SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has decided not to veto a bill that will ease rules for farmers clearing out irrigation ditches, her office told Oregon Public Broadcasting .
Oregon Public Broadcasting says that her decision was likely to please many in rural parts of the state, but it spurred a furious reaction from environmental groups.
The legislation says farmers would need to give notice that they were going to clear an irrigation ditch, but would not need a permit unless they planned to move more than 3,000 cubic yards of material over a five-year period - a 60-fold increase from the current 50-cubic-yard threshold, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
Environmental groups argued that the measure undermines the state’s ability to protect state wetlands. Many farm fields in the Willamette Valley are classified as wetlands.
Friday was Brown’s deadline for vetoing bills from the 2019 legislative session.
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