By MITCH LIES

Capital Press

SALEM -- The Oregon Water Resources Department is refunding a little more than $100,000 in water user fees collected between July 1 and July 23.

After consulting with legal counsel, the department last month agreed with a water user group that two new fees and a fee increase adopted by the 2009 Legislature were not effective until the governor signed them into law.

The Oregon Ground Water Association raised the issue in July after learning some members were paying the higher fees and some weren't.

The association on Aug. 28 filed lawsuits with the state Court of Appeals and Marion County Circuit Court challenging the July 1 start date for the fees. The association has since dropped the suits.

Confusion over the fees' effective date arose because of a discrepancy between the bills' text, which set the effective date at July 1, and Oregon law, which stipulates bills signed after July 1 of a legislative year take effect upon the governor's signature.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed House Bills 2232 and 2231 on July 22. He signed Senate Bill 788 on July 23.

HB2232 initiated a $25 recording fee for drilling geotechnical wells. HB2231 increased well start card fees from $125 to $225. SB788 instituted a new $300 fee for mapping and recording new exempt wells.

"After consulting with our counsel, it made more sense to go with the later date," said Brenda Bateman, senior policy coordinator for the department.

Lawmakers adopted the new water user fees and fee increase, in part to keep afloat the cash-strapped agency.

"(One hundred thousand dollars) is significant to a department of our size, but we're just going to have to manage with those new numbers," Bateman said.