County Files Rulemaking Petition For Changes To OHA Rules That Put Staff And Residents At Risk - 08/19/26

SALEM, OR — Today, Marion County filed a formal rulemaking petition with the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), asking the agency to reverse a series of administrative rule changes that endanger staff and residents at licensed mental health residential treatment facilities.

The petition follows a June 29 letter to OHA leadership and an August 14 meeting between OHA and multiple counties that did not result in needed commitments from OHA.

"New OHA rules endanger county staff, program participants, visitors, and neighbors," said Commissioner Danielle Bethell. “It is unacceptable that OHA refuses reasonable safety protections. We will not stop fighting to ensure our staff and the residents in these facilities they serve are safe from the harm OHA’s policies would needlessly cause."

Watch Special Report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evs5I0fgR6k. 

Key areas of concern for the county include:

• Delayed response to safety threats. Current rules require staff to wait until a resident has already caused serious physical harm to staff or another resident before an expedited transfer or discharge can begin; there is no protection at all if the person harmed is a visitor or neighbor. The petition asks OHA to at least allow the same standards used in Oregon's landlord-tenant law, which allow action when someone seriously threatens or recklessly endangers others.
• Restrictions on managing alcohol use. Current rules bar some providers from prohibiting alcohol on the premises. The petition asks that providers be allowed to restrict or prohibit alcohol use when necessary for residents' and staff's safety and treatment.
• Reduced flexibility in admissions. Providers are now required to accept referrals and conduct screening interviews before denying placement, even when they know an individual isn't a safe or appropriate fit for their program.

Testimony at today’s board session by Horizon House Residential Treatment administrator Anna Macera describes how OHA rules prevented staff from removing a lighter from a resident on supplemental oxygen who was repeatedly flicking it on and off next to an oxygen tank with high explosion risk, and residents who reported feeling unsafe in their own home after a peer's aggressive behavior could not be fully addressed for an extended period due to OHA rules. "Our residents deserve more than a bed," said Macera at the board session. “They deserve a home where they feel safe enough to heal, supported enough to grow, and empowered enough to build a better future.”

Under ORS 183.390, a rulemaking petition legally requires OHA to invite broader public comments on Marion County’s proposed rule changes and fully consider county concerns.

“We continue to urge OHA to partner with counties, providers, and the people directly affected as they update rules,” said Commissioner Colm Willis, Chair. “Protecting our staff and the residents they care for through these commonsense changes is the right thing to do.”

Marion County Files Motion For Preliminary Injunction To Protect Detroit Lake - 08/11/26

SALEM, OR — On Monday, Marion County filed a motion outlining the many ways federal defendants violated the law in adopting their new policy of annual deep drawdowns of Detroit Lake. This new policy will devastate canyon communities, endanger drinking water for over 230,000 people living downstream, and even jeopardize the very fish it claims to be trying to save.

In 2023, a court order forced similar deep drawdowns at nearby Green Peter Lake due to a lawsuit from an environmental group. This killed thousands of salmon and caused massive increases in turbidity that harmed downstream water systems.

Photo Credit: Brian Stone Photography LLC; explanatory text added by public commenter who submitted it during SEIS process.

The new policy of annual deep drawdowns would drain the lake below its minimum conservation pool—to its lowest historic level in the first year and to even deeper untested low levels each fall in following years. Dropping water levels in this manner disturbs fine sediment on the lake bottom and causes turbidity (dirty water), which harms all fish and municipal water systems downstream. There would also be water shortages if there is low rain that prevents refill, hurting cities and agriculture. The damage that was caused by the deep drawdown of Green Peter shows a deep drawdown of Detroit could also kill much of a lake’s fish population. All this would harm the tourism-based economy of the local community.

“Risking the drinking water of our communities while harming thousands of fish is patently absurd” said Commissioner Colm Willis, Chair. “Since the Army Corps refused to listen to reasonable requests from the county, cities, and schools, this lawsuit is the strongest means we have to protect our downstream communities as well as recreation at Detroit Lake”

The Army Corps’ own analysis found that the level of low rain that causes water shortages when combined with a deep drawdown occurs one out of every four years. This year will almost certainly be one of those years. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting an “81% chance of a very strong El Niño during October-December of 2026 that would rank among the largest El Niño events in the historical record going back to 1950” and “a 97% chance” that El Niño conditions “will persist through early spring 2027.”

“Our residents depend on clean, reliable drinking water,” said Commissioner Kevin Cameron. “The Army Corps should not be gambling with the safety of drinking water in our community.”

“Water management must be grounded in data-backed science with meaningful protections in place for our communities,” said Commissioner Danielle Bethell. “The Army Corps is defying common sense and has not committed to any meaningful safeguards, which is why we will continue this fight to protect our residents from the Army Corps’ devastating policies.”