal began in 2021, received planning funding and later biennial funding for a pilot that now hosts an initial set of 39 datasets from eight organizations. Presenters repeatedly stressed that quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) happen at the data originator (the agency that produces a dataset), and that the portal will federate data from multiple sources rather than host everything centrally.

Speakers, including Harmony Burright (chief of staff, water caucus), said the dash-1 amendment attempts to create a durable governance and funding structure, clarify institutional responsibility, and provide a process for prioritizing which datasets agencies prepare and contribute. Committee members asked about QA/QC, software checks, points of review, agency responsibilities, and the portal's role in enabling local, watershed-level use. Local practitioner Peter Donovan urged organizing data by watershed and local curation to make the portal more useful for local planning.

Presenters warned that continued progress will require sustained resourcing, a clear project lead in the executive branch, interagency coordination, and attention to the human (coordination) as well as technical challenges. The committee took questions; no formal action was recorded during the hearing.","Committee members heard a public hearing on House Bill 3106 and a multi-agency progress report on the Oregon Water Data Portal pilot, which aims to provide a single, interoperable access point for water data now scattered across many systems.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6310428,"Committee approves amendment to HB 2256 limiting damages for conservation-focused land purchases",117,33871,151291,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2403088-f0275e611775f3e568a6f71111413a51&start=33&end=151","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2403088-f0275e611775f3e568a6f71111413a51/thumbnail_33871.jpg","/articles/6310428/Oregon/Committee-approves-amendment-to-HB-2256-limiting-damages-for-conservation-focused-land-purchases","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6310428-38f7033a1f0746edb2f6fcc28534e1c4/orig.mp4?Expires=1770636197&Signature=S4CYcTu1Br5sn93EWmQ-zn~3VbUFc4T9AOsl9ztbGIO5P6KjcMAM9loySXjaN9~OT7HK58UZtJ~-8G28VBLA4X7DVPbL~fHUKwjARychXG-Qh-SOZljJb37Ob5GqMn4eZabz-Bm4lDk8ih6-DJrUmgfKJR6pXbX~hGipbOibw2xisDXgAJlU2ZHkkHRGmKJR2UQDuCFMojHuM90bdSZgSp1z7IPp5G~MpwnDmq~w2PcGf-J8cn5U4a-FY1lCcThl8EtsVNsnagMTyyxxpgKJJDfjyjkF0JcDFy3r1icDIxmIIWFAktjp4reUUp~MGmT2w69YyrV~E2CfVlkngL4pVg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Co-Chair Helm convened the committee work session and opened discussion of House Bill 2256, asking committee staff to summarize the amendment. Riley (staff member) told the committee the dash-1 amendment narrows and clarifies the bill's language, tying its provisions to existing statute language and identifying additional conditions under which a purchaser of unlawfully established land parcels used for conservation would not be entitled to damages or equitable relief against a seller.

The change reflected stakeholder input, Riley said, and was judged to have a minimal fiscal impact and no revenue effect on the state. Representative Grama joined briefly during the presentation.

Representative Owens moved adoption of the dash-1 amendment. The motion passed by voice vote; the committee then moved the bill as amended to the House floor with a \"do pass\" recommendation. Representative Pluraglia was designated as the bill carrier for floor action.

The committee recorded the amendment vote and the subsequent motion to send HB 2256 as amended to the floor as passed; there was no roll-call tally presented in the hearing record.

The committee closed the work session on HB 2256 and proceeded to other agenda items.

Notes: the transcript identifies the amendment process, stakeholders' involvement, and that the fiscal worksheet listed minimal or no revenue impacts; the committee used voice votes and designated a carrier for floor consideration.","Co-Chair Helm opened a work session on House Bill 2256 and heard a staff summary of a dash-1 amendment clarifying when a purchaser who acquires unlawfully established land parcels for conservation is not entitled to damages or equitable relief.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6310424,"Oregon Parks seeks statutory changes to ocean-shore permitting timelines, fees and permit types",401,3236115,3637475,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2403088-f0275e611775f3e568a6f71111413a51&start=3236&end=3637","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2403088-f0275e611775f3e568a6f71111413a51/thumbnail_3236115.jpg","/articles/6310424/Oregon/Oregon-Parks-seeks-statutory-changes-to-ocean-shore-permitting-timelines-fees-and-permit-types","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6310424-4e0653e04ab594e9875ccaf6b43c8d3e/orig.mp4?Expires=1770636197&Signature=h~Kn-UuxgQIH~uCM4yIWF~EPO~jHbMnSY3Hxe8M5tul6hOyi5I-xvPNsjZIKwvDjlP5u10vXHvlmABxDzeKzw6qRVCIe0dWVWls5xNbmaiEmifgF3OeRgckjsPlJgFn9PNkTm9NymRhgN-8mnRNZYVY4K6qtLNBfSasUn-olEaWXlZlKkUlEFaxStYKAgcVR36pbYSXQNOgSmlcxHc0cWgmwoZzqcx61mCEk8duVCVvXZ9zHpueAT8h9pWlsktIR-LNQqtqjeIJiwJxEVNeBsaAr685afYU7XcgTEs0rfmAY1wqwrcuhwZT5Sbaij26crYRRlZSyBeW2wO~rHQfRyg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Co-Chair Helm opened the public hearing on House Bill 2925. Vicki Berger, a commissioner on the Oregon Parks Commission, and Matt Rippey, deputy director for Field and Community Services at the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD), described shortcomings in the current ocean-shore permitting regime and presented statutory changes the bill would make.

Berger said Oregon's ocean shore (the area from the statutory vegetation line seaward to extreme low tide) is a \"tiny, fragile strip of land\" that faces heavy public use, climate impacts and increasing management complexity. Rippey outlined three specific problems HB 2925 would address: (1) the current single, one-size-fits-all permit process that treats minor and highly complex projects the same; (2) an inflexible 60-day statutory review deadline that includes a 30-day public review window and sometimes forces denials when unresolved issues remain; and (3) a flat, outdated $400 base fee that does not reflect program costs.

Rippey said HB 2925 would authorize a general authorization for lower-impact, routine activities (e.g., dune or vegetation management) and allow OPRD to adopt a multi-tier fee schedule by rule after a public advisory process; the bill would also extend the statutory review timeline to match the Department of State Lands model (allowing up to 120 or 210 days as appropriate) so OPRD can extend review in complex cases and avoid premature denials.

Representative McLean and other committee members asked about sunset or review provisions for fee authority; Berger said she would prefer statutory language requiring periodic public review rather than a strict sunset, to ensure fees keep pace with program costs and avoid repeated legislative returns. Committee members said they expect OPRD to use a rule-making process and stakeholder advisory committee to set fees and implement the general authorization approach.

No opposition testimony was recorded in the hearing record presented to the committee. The committee closed the public hearing and did not take a vote during this session.","Oregon Parks and Recreation Department asked the committee to approve House Bill 2925 to allow a tiered permitting approach, extend review timelines to match Department of State Lands practice, and authorize rulemaking to set fees so program costs can be recovered.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Heated testimony for and against HB 2965, bill proposing ban on marine net pens in Oregon

Committee hears progress report on Oregon Water Data Portal pilot; staff say long-term governance and funding needed

Committee approves amendment to HB 2256 limiting damages for conservation-focused land purchases

Oregon Parks seeks statutory changes to ocean-shore permitting timelines, fees and permit types