C.R.S. § 37-60-101 Definitions
37-60-101. Definitions. As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "Board" means the Colorado water conservation board.
Colorado Water Conservation Board
C.R.S. tit. 37, art. 60
in effectC.R.S. § 37-60-102 Colorado water conservation board - creation
37-60-102. Colorado water conservation board - creation. For the purpose of aiding in the protection and development of the waters of the state and for the benefit of the present and future inhabitants of the state, there is created a Colorado water conservation board with the powers and duties set out in this article 60. The board is an agency of the state, and the functions it is to perform, as set out in this article 60, are governmental functions for the welfare and benefit of the state and its inhabitants. The Colorado water conservation board is a division of the department of natural resources and is a type 1 entity, as defined in section 24-1-105.
C.R.S. § 37-60-103 Organization
37-60-103. Organization. The board shall elect from the appointed members a chairman and a vice-chairman to serve at the pleasure of the board. The director of the board shall serve as secretary.
C.R.S. § 37-60-104 Composition of the board - public engagement - reports
37-60-104. Composition of the board - public engagement - reports. (1) The board consists of fifteen members as follows:
(a) The executive director of the department of natural resources, who is a voting member ex officio;
(b) The attorney general, who is a nonvoting member ex officio;
(c) The state engineer, who is a nonvoting member ex officio;
(d) The director of the division of parks and wildlife, who is a nonvoting member ex officio;
(e) The commissioner of agriculture or the commissioner's designee, who is a nonvoting member ex officio;
(f) The director of the board, who is a nonvoting member ex officio; and
(g) Nine members who are qualified electors of the state, well versed in water matters, and appointed by the governor, with the consent of the senate, for terms of three years. To the extent possible, appointments to the board must include persons representing the following areas of experience and expertise: Water resource management; water project financing; engineering, planning, and development of water projects; water law; and irrigated farming or ranching. The nine appointed members are chosen geographically as follows:
(I) Four from the western slope as follows:
(A) One from the Yampa-White drainage basin;
(B) One from the main Colorado drainage basin;
(C) One from the Gunnison-Uncompahgre drainage basin; and
(D) One from the San Miguel-Dolores-San Juan drainage basins.
(II) Five from the eastern slope as follows:
(A) One from the Rio Grande drainage basin;
(B) One from the North Platte drainage basin;
(C) One from the Arkansas drainage basin;
(D) One from the South Platte drainage basin outside of the city and county of Denver; and
(E) One from the city and county of Denver and intimately familiar with its water problems.
(2) No more than five appointees to the board may be affiliated with the same political party.
(3) Appointed members of the board must be residents of the geographic area they represent.
(4) Members of the board may not vote by proxy. Pursuant to section 1 of article XII of the state constitution, unless removed according to law, members of the board shall exercise the duties of their office until a successor is duly appointed, qualified, and confirmed. Pursuant to section 6 (1) of article IV of the state constitution, no person appointed by the governor pursuant to this section to a vacancy occurring while the senate is in session may take office until confirmed by the senate. The appointments shall be made in such a manner that the terms of three members shall expire on February 12 of each year. In case any vacancy occurs in the appointed membership of the board, the governor shall appoint a successor to serve the unexpired term of any member of the board within thirty days after the creation of such vacancy.
(5) [Editor's note: Subsection (5) is effective January 1, 2025.] (a) Each year that a board member appointed pursuant to subsection (1)(g) of this section serves on the board, the member shall participate in at least two public meetings in the geographic area that the member represents, unless the meeting is virtual.
(b) Members are entitled to be reimbursed for reasonable costs incurred in participating in public meetings pursuant to subsection (5)(a) of this section as necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of official duties in accordance with section 37-60-111.
(c) The director of the board shall:
(I) For each board member subject to the public meetings requirement set forth in subsection (5)(a) of this section, track and report to the chair of the board the status of the board member's public meetings at least once per year at a time determined by the chair; and
(II) Provide the data tracked under subsection (5)(c)(I) of this section to the executive director of the department of natural resources for inclusion in the department's annual "SMART Act" presentation to the general assembly pursuant to section 2-7-203.
eport to the chair of the board the status of the board member's public meetings at least once per year at a time determined by the chair; and
(II) Provide the data tracked under subsection (5)(c)(I) of this section to the executive director of the department of natural resources for inclusion in the department's annual "SMART Act" presentation to the general assembly pursuant to section 2-7-203.
(d) The governor may determine that a board member's failure to participate in public meetings pursuant to this subsection (5) qualifies as cause for removal from the board.
C.R.S. § 37-60-105 Employment of temporary personnel
37-60-105. Employment of temporary personnel. The Colorado water conservation board is authorized to employ any persons and enter into any cooperative undertakings with agencies of government as it may deem advisable for carrying out the work outlined in section 37-60-115. The employment in this section referred to is of such persons as the Colorado water conservation board finds necessary to meet an emergency by employing temporary personnel to supplement the work of regular state employees, it being the purpose of this law to provide for the utmost speed in accomplishing its purposes. The Colorado water conservation board may grant such authority as it deems necessary or proper to the persons it designates to carry out the provisions of this section and section 37-60-116.
C.R.S. § 37-60-106 Duties of the board - legislative declaration
37-60-106. Duties of the board - legislative declaration. (1) It is the duty of the board to promote the conservation of the waters of the state of Colorado in order to secure the greatest utilization of such waters and the utmost prevention of floods; and in particular, and without limiting the general character of this section, the board has the power and it is its duty:
(a) To foster and encourage irrigation districts, public irrigation districts, water users' associations, conservancy districts, drainage districts, mutual reservoir companies, mutual irrigation companies, grazing districts, and any other agencies which are formed under the laws of the state of Colorado, or of the United States, for the conservation, development, and utilization of the waters of Colorado;
(b) To assist any such agencies in their financing, but not to lend or pledge the credit or faith of the state of Colorado in aid thereof, or to attempt to make the state responsible for any of the debts, contracts, obligations, or liabilities thereof;
(c) To devise and formulate methods, means, and plans for bringing about the greater utilization of the waters of the state and the prevention of flood damages therefrom, and to designate and approve storm or floodwater runoff channels or basins, and to make such designations available to legislative bodies of cities and incorporated towns, to county planning commissions, and to boards of adjustment of cities, incorporated towns, and counties of this state;
(d) To gather data and information looking toward the greater utilization of the waters of the state and the prevention of floods and for this purpose to make investigations and surveys;
(e) To cooperate with the United States and the agencies thereof, and with other states for the purpose of bringing about the greater utilization of the waters of the state of Colorado and the prevention of flood damages;
(f) To cooperate with the United States, or any of the agencies thereof, in the making of preliminary surveys, and sharing the expense thereof, when necessary, respecting the engineering and economic feasibility of any proposed water conservation or flood control project within the state of Colorado, designed for the purpose of bringing about greater utilization of the waters of this state;
(g) To formulate and prepare drafts of legislation, state and federal, designed to assist in securing greater beneficial use and utilization of the waters of the state and protection from flood damages;
(h) To investigate and assist in formulating a response to the plans, purposes, procedures, requirements, laws, proposed laws, or other activities of the federal government and other states which affect or might affect the use or development of the water resources of this state;
(i) To confer with and appear before the officers, representatives, boards, bureaus, committees, commissions, or other agencies of other states, or of the federal government, for the purpose of protecting and asserting the authority, interests, and rights of the state of Colorado and its citizens with respect to the waters of the interstate streams in this state;
(j) To acquire by grant, purchase, bequest, devise, or lease, any real property or interest therein for the purpose of the prevention or control of floods, or to acquire by eminent domain any real property or interest therein with respect to any project specifically authorized by the United States congress for the prevention or control of floods, including but not limited to easements and rights-of-way for ingress into and egress from such project, with the power in either event to lease such lands or interest therein to agencies of the federal government or to the state or any agency or political subdivision thereof for the construction, operation, or maintenance of flood control and prevention facilities;
prevention or control of floods, including but not limited to easements and rights-of-way for ingress into and egress from such project, with the power in either event to lease such lands or interest therein to agencies of the federal government or to the state or any agency or political subdivision thereof for the construction, operation, or maintenance of flood control and prevention facilities;
(k) In general, to take such action and have such powers as are incidental to the foregoing specific provisions and to the general purposes of this article;
(l) To enter into contracts as provided in sections 37-60-119 to 37-60-122 for the construction of conservation projects which, as authorized by the general assembly under procedures set forth in section 37-60-122, will conserve and utilize for the best advantage of the people of this state the water and power resources of the state, including projects beyond the boundaries of the state of Colorado located on interstate waters when the benefit of such project accrues to the citizens of the state of Colorado, upon application under such rules and regulations as the board shall establish;
(m) To file applications in the name of the department of natural resources for the appropriation of water;
(n) To take all action necessary to acquire or perfect water rights for projects sponsored by the board;
(o) To sell or otherwise dispose of property owned by the board, in the name of the state of Colorado, as a result of expenditures from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund in such manner as to be most advantageous to the state. Proceeds from such sale or disposal shall accrue to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund and shall not revert to the general fund at the close of any fiscal year.
(p) To make grants pursuant to the provisions of section 37-60-122.2 (2) for fish and wildlife resources;
(q) To make a mitigation recommendation pursuant to the provisions of section 37-60-122.2 (1) constituting the official position of the state of Colorado regarding mitigation to maintain a balance between the development of the state's water resources and the protection of the state's fish and wildlife resources;
(r) To foster the conservation of the water of the state of Colorado by the promotion and implementation of sound measures to enhance water use efficiency in order to serve all the water needs of the state, to assure the availability of adequate supplies for future uses, and to assure that necessary water services are provided at a reasonable cost;
(s) Repealed.
(t) To enter into one or more agreements with the Colorado water resources and power development authority and any other entities to assist in the development of the water resources of the state.
(u) Repealed.
(2) The board may coordinate with the United States secretary of the interior and the United States secretary of agriculture to develop plans that conserve and develop water resources consistent with this article for federal lands pursuant to 16 U.S.C. sec. 530, 16 U.S.C. sec. 1604, and 43 U.S.C. sec. 1712.
C.R.S. § 37-60-106.3 State water plan - legislative declaration - grant program
37-60-106.3. State water plan - legislative declaration - grant program. (1) State water plan. The board shall adopt and update, as warranted, a state water plan. In exercising its authority pursuant to this section, executive order D2013-005, or any analogous successor order directing the board to adopt or amend a state or Colorado water plan, the board shall comply with all requirements of this section.
(2) Legislative declaration. Because the constitution vests all legislative power of the state in the general assembly, the general assembly:
(a) Finds that the primary purpose of a state water plan is to determine state policy regarding the optimal conservation and development of Colorado's water resources;
(b) Determines that the general assembly is primarily responsible for guiding the development of state water policy; and
(c) Declares that enactment of this section is necessary to protect the interests of the public in the state's water resources and that in enacting this section, the general assembly intends to engage the people of the state in a public dialogue regarding optimum state water policy; affirm its delegation of policy-making authority to the board, subject to direction by the general assembly; and not interfere with, but instead to promote the policies, processes, basin roundtable plans, and interbasin compact negotiations conducted pursuant to the "Colorado Water for the 21st Century Act", article 75 of this title 37, and the interbasin compact charter as approved by the general assembly acting by bill as specified in section 37-75-105 (2).
(3) Development of plan. In exercising its authority pursuant to this section, the board shall:
(a) Develop the state water plan with the involvement of the public and the basin roundtables, as created in section 37-75-104 (3)(b), and provide opportunities for public comment before adopting any final or significantly amended plan; and
(b) Notify the water resources and agriculture review committee created in section 37-98-102 of any proposed significant amendments to the plan, as determined by the board, by June 1 of any year in which the amendment is proposed to be adopted; present the proposed amendment to the committee by August 1 of that year; and consider the committee's feedback submitted pursuant to section 37-98-103 (6)(c) by November 1 of that year.
(4) Legislation. By November 1 of each year following the submission to the water resources and agriculture review committee of a state water plan or amendment pursuant to this section, any member of the general assembly may make a request in writing to the chairperson of the water resources and agriculture review committee that the committee hold one or more hearings to review the plan or amendment as submitted to the water resources and agriculture review committee. Upon receipt of the request, and notwithstanding the provisions on meetings set forth in section 37-98-102 (1)(a)(I), the chairperson of the committee shall promptly schedule a hearing to conduct the review and provide adequate notice to the public and the board. The committee, after holding a public hearing, may recommend the introduction of a bill or bills based on the results of the review. A bill recommended by the committee for consideration under this subsection (4) does not count against the number of bills to which either the committee or the members of the general assembly are limited by law or joint rule of the senate and the house of representatives.
(5) Policy. A state water plan, whether or not the subject of a bill introduced pursuant to subsection (4) of this section, is only a policy, is not a rule, and does not have the force or effect of law.
(6) Water plan implementation grant program. The board may approve grants pursuant to the following requirements:
are limited by law or joint rule of the senate and the house of representatives.
(5) Policy. A state water plan, whether or not the subject of a bill introduced pursuant to subsection (4) of this section, is only a policy, is not a rule, and does not have the force or effect of law.
(6) Water plan implementation grant program. The board may approve grants pursuant to the following requirements:
(a) Eligible applicants are limited to:
(I) Governmental entities, including covered entities, as defined in section 37-60-126 (1)(b), if the covered entity has adopted an approved water conservation plan; municipalities; districts; enterprises; counties; cities and counties; and state agencies; and
(II) Private entities, including mutual ditch companies, nonprofit corporations, and partnerships.
(b) Eligible projects are limited to:
(I) Water storage and supply projects, including projects that facilitate the development of additional storage, artificial recharge into aquifers, dredging existing reservoirs to restore the reservoirs' full decreed storage capacity, multi-beneficial use projects, and those projects identified in basin implementation plans to address the water supply and demand gap;
(II) Conservation and land use projects, including activities that implement long-term strategies for water conservation, land use, and drought planning;
(III) Engagement and innovation activities, including activities that support water education, outreach, and innovation efforts;
(IV) Agricultural projects, including projects that provide technical assistance or improve agricultural water efficiency; and
(V) Environmental and recreation projects, including projects that promote watershed health, environmental health, and recreation.
(c) The board shall establish criteria that require matching funds of at least twenty-five percent; except that:
(I) The board may award grants in 2021 and 2022 with reduced matching fund requirements; and
(II) In the case of a grant to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe or the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, including all subdivisions or subsidiaries of, and business enterprises wholly owned by, either tribe, the board shall reduce or waive fund matching requirements.
(d) The board shall evaluate each eligible project grant application based on the following criteria:
(I) Conformity with the criteria for state support specified in section 9.4 of the state water plan, entitled "Framework for a More Efficient Permitting Process", as amended;
(II) Alignment with the applicable basin implementation plan;
(III) The impact of the proposed project, with preference given to projects that have multiple benefits and multiple purposes and involve multiple stakeholders; and
(IV) The anticipated project start date.
C.R.S. § 37-60-106.5 Study of water salvage
37-60-106.5. Study of water salvage. (Repealed)
C.R.S. § 37-60-107 Meetings - notice
37-60-107. Meetings - notice. The board may provide for the holding of regular meetings and may hold a special meeting at any time and place in the state upon the call of the chairman or vice-chairman or of any two voting members. Notice of all special meetings shall be given by telegram at least forty-eight hours, or by registered mail at least four days, before any special meeting. Six voting members shall constitute a quorum, and the affirmative or negative vote of at least six voting members is necessary to bind the board. Any business may be transacted at a special meeting which could be transacted at a regular meeting.
C.R.S. § 37-60-108 Seal - rules and regulations
37-60-108. Seal - rules and regulations. The board shall adopt a seal, and all documents to be executed by the board shall be under such seal, signed by the chairman or vice-chairman and attested by the secretary. From time to time, the board may adopt suitable rules and regulations as are necessary or expedient for the conduct of its business and the administration of this article.
C.R.S. § 37-60-109 Commissioner
37-60-109. Commissioner. (1) The governor from time to time, with the approval of the board, shall appoint a commissioner, who shall represent the state of Colorado upon joint commissions to be composed of commissioners representing the state of Colorado and another state or other states for the purpose of negotiating and entering into compacts or agreements between said states, with the consent of the congress when necessary, ascertaining and declaring the authority, interest, or right of the several signatory states, or any of them, over, in, and to interstate waters, all to the end that such waters may be used and disposed of by the several states and their respective citizens in accordance with an equitable apportionment or division thereof made between the signatory states by the terms of the compact or agreement; except that any compact or agreement so entered into on behalf of said states shall not be binding or obligatory upon any of said states or the citizens thereof until the same has been ratified and approved by the legislatures of all of said signatory states and by the congress of the United States when necessary.
(2) The board shall furnish such commissioners with such legal, engineering, clerical, and other assistants as the board may deem advisable and necessary, all legal assistants to be employed with the consent of the attorney general. Such commissioners shall serve at the pleasure of the governor at a compensation to be fixed by him. The compensation of the legal, engineering, and other assistants of said commissioners shall be fixed by the board, and all such compensation and necessary traveling expenses of such commissioners and their assistants shall be paid out of the funds appropriated for carrying out the purposes of this article.
C.R.S. § 37-60-110 Authority of commissioners under prior laws
37-60-110. Authority of commissioners under prior laws. All acts or parts of acts in conflict herewith, relating to the appointment of commissioners for negotiating compacts respecting the waters of interstate streams are hereby repealed; but such repeal shall neither affect the authority of any commissioners now engaged in the process of negotiating any interstate compact respecting the waters of any interstate stream of this state nor affect the validity of any such compact when so negotiated.
C.R.S. § 37-60-111 Compensation of members - director - employees
37-60-111. Compensation of members - director - employees. (1) Each appointed member of the board not otherwise in full-time employment of the state shall receive a per diem allowance of fifty dollars for each day actually and necessarily spent in the discharge of official duties, and all members shall receive traveling and other necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of official duties. Per diem and other expenses paid under this section shall be from moneys appropriated from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund.
(2) The office of director of the water conservation board is hereby created. The board shall appoint a person who is well versed in water matters and qualified by experience, knowledge, and personality to represent the board and carry out its functions. The director shall be the chief administrative head of the board under the direction and supervision of the board and shall have general supervision and control of all its activities, functions, and employees. The appointment or removal of such director shall be subject to section 13 of article XII of the state constitution and statutes enacted pursuant thereto relating to the state personnel system. He shall be reimbursed for all actual and necessary traveling and other expenses incurred by him in the discharge of his official duties.
(3) Pursuant to section 13 of article XII of the state constitution, the board may employ such technical, clerical, and other personnel necessary to enable it to perform its duties and carry out the purposes of this article. Such personnel shall be reimbursed for all actual and necessary traveling and other expenses incurred by them in the discharge of their official duties.
C.R.S. § 37-60-112 Warrants for salaries and expenses
37-60-112. Warrants for salaries and expenses. The controller is authorized to draw warrants monthly in payment of the lawful salaries and expenses of the board or commissioners and their legal, engineering, and other assistants and employees on vouchers signed by the secretary of the board and approved by the governor.
C.R.S. § 37-60-113 Board to cooperate with attorney general
37-60-113. Board to cooperate with attorney general. The board shall cooperate with the attorney general in all matters relating to interstate suits concerning the waters of the rivers of the state and shall arrange for the gathering and compilation of all information, factual, engineering, or other data requisite or desirable for the use of the attorney general in the conduct of such suits.
C.R.S. § 37-60-114 Attorney general as legal advisor
37-60-114. Attorney general as legal advisor. The attorney general is the legal advisor for the board, and with his or her consent the board may employ additional legal counsel.
C.R.S. § 37-60-115 Water studies - rules - reports - definitions - repeal
37-60-115. Water studies - rules - reports - definitions - repeal. (1) (a) The Colorado water conservation board is authorized to forthwith make, or cause to be made, a continuous study of the water resources of the state of Colorado, and a continuous study of the present and potential uses thereof to the full extent necessary to a unified and harmonious development of all waters for beneficial use in Colorado to the fullest extent possible under the law, including the law created by compacts affecting the use of said water. The studies to be made shall include analyses of the extent to which water may be transferred from one watershed to another within the state without injury to the potential economic development of the natural watershed from which water might be diverted for the development of another watershed.
(b) In order to assure that the state of Colorado protects its allocation of interstate waters for current and future beneficial purposes, to achieve optimum development of such waters under significant constraints imposed by federal law and policy, and to achieve efficient and effective management of river systems for recognized beneficial purposes, the board is authorized to expend such moneys as may be allocated, appropriated, or otherwise credited to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund for such projects and programs as may be specifically authorized by the general assembly, including but not limited to development of river basin models within and without the state, policy formulation, interstate negotiations, and water management within the state.
(2) (Deleted by amendment, L. 96, p. 1223, § 24, effective August 7, 1996.)
(3) The Colorado water conservation board is further authorized and directed, after consultation with the agriculture, livestock, and natural resources committee of the house of representatives and the agriculture, natural resources, and energy committee of the senate and consistent with its duties set forth in section 37-90-117 and the provisions of subsections (1) and (2) of this section, to study the state's groundwater resource, particularly that water that may prove to be nontributary, both within the Denver basin and throughout the state, including nontributary groundwater quality.
(4) (a) The Colorado water conservation board shall compile an inventory of potential dam and reservoir sites within the state of Colorado.
(b) The inventory shall be based upon a review of the state engineer's water rights tabulation and a review of all publicly available published information. Original engineering work or field investigations shall not be performed by the board for the inventory. The inventory shall be compiled and maintained on a computerized information retrieval system which is either a part of or otherwise compatible with the water data bank maintained by the state engineer.
(c) The following information concerning potential dam and reservoir sites within the state of Colorado having a capacity of twenty thousand acre-feet or more, or concerning such other sites as the board deems important, shall be included in the inventory:
(I) The location of a dam site, by river, county, and reference to surveyed section corners;
(II) The name of a dam and reservoir site if one is commonly ascribed to it;
(III) Basic data about a potential dam to the extent such is readily available;
(IV) The conditional water rights decreed to a site, if any, and their dates of adjudication and basin ranks;
(V) If available, an estimate of a reservoir's total active capacity;
(VI) The potential uses of the water supply which would be developed; and
(VII) Citations to reference materials and sources for the information specified in this paragraph (c).
the extent such is readily available;
(IV) The conditional water rights decreed to a site, if any, and their dates of adjudication and basin ranks;
(V) If available, an estimate of a reservoir's total active capacity;
(VI) The potential uses of the water supply which would be developed; and
(VII) Citations to reference materials and sources for the information specified in this paragraph (c).
(d) Utilizing the inventory, the board shall identify potential dam and reservoir sites, the development of which may be stopped because of ongoing land uses which are encroaching upon needed lands or because of other circumstances.
(e) The board is authorized to pay for the expenses of periodically updating and maintaining the inventory of potential dam and reservoir sites for which this section calls using moneys appropriated, allocated, or otherwise credited to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund.
(5) Repealed.
(6) Precipitation harvesting pilot projects. (a) The board shall, in consultation with the state engineer, select the sponsors of up to ten new residential or mixed-use developments that will conduct individual pilot projects to collect precipitation from rooftops and impermeable surfaces for nonpotable uses. The purposes of the pilot projects are to:
(I) Evaluate the technical ability to reasonably quantify the site-specific amount of precipitation that, under preexisting, natural vegetation conditions, accrues to the natural stream system via surface and groundwater return flows;
(II) Create a baseline set of data and sound, transferable methodologies for measuring local weather and precipitation patterns that account for variations in hydrology and precipitation event intensity, frequency, and duration, quantifying preexisting, natural vegetation consumption, measuring precipitation return flow amounts, identifying surface versus groundwater return flow splits, and identifying delayed groundwater return flow timing to receiving streams;
(III) Evaluate a variety of precipitation harvesting system designs, including integrated storm water and precipitation harvesting facilities. Notwithstanding the definition of a storm water detention and infiltration facility in section 37-92-602 (8)(b)(I), a pilot project may include a single integrated facility serving the temporary detention or infiltration purposes of a storm water detention and infiltration facility and a precipitation harvesting facility if precipitation captured in the facility for beneficial use, as defined in section 37-92-103 (4), is replaced in accordance with the requirements of subsection (6)(c) of this section and any water captured in the facility that is not the subject of the precipitation harvesting pilot project is managed and released back to the stream system in accordance with the requirements of section 37-92-602 (8).
(IV) Measure precipitation capture efficiencies;
(V) Quantify the amount of precipitation that must be augmented to prevent injury to decreed water rights;
(VI) Compile and analyze the data collected; and
(VII) Provide data to allow sponsors to adjudicate permanent augmentation plans as specified in paragraph (c) of this subsection (6).
ccordance with the requirements of section 37-92-602 (8).
(IV) Measure precipitation capture efficiencies;
(V) Quantify the amount of precipitation that must be augmented to prevent injury to decreed water rights;
(VI) Compile and analyze the data collected; and
(VII) Provide data to allow sponsors to adjudicate permanent augmentation plans as specified in paragraph (c) of this subsection (6).
(b) An applicant for a development permit, as that term is defined in section 29-20-103, C.R.S., for a new planned unit development or new subdivision of residential housing or mixed uses may submit an application to the board to become a sponsor of one or more of the ten pilot projects authorized by this section. The board shall establish criteria and guidelines, and update the criteria and guidelines by January 1, 2016, with the goal of incentivizing the submission of applications and applying lessons learned from previously approved pilot projects, for applications and the selection of pilot projects, including the following:
(I) An application fee and, for pilot projects that are selected, an annual review fee;
(II) The information to be included in the application, including a description of the proposed development and the proposed precipitation harvesting system;
(III) Selection of pilot projects to represent a range of project sizes and geographic and hydrologic areas in the state, with no more than three pilot projects being located within any single water division established in section 37-92-201;
(IV) The requirement that the proposed development meet any applicable local government water supply requirement through sources other than precipitation harvesting;
(V) Giving priority to pilot projects that:
(A) Are located in areas that face renewable water supply challenges; and
(B) Promote water conservation.
(VI) Regionally applicable factors that sponsors can use for substitute water supply plans that specify the amount of precipitation consumed through evapotranspiration of preexisting natural vegetative cover. If an applicant uses the factors, the state engineer shall give the factors presumptive effect, subject to rebuttal. The board need not establish factors for a region until the sponsor of a project located within that region has submitted a minimum of two years of data pursuant to sub-subparagraph (B) of subparagraph (II) of paragraph (c) of this subsection (6). A sponsor that makes such a submission shall also submit the data to the board.
(c) Notwithstanding any limitations regarding phreatophytes or impermeable surfaces that would otherwise apply pursuant to section 37-92-103 (9) or 37-92-501 (4)(b)(III), each of the ten pilot projects shall:
(I) During the term of the pilot project, operate according to a substitute water supply plan, if approved annually by the state engineer pursuant to section 37-92-308 (4) or (5). The pilot project shall be required to replace an amount of water equal to the amount of precipitation captured out of priority from rooftops and impermeable surfaces for nonpotable uses; except that, in determining the quantity of water required for the substitute water supply plan to replace out-of-priority stream depletions, there is no requirement to replace the amount of historic natural depletion to the waters of the state, if any, caused by the preexisting natural vegetative cover evapotranspiration for the surface areas made impermeable and associated with the pilot project. The applicant bears the burden of proving the historic natural depletion; except that the applicant may use applicable regional factors established pursuant to subparagraph (VI) of paragraph (b) of this subsection (6).
the waters of the state, if any, caused by the preexisting natural vegetative cover evapotranspiration for the surface areas made impermeable and associated with the pilot project. The applicant bears the burden of proving the historic natural depletion; except that the applicant may use applicable regional factors established pursuant to subparagraph (VI) of paragraph (b) of this subsection (6).
(II) (A) Apply to the appropriate water court for a permanent augmentation plan prior to completion of the pilot project or file a plan with the state engineer to permanently retire the rainwater collection system, which plan shall be reviewed and approved prior to the cessation of augmentation. As a condition of approving the retirement of a pilot project, the state engineer shall have the authority to require the project sponsor to replace any ongoing delayed depletions caused by the pilot project after the project has ceased. Any such permanent augmentation plan shall entitle the sponsor to consume without replacement only that portion of the precipitation that the sponsor proves by a preponderance of the evidence would not have accrued to a natural stream under preexisting, natural vegetation conditions. The sponsor shall be required to fully augment any precipitation captured out of priority that would otherwise have accrued to a natural stream.
(B) After a minimum of two years of data collection and upon application to the appropriate water court for a permanent augmentation plan, the pilot project sponsor shall file an application for approval of a substitute water supply plan pursuant to section 37-92-308 (4). For any substitute supply plan application filed under section 37-92-308 (4), the sponsor shall fully augment any precipitation captured out of priority; except that, in determining the quantity of water required for the substitute water supply plan to replace out-of-priority stream depletions, there is no requirement to replace the amount of historic natural depletion to the waters of the state, if any, caused by preexisting natural vegetative cover evapotranspiration for the surface areas made impermeable and associated with the pilot project. The applicant may use applicable regional factors established pursuant to subparagraph (VI) of paragraph (b) of this subsection (6).
(d) Each sponsor shall submit an annual preliminary report to the board and the state engineer summarizing the information set forth in subsection (6)(a) of this section. The board and the state engineer shall brief the water resources and agriculture review committee created in section 37-98-102 on the reported results of the pilot projects by July 1, 2014. Each sponsor shall submit a final report to the board and the state engineer by January 15, 2025. The board and the state engineer shall provide a final briefing to the water resources and agriculture review committee by July 1, 2025.
engineer shall brief the water resources and agriculture review committee created in section 37-98-102 on the reported results of the pilot projects by July 1, 2014. Each sponsor shall submit a final report to the board and the state engineer by January 15, 2025. The board and the state engineer shall provide a final briefing to the water resources and agriculture review committee by July 1, 2025.
(e) (I) This subsection (6) is repealed, effective July 1, 2026.
(II) This repeal does not affect or otherwise preclude water courts from adjudicating any application for an augmentation plan pursuant to this subsection (6) that is filed prior to July 1, 2026.
(7) Repealed.
(8) Fallowing and leasing pilot projects. (a) After a period of notice and comment, the board may, in consultation with the state engineer and upon consideration of any comments submitted, select the sponsors of up to fifteen pilot projects pursuant to the approval process set forth in subsection (8)(f) of this section. The board shall not itself sponsor a pilot project, but the board may provide financial, technical, or other assistance to a pilot project pursuant to the board's other activities and programs. No more than five pilot projects may be located in any one of the major river basins, namely: The South Platte river basin; the Arkansas river basin; the Rio Grande river basin; and the Colorado river basin. Each project may last up to ten years in duration and must demonstrate the practice of:
(I) Fallowing agricultural irrigation land; and
(II) Leasing the associated water rights for temporary municipal, agricultural, environmental, industrial, or recreational use.
(b) The purpose of the pilot program is to:
(I) In fallowing irrigated agricultural land for leasing water for temporary municipal, agricultural, environmental, industrial, or recreational use, demonstrate cooperation among different types of water users, including cooperation among shareholders, ditch companies, water user associations, irrigation districts, water conservancy districts, water conservation districts, and municipalities;
(II) Evaluate the feasibility of delivering leased water to the temporary municipal, agricultural, environmental, industrial, or recreational users;
(III) Provide sufficient data from which the board, in consultation with the state engineer, can evaluate the efficacy of using a streamlined approach, such as an accounting and administrative tool, for determining:
(A) Historical consumptive use;
(B) Return flows;
(C) The potential for material injury to other water rights; and
(D) Conditions to prevent material injury; and
(IV) Demonstrate how to operate, administer, and account for the practice of fallowing irrigated agricultural land for leasing water for temporary municipal, agricultural, environmental, industrial, or recreational use without causing material injury to other vested water rights, decreed conditional water rights, or contract rights to water.
(c) The board shall not select a pilot project that involves:
(I) The fallowing of the same land for more than three years in a ten-year period;
(II) The fallowing of more than thirty percent of a single irrigated farm for more than ten consecutive years;
(III) The transfer or facilitation of the transfer of water across the continental divide by direct diversion, exchange, or otherwise; or
(IV) The transfer or facilitation of the transfer of water out of the Rio Grande basin by direct diversion, exchange, or otherwise.
ten-year period;
(II) The fallowing of more than thirty percent of a single irrigated farm for more than ten consecutive years;
(III) The transfer or facilitation of the transfer of water across the continental divide by direct diversion, exchange, or otherwise; or
(IV) The transfer or facilitation of the transfer of water out of the Rio Grande basin by direct diversion, exchange, or otherwise.
(d) After providing a reasonable opportunity for public comment and consideration of any comments received, the board, in consultation with the state engineer, shall establish criteria and guidelines including at least the following:
(I) An application fee and, for selected pilot projects, an annual review fee;
(II) The information to be included in the application, including a description of the proposed pilot project;
(III) The maximum quantity of transferable consumptive water use per year for any single pilot project;
(IV) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subsection (8), any geographic areas that are not eligible for pilot projects;
(V) A time period of sixty days within which the board receives comments on the application after providing notice pursuant to the process set forth in paragraphs (e) and (f) of this subsection (8). The comments may include:
(A) Any claim of injury;
(B) Any terms and conditions that the person filing a comment believes should be imposed on the pilot project in order to prevent injury to other water rights, decreed conditional water rights, or contract rights to water; and
(C) Other information that the person filing the comment believes the board should consider in reviewing the application.
(VI) Criteria for a conference between a pilot project applicant, the state engineer, and owners of water rights or a contract rights to water that file comments on the application, including the following requirements:
(A) The conference participants must meet within thirty days after final comments on the application have been submitted;
(B) At the conference, the conference participants must discuss how the pilot project could be structured to prevent material injury to other water rights and contract rights to water; and
(C) Within fifteen days after the conference, the pilot project applicant and the owners of water rights or contract rights to water must file a joint report with the board and with the state engineer outlining any agreed-upon terms and conditions for the proposed pilot project and explaining the reasons for failing to agree on any terms and conditions for the proposed pilot project if the applicant and the owners fail to reach a full agreement at the conference;
(VII) Guidelines for the operation and administration of the pilot projects to assure that a pilot project:
(A) Will effect only a temporary change in the historical consumptive use of the water right in a manner that will not cause injury to other water rights, decreed conditional water rights, or contract rights to water; and
(B) Will not impair compliance with any interstate compact;
(VIII) Criteria for selecting pilot projects that range in size and complexity;
(IX) Criteria for selecting pilot projects over a period ending on December 31, 2023, to provide a window for potential pilot project sponsors to apply;
(X) A requirement that a proposed pilot project:
(A) Meet applicable local government land use requirements;
(B) Prevent erosion and blowing soils; and
(C) Comply with local county noxious weed regulations;
(XI) A requirement that, during the term of the pilot project, land and water included in a pilot project is not also included in a substitute water supply plan pursuant to section 37-92-308 (5) or (7), an interruptible water supply agreement pursuant to section 37-92-309, or another pilot project;
(XII) A requirement for periodic reports to the board on the operation of the pilot project; and
;
(XI) A requirement that, during the term of the pilot project, land and water included in a pilot project is not also included in a substitute water supply plan pursuant to section 37-92-308 (5) or (7), an interruptible water supply agreement pursuant to section 37-92-309, or another pilot project;
(XII) A requirement for periodic reports to the board on the operation of the pilot project; and
(XIII) A requirement that priority is given to pilot projects that can be implemented using existing infrastructure.
(e) (I) For approval of a pilot project, the applicant must provide written notice of the application, including, at a minimum:
(A) A description of the proposed pilot project;
(B) An analysis of the historical use, the historical consumptive use, and the historical return flows of the water rights or contract rights to water proposed to be used for temporary municipal, agricultural, environmental, industrial, or recreational use; and
(C) A description of the source of water to be used to replace historical return flows during the pilot project and after completion of the pilot project; and
(II) The applicant must provide the written notice by first-class mail or electronic mail to all parties that have subscribed to the substitute water supply plan notification list, as described in section 37-92-308 (6) for the division or divisions in which the water right is located and in which it will be used. The applicant must file proof of the written notice with the board.
(f) After consideration of the comments and any conference reports submitted pursuant to subparagraph (VI) of paragraph (d) of this subsection (8), the board may approve the pilot project application if:
(I) Within fifteen days after receiving a conference report submitted under subparagraph (VI) of paragraph (d) of this subsection (8) or, if the board does not receive any comments on the application, within thirty days after the period of time for comments has expired, the state engineer has made a written determination that the operation and administration of the pilot project:
(A) Will effect only a temporary change in the historical consumptive use of the water right in a manner that will not cause injury to other water rights, decreed conditional water rights, or contract rights to water; and
(B) Will not impair compliance with any interstate compact; and
(II) The board adopts all terms and conditions recommended by the state engineer.
(g) When the board approves or denies a pilot project application, it shall serve a copy of the decision, along with a copy of the state engineer's written determination and any conference reports submitted under subparagraph (VI) of paragraph (d) of this subsection (8), upon all parties to the application by first-class mail or, if elected by the parties, by electronic mail. The board shall mail a copy of the decision, the state engineer's written determination, and any conference reports to the appropriate water clerk.
the state engineer's written determination and any conference reports submitted under subparagraph (VI) of paragraph (d) of this subsection (8), upon all parties to the application by first-class mail or, if elected by the parties, by electronic mail. The board shall mail a copy of the decision, the state engineer's written determination, and any conference reports to the appropriate water clerk.
(h) (I) Neither the board's approval nor the denial of a pilot project creates any presumptions, shifts the burden of proof, or serves as a defense in any legal action that may arise concerning the pilot project. The board's approval or denial of a pilot project application and the state engineer's written determination on the application are final agency actions that may be appealed. An appeal pursuant to this subsection (8) must be filed with the appropriate water judge and be made within thirty-five days after the board's decision has been mailed to the appropriate water clerk.
(II) The water judge shall expedite the appeal, which shall be de novo, and use the procedures and standards set forth in sections 37-92-304 and 37-92-305 for determination of matters rereferred to the water judge by the referee; except that the water judge shall not deem a party's failure either to appeal all or any part of the board's decision or the state engineer's written determination or to state any grounds for the appeal to preclude the party from raising a claim of injury in a future proceeding before the water judge. The pilot project applicant is deemed to be the applicant for purposes of the procedures and standards that the water judge applies to the appeal.
(i) The board, in consultation with the state engineer, shall annually report to the water resources and agriculture review committee, created in section 37-98-102, or its successor committee, on the reported results of the pilot projects. The board, in consultation with the state engineer, shall provide a final report to the water resources and agriculture review committee, or its successor committee, by July 1, 2034, or the year in which the final pilot project is completed, if before 2034.
(j) This subsection (8) is repealed, effective September 1, 2035.
(9) to (11) Repealed.
(12) (a) Study. (I) The board, in consultation with the state engineer, the Colorado energy office, and the institute, shall conduct a study to determine the feasibility of the use of floatovoltaics as a means of increasing the beneficial consumptive use of state waters by reducing evaporation from, and lowering temperatures of, irrigation canals and reservoirs upon which floatovoltaic infrastructure is placed. In studying the feasibility of using floatovoltaics, the board shall ensure that any floatovoltaic infrastructure used in the study does not interfere with instream flows, as described in section 37-92-102 (3), or with water rights owners' ability to divert water for beneficial use.
(II) The board may contract with the institute, a third party, or both to design, carry out, and analyze the results of the study required in this subsection (12)(a). If the board deems appropriate, the study must be conducted in consideration of and reliance on relevant studies completed in the state and nationally.
(b) Report. On or before January 1, 2025, the board shall submit a report of the findings and conclusions of the study to the house of representatives agriculture, water, and natural resources committee and the senate agriculture and natural resources committee, or their successor committees.
be conducted in consideration of and reliance on relevant studies completed in the state and nationally.
(b) Report. On or before January 1, 2025, the board shall submit a report of the findings and conclusions of the study to the house of representatives agriculture, water, and natural resources committee and the senate agriculture and natural resources committee, or their successor committees.
(c) As used in this subsection (12), unless the context otherwise requires:
(I) "Beneficial use" has the meaning set forth in section 37-92-103 (4).
(II) "Divert" has the meaning set forth in section 37-92-103 (7).
(III) "Floatovoltaics" means one or more solar energy generation facilities placed over or near or floating on irrigation canals or reservoirs in the state.
(IV) "Institute" means the Colorado water institute created in section 23-31-801.
(V) "Water right" has the meaning set forth in section 37-92-103 (12).
(VI) "Waters of the state" has the meaning set forth in section 37-92-103 (13).
C.R.S. § 37-60-116 Reports
37-60-116. Reports. The Colorado water conservation board shall cause the results of the studies to be embodied in written reports, copies of which shall be held in the offices of said board as a public record available for the use of any interested person, and a copy of each of said reports shall be sent to the senate agriculture, natural resources, and energy committee and the house of representatives agriculture, livestock, and natural resources committee.
C.R.S. § 37-60-117 Reports and publications
37-60-117. Reports and publications. (1) The board shall report to the executive director of the department of natural resources at such time and on such matters as the executive director requires.
(2) Publication of studies conducted by the board and other publications circulated in quantity outside the division shall be subject to the approval and control of the executive director of the department of natural resources.
C.R.S. § 37-60-118 Assent to water resources planning act
37-60-118. Assent to water resources planning act. (1) The state of Colorado, by and through the Colorado water conservation board, hereby assents to the provisions of the act of congress entitled "Water Resources Planning Act", approved July 22, 1965. The Colorado water conservation board is authorized, empowered, and directed to perform such acts as may be necessary to the conduct and establishment of a comprehensive water planning program as defined in title III of said act and in conformity with such rules and regulations as may be promulgated by the water resources council pursuant to said act.
(2) There is hereby created a fund designated as "federal aid water planning fund" to which shall be deposited all sums contributed to the state of Colorado by the federal government pursuant to title III of the water resources planning act. All moneys deposited under the provisions of this section are hereby specifically appropriated to the Colorado water conservation board for the purposes specified in said act of congress and no such moneys shall be expended for any other purpose.
C.R.S. § 37-60-119 Construction of water and power facilities - contracts with and charges against users
37-60-119. Construction of water and power facilities - contracts with and charges against users. (1) (a) In order to promote the general welfare and safety of the citizens of this state and to protect the allocation of interstate waters to the state, the board may, subject to the provisions in section 37-60-122, construct, rehabilitate, enlarge, or improve, or loan money to enable the construction, rehabilitation, enlargement, or improvement of, such flood control, water supply, and hydroelectric energy facilities, excluding water treatment facilities, together with related recreational facilities, in whole or in part, as will, in the opinion of the board, abate floods or conserve, effect more efficient use of, develop, or protect the water and hydroelectric energy resources and supplies of the state of Colorado.
(b) In carrying out this subsection (1), the board shall place special emphasis upon the adoption and incorporation of measures that will encourage the conservation and more efficient use of water, including the installation of water meters or such other measuring and control devices as the board deems appropriate in each particular case.
(2) The board may, subject to section 37-60-122, enter into contracts for the use of, or to loan money to enable the construction, rehabilitation, enlargement, or improvement of, flood control, water, power, and any related recreational facilities, excluding water treatment facilities, with any agency or political subdivision of this state or the federal government, individuals, corporations, or organizations composed of citizens of this state. The contracts may provide for such charges to the using entity as, in the opinion of the board, are necessary and reasonable to recover the board's capital investment, together with operational, maintenance, and interest charges over the term of years agreed upon by contract. Interest charges shall be recommended by the board at between zero and seven percent on the basis of the project sponsor's ability to pay and the significance of the project to the development and protection of the water supplies of the state. Interest charges shall be credited to and made a part of the Colorado water conservation board construction fund. Any other charges, as determined appropriate by the board, are continuously appropriated to the Colorado water conservation board for supplemental operational expenditures.
(3) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2002, p. 456, § 29, effective May 23, 2002.)
C.R.S. § 37-60-120 Control of projects - contractual powers of board
37-60-120. Control of projects - contractual powers of board. (1) The state of Colorado shall have the ownership and control of such portions of said projects, or shall take a sufficient security interest in property or take such bonds, notes, or other securities evidencing an obligation, as will assure repayment of funds made available by section 37-60-119. Any security interest in property taken under this subsection (1) may be perfected and enforced in the same manner as security interests under article 9 of title 4, C.R.S. The board is empowered to enter into contracts that are, in its opinion, necessary for the maintenance and continued operation of such projects.
(2) If a sponsor fails to comply with the board's procedures and requirements, the board may, at its discretion, withhold or terminate all or a portion of the board's financial contribution to or loan for a project, notwithstanding the authorization of the same by the general assembly, or the board may require such assurances from the project sponsor as the board deems necessary in order to adequately protect the board's investment in a project.
(3) The board may adjust the authorized interest rate, extend the authorized repayment period for any project, or defer one or more annual payments if, in the board's opinion, the entity requesting such adjustment, extension, and deferment demonstrates that it has encountered significant and unexpected financial difficulties and that it has been duly diligent in its efforts to comply with the repayment provisions of its contract with the board.
C.R.S. § 37-60-120.1 Chatfield reservoir reallocation project - authority - repeal
37-60-120.1. Chatfield reservoir reallocation project - authority - repeal. (1) In order to promote the general welfare and safety of the citizens of this state and utilize reallocated storage space available in the federal flood control project known as Chatfield reservoir, the board has undertaken the Chatfield reservoir reallocation project, referred to in this section as the "project", in coordination and cooperation with a local coalition and with participants who have executed letters of commitment with the board. The implementation of the project will result in benefits to South Platte river water users and the downstream environment without adversely impacting other river basins. The implementation of the project will require the board to contract with the United States Army corps of engineers, referred to in this section as the "corps", to hold and allocate storage space in the reservoir and to undertake substantial activities related to the mitigation of environmental and recreation impacts caused by the increase in reservoir water levels.
(2) The board is hereby authorized to act as an agent of the project parties to implement this section. Through an agency fund the board may collect and disburse money from any entity to implement the project and to meet the obligations contained in an intergovernmental agreement, project partnership agreement, or other contract, referred to in this section as an "agreement", with the corps or other entity that is required to implement the project. Notwithstanding any other law, including section 24-30-1303, C.R.S., the board and the department of natural resources acting through its agencies shall have the authority to enter into any agreement with the corps or other entities, including consultants and contractors, that in the board's discretion is necessary to implement the project; however, sufficient funds shall have been made available to the board for such purposes. The authority granted by this subsection (2) includes: The ability to hold storage space in the reservoir; to contract with, and allocate storage to, local entities who will utilize the reservoir storage space; to undertake mitigation and long-term operation and maintenance of the project; to receive and expend proceeds received from the sale or lease of reservoir storage space and from any other activities that effectuate the purpose of the acquired project storage space; to pay the costs of storage or other necessary expenses; and to otherwise implement the project. The board has the express authority, in equitable partnership with the participants, to undertake such action as is necessary, including the award of contracts to public and private entities, to undertake mitigation construction and long-term operation and maintenance and related activities; to lease, sublease, or assign storage space rights; and to otherwise effectuate the storage of water in the reservoir. The state treasurer shall credit all proceeds received under this section and the interest earned from investments of those proceeds to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund created in section 37-60-121 (1)(a), and all such moneys are continuously appropriated and remain available for the designated purposes until they are fully expended. In the event of a conflict between the application of state or federal law or rules, including chapter 3 of the state fiscal rules in existence as of May 29, 2008, federal laws and rules shall apply.
(3) This section is repealed, effective at the end of the project. Such repeal shall not affect the validity of any action taken pursuant to this section. The director of the board shall, in writing, promptly notify the state treasurer and the revisor of statutes when the project is completed.
C.R.S. § 37-60-120.2 Animas-La Plata project - authority - repeal
37-60-120.2. Animas-La Plata project - authority - repeal. (1) Notwithstanding any other law, including section 24-30-1303, C.R.S., and given that thirty-six million dollars have been authorized and appropriated and a purchase agreement has been executed with the United States bureau of reclamation to acquire all of the state's water allocation in the Animas-La Plata project and that the state is a participating member of the Animas-La Plata operation, maintenance, and replacement association, and in order to support and provide long-term water supplies for the local area and to fully utilize the state's water allocation in the Animas-La Plata project, in coordination with the United States bureau of reclamation and the other participating project beneficiaries, the department of natural resources, acting by and through the board, may:
(a) Contract with and allocate Animas-La Plata project water to local entities and water providers in Colorado;
(b) Receive and expend proceeds from the sale or lease of Animas-La Plata project water and land, and any other activities that effectuate the purpose of the acquired project water;
(c) Undertake Animas-La Plata project operations, maintenance, and replacement costs;
(d) Pay the costs of Animas-La Plata project storage or other necessary expenses, otherwise implement the purposes of this subsection (1), and fully utilize the water and storage acquired; and
(e) Undertake such action as necessary to lease, sublease, exchange, sell, assign, or otherwise effectuate the use of the acquired project water in the local area within Colorado.
(2) The state treasurer shall credit all proceeds received under this section and the interest earned from investments of those proceeds to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund created in section 37-60-121 (1)(a), and all such money is continuously appropriated to the board and remains available for the designated purposes until it is fully expended.
(3) (a) In the event of a conflict between the application of state or federal law or rules, including chapter 3 of the state fiscal rules in existence as of June 7, 2010, regarding the money subject to this section, federal law and rules apply.
(b) Nothing in this section precludes the use of water acquired pursuant to this section as part of a joint operational pool for the mutual benefit of all Animas-La Plata project participants.
(4) This section is repealed, effective when the state has no water allocation in the Animas-La Plata project, is not a member of the Animas-La Plata operation, maintenance, and replacement association, and all existing purchases, leases, subleases, or any other of the contractual arrangements that have been executed on behalf of the state's water allocation, have been fully repaid or fulfilled. The director of the board shall file a written notification to the revisor of statutes when the final condition of this subsection (4) has been fulfilled.
C.R.S. § 37-60-121 Colorado water conservation board construction fund - creation - nature of fund - funds for investigations - contributions - use for augmenting the general fund - funds created - rules - repeal
37-60-121. Colorado water conservation board construction fund - creation - nature of fund - funds for investigations - contributions - use for augmenting the general fund - funds created - rules - repeal. (1) (a) There is hereby created a fund to be known as the Colorado water conservation board construction fund, which shall consist of all moneys which may be appropriated thereto by the general assembly or which may be otherwise made available to it by the general assembly and such charges that may become a part thereof under the terms of section 37-60-119. All interest earned from the investment of moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund and become a part thereof. Such fund shall be a continuing fund to be expended in the manner specified in section 37-60-122 and shall not revert to the general fund of the state at the end of any fiscal year.
(b) In the consideration of making expenditures from the fund, the board shall be guided by the following criteria:
(I) The first priority of the moneys available to the fund shall be devoted to projects which will increase the beneficial consumptive use of Colorado's undeveloped compact entitled waters;
(II) The balance of the moneys available to the fund shall be devoted to projects for the repair and rehabilitation of existing water storage and delivery networks, controlled maintenance of the satellite monitoring network authorized pursuant to section 37-80-102 (10), construction and maintenance of the South Platte river alluvial aquifer groundwater monitoring network authorized pursuant to section 37-80-122, and for investment in water management activities and studies;
(III) The board's participation in the construction cost of a project shall be repaid and the board's costs or its participation in any feasibility studies shall be repaid to the board when construction on a project commences;
(IV) The board shall participate in only those projects that can repay the board's investment. Service charges and other terms of repayment shall be established by the board. Grants shall not be made, unless specifically authorized by the general assembly acting by bill; however, the board shall have the authority to deauthorize such grants and use any remaining funds for other statutorily authorized purposes if the grant project has been completed or is no longer feasible.
(V) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2002, p. 457, § 31, effective May 23, 2002.)
(VI) The board shall not recommend to the general assembly domestic water treatment systems;
(VII) The board may recommend to loan funds on floodplain projects;
(VIII) For all feasibility studies, the board shall ensure that the scope of the study is confined as nearly as possible to a single integrated project; and
(IX) Any feasibility study of a proposed project shall include, to the extent deemed necessary by the board, an evaluation of:
(A) The water rights available to a proposed project and the yield thereof;
(B) The engineering and economic feasibility of a proposed project; and
(C) The anticipated economic, social, and environmental effects of a proposed project.
o a single integrated project; and
(IX) Any feasibility study of a proposed project shall include, to the extent deemed necessary by the board, an evaluation of:
(A) The water rights available to a proposed project and the yield thereof;
(B) The engineering and economic feasibility of a proposed project; and
(C) The anticipated economic, social, and environmental effects of a proposed project.
(c) and (d) Repealed.
(2) The board, in addition to the amount allocated to a project to cover the actual cost of construction, may allocate to the project constructed by it, under contract or otherwise, such amounts as may be determined by it for investigating, engineering, inspection, and other expenses and may provide for the repayment of the same out of the first moneys repayable from the project under the contract for its construction, and such moneys so repaid shall be accounted for within the purpose of making investigations for the development of the water resources of the state.
(2.5) (a) The board is authorized to expend, pursuant to continuous appropriation and subject to the requirements of paragraph (b) of this subsection (2.5), a total sum not to exceed the balance of the litigation fund, which is hereby created, for the purpose of engaging in litigation:
(I) In support of water users whose water supply yield is or may be diminished or the cost of said yield is or may be materially increased as a result of conditions imposed or that may be imposed, including but not limited to by-pass flows, by any agency of the United States on permits for existing or reconstructed water facilities located on federally owned lands;
(II) To oppose an application of a federal agency for an instream flow right that is not in compliance with Colorado law for establishing instream flow rights;
(III) To defend and protect Colorado's allocations of water in interstate streams and rivers; and
(IV) To ensure the maximum beneficial use of water for present and future generations by addressing important questions of federal law.
(b) Pursuant to the spending authority set forth in paragraph (a) of this subsection (2.5), moneys may be expended from the litigation fund at the discretion of the board if:
(I) With respect to litigation, the Colorado attorney general requests that the board authorize the expenditure of moneys in a specified amount not to exceed the balance of the fund for the costs of litigation associated with one or more specifically identified lawsuits meeting the criteria set forth in paragraph (a) of this subsection (2.5).
(II) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2003, p. 1769, § 19, effective May 19, 2003.)
(c) Any interest earned on the moneys in the litigation fund shall be credited on an annual basis to the litigation fund created in paragraph (a) of this subsection (2.5).
(d) Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), the board, in conjunction with the attorney general, shall report annually to the senate agriculture, natural resources, and energy committee and the house of representatives agriculture, livestock, and natural resources committee on any litigation that involves the use of any money from the litigation fund created in subsection (2.5)(a) of this section.
(e) Any moneys remaining in the litigation fund at such time as the general assembly acts to close the fund shall be credited to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund created in subsection (1) of this section.
(f) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2001, p. 690, § 27, effective May 30, 2001.)
(3) (a) The board may receive and expend contributions of money, property, or equipment from any source for use in making investigations, contracting projects, or otherwise carrying out the purposes of sections 37-60-119 to 37-60-122.
do water conservation board construction fund created in subsection (1) of this section.
(f) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2001, p. 690, § 27, effective May 30, 2001.)
(3) (a) The board may receive and expend contributions of money, property, or equipment from any source for use in making investigations, contracting projects, or otherwise carrying out the purposes of sections 37-60-119 to 37-60-122.
(b) The board may accept, allocate, expend, and otherwise use contributions and donations of money, property, or equipment from any source to carry out the purposes of this article, article 20 of title 36, C.R.S., and section 37-92-102 (3). Such contributions are hereby continuously appropriated to the board for the purposes established by this section.
(4) (a) The personal services, operating, travel and subsistence, and capital expenses of administering and managing the feasibility studies, engineering and design work, and construction activities associated with projects which are funded using moneys appropriated, allocated, or otherwise credited to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund may be paid from such moneys.
(b) Repealed.
(c) The legal services expenses, including the expenses of legal counsel employed by the board with the consent of the attorney general pursuant to section 37-60-114, of negotiating and preparing contracts for the disbursement of moneys from the construction fund for the study, design, and construction of projects which are funded using moneys appropriated, allocated, or otherwise credited to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund may be paid from such moneys.
(d) Repealed.
(5) Repealed.
(6) As of July 1, 1988, and July 1 of each year thereafter through July 1, 1996, fifty percent of the sum specified in this subsection (6) shall accrue to the fish and wildlife resources fund, which fund is hereby created, twenty-five percent of such sum shall accrue to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund, and twenty-five percent of such sum shall accrue to the Colorado water resources and power development authority. The state treasurer and the controller shall transfer such sum out of the general fund and into said fish and wildlife resources fund and to the authority as moneys become available in the general fund during the fiscal year beginning on said July 1. Transfers between funds pursuant to this subsection (6) and subsection (7) of this section shall not be deemed to be appropriations subject to the limitations of section 24-75-201.1, C.R.S. Subject to the provisions of subsection (7) of this section, the amount that shall accrue pursuant to this subsection (6) shall be as follows:
(a) On July 1, 1988, five million dollars;
(b) and (c) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2001, p. 690, § 27, effective May 30, 2001.)
(d) On July 1, 1994, thirty million dollars. In distributing said sum, the formula in the introductory portion to this subsection (6) shall not apply, and said sum shall accrue as follows:
(I) Ten million five hundred thousand dollars to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund;
(II) (A) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2001, p. 690, § 27, effective May 30, 2001.)
(B) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2003, p. 1769, § 19, effective May 19, 2003.)
(III) One million five hundred thousand dollars to the Colorado water resources and power development authority;
(IV) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2001, p. 1277, § 49, effective June 5, 2001.)
(V) Two million eight hundred thousand dollars to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund for a portion of the construction costs of the ridges basin dam of the Animas-La Plata project;
(VI) Four hundred forty-seven thousand forty dollars to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund for activities relating to the Arkansas river litigation.
(VII) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2001, p. 690, § 27, effective May 30, 2001.)
the Colorado water conservation board construction fund for a portion of the construction costs of the ridges basin dam of the Animas-La Plata project;
(VI) Four hundred forty-seven thousand forty dollars to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund for activities relating to the Arkansas river litigation.
(VII) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2001, p. 690, § 27, effective May 30, 2001.)
(e) and (f) (Deleted by amendment, L. 94, p. 1371, § 1, effective May 25, 1994.)
(6.1) Repealed.
(7) As of July 1, 1988, the state treasurer and the controller shall transfer the five million dollars specified in paragraph (a) of subsection (6) of this section to the water rights final settlement fund, which fund is hereby created. The moneys transferred to the water rights final settlement fund are hereby continuously appropriated to the board solely for the purpose of providing moneys for the tribal development funds for the Southern Ute Indian tribe and the Ute Mountain Ute Indian tribe as provided for in the Colorado Ute Indian water rights final settlement agreement of December 10, 1986. Interest earned from the investment of the moneys in such fund prior to its deposit in the tribal development funds shall be credited to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund and to the Colorado water resources and power development authority at the end of each fiscal year. Of such interest, fifty percent shall be credited to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund and fifty percent shall be transferred to the Colorado water resources and power development authority. The board shall deposit the moneys from the water rights final settlement fund in the tribal development funds, as provided for in the settlement agreement, no later than thirty days after the deposit of federal moneys in such funds as required by the settlement agreement; except that no such moneys shall be available for disbursement from the tribal development funds until such time as the final consent decree contemplated by the settlement agreement is entered; and, except that if such final consent decree is not entered by December 31, 1991, then the moneys so deposited shall be returned, together with the interest earned thereon, to the water rights final settlement fund. If the first installment of federal moneys is not deposited in the tribal development funds before June 1, 1990, or if the state's moneys have been returned from the tribal development funds to the water rights final settlement fund because the final consent decree is not entered by December 31, 1991, then the board shall transfer fifty percent of the moneys in the water rights final settlement fund to the Colorado water resources and power development authority and fifty percent of the moneys in the water rights final settlement fund to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund.
(8) Repealed.
(9) Notwithstanding any provision of this section or of section 37-60-122 to the contrary, on April 20, 2009, the state treasurer shall deduct ten million two hundred fifty thousand dollars from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund and transfer such sum to the general fund.
(10) Repealed.
(11) (a) On March 21, 2021, the state treasurer shall transfer four million dollars from the general fund to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund.
the contrary, on April 20, 2009, the state treasurer shall deduct ten million two hundred fifty thousand dollars from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund and transfer such sum to the general fund.
(10) Repealed.
(11) (a) On March 21, 2021, the state treasurer shall transfer four million dollars from the general fund to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund.
(b) (I) Within three days after March 21, 2021, the state treasurer shall transfer thirty million dollars from the general fund to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund.
(II) (A) Except as specified in subsections (11)(b)(III) and (11)(b)(IV) of this section, the board shall use the money transferred pursuant to this subsection (11)(b) in connection with the watershed restoration program for watershed restoration and flood mitigation grants to restore, mitigate, and protect stream channels and riparian areas susceptible to flood hazards and sediment erosion and deposition after wildfire, including expenditures for the repair, replacement, modification, maintenance, or installation of related water and debris-control structures, with special consideration of projects with federal and local matching requirements.
(B) The board shall award at least ten million dollars of the money transferred pursuant to this subsection (11)(b) by July 1, 2022, and shall award the remaining money by December 31, 2022.
(III) The board shall expend up to five hundred thousand dollars by December 31, 2022, for a statewide watershed analysis to investigate the susceptibility of life, safety, infrastructure, and water supplies to wildfire impacts.
(IV) The board may use up to five percent of the money to administer the grant program as specified in subsection (11)(b)(II) of this section and may use up to ten percent for the costs associated with providing necessary technical engineering services to assist grantees with design review, engineering analysis, fire and flood support, construction oversight, fluvial hazard zone program implementation, project monitoring and adaptive management, and overall program management.
(c) The department of natural resources shall include updates regarding the board's activities undertaken pursuant to subsection (11)(b) of this section in its departmental presentation to legislative committees of reference pursuant to section 2-7-203.
(d) This subsection (11) is repealed, effective September 1, 2026.
(12) (a) Except as specified in subsection (12)(b) of this section, the board shall use the money transferred pursuant to section 24-75-228 (2.5)(a)(III) for watershed restoration and flood mitigation grants to restore, mitigate, and protect stream channels and riparian areas susceptible to flood hazards and sediment erosion and deposition after wildfire, including expenditures for the design and implementation of projects intended to mitigate increased flows, sediment, and debris, with federal and local matching requirements.
(b) The board may use up to five percent of the money to administer the grant program as specified in subsection (12)(a) of this section and may use up to ten percent for the costs associated with providing necessary technical engineering services to assist grantees with design review, engineering analysis, fire and flood support, construction oversight, fluvial hazard zone program implementation, project monitoring and adaptive management, and overall program management.
(c) The department of natural resources shall include updates regarding the board's activities undertaken pursuant to this subsection (12) in its departmental presentation to legislative committees of reference pursuant to section 2-7-203.
flood support, construction oversight, fluvial hazard zone program implementation, project monitoring and adaptive management, and overall program management.
(c) The department of natural resources shall include updates regarding the board's activities undertaken pursuant to this subsection (12) in its departmental presentation to legislative committees of reference pursuant to section 2-7-203.
(d) This subsection (12) is repealed, effective July 1, 2027.
(13) The board shall use the money transferred pursuant to section 24-75-228 (2.5)(a)(IV) for the direct and indirect costs of providing assistance to political subdivisions of the state and other entities in applying for federal "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act", Pub.L. 117-58, money and other federally available money related to water funding opportunities.
(14) (a) The board shall use the money transferred pursuant to section 24-75-228 (2.5)(a)(V) for both:
(I) Issuing grants to political subdivisions of the state or other entities for the hiring of term-limited employees, contractors, or both that will assist those political subdivisions and other entities in applying for federal "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act", Pub.L. 117-58, money and other federally available money related to natural resource management; and
(II) Covering the direct and indirect costs associated with issuing the grants described in subsection (14)(a)(I) of this section.
(b) The board may adopt policies and procedures as necessary for implementing a grant program necessary to award the grants described in subsection (14)(a) of this section.
(15) Notwithstanding subsections (13) and (14) of this section, on or after July 1, 2024, the board may use the money transferred pursuant to section 24-75-228 (2.5)(a)(IV) and (2.5)(a)(V) for any of the purposes specified in subsection (13) or (14) of this section.
C.R.S. § 37-60-121.1 Reserved rights litigation fund
37-60-121.1. Reserved rights litigation fund. (1) The general assembly hereby recognizes that the claims of various agencies and organizations of the federal government to waters of the state of Colorado represent a claim to waters heretofore claimed by appropriators of the state of Colorado who have relied on the doctrine of prior appropriation to protect their property rights in and to those waters lawfully appropriated or acquired. The general assembly recognizes the need to take all actions necessary to protect such valuable property rights of its citizens, including the establishment of the fund as set forth in this section.
(2) (a) There is hereby established a reserved rights litigation fund in the office of the state treasurer to be utilized by the department of law for resolution of reserved rights claims. Moneys credited to said fund shall be expended by the attorney general only upon authorization by the general assembly and consistent with the provisions of this section. The controller, upon presentation of vouchers properly drawn and signed by the attorney general or an authorized employee of the department of law, shall issue warrants drawn on said fund. All moneys so deposited in the reserved rights litigation fund shall remain in said fund to be used for the purposes set forth in this section and shall not revert to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund, the general fund, or any other fund at the end of the year, except as directed by the general assembly. All interest earned from the investment of moneys in the reserved rights litigation fund shall be credited to and become a part of the Colorado water conservation board construction fund created by section 37-60-121.
(b) Repealed.
C.R.S. § 37-60-121.3 Severance tax trust fund statewide water planning account - creation
37-60-121.3. Severance tax trust fund statewide water planning account - creation. (Repealed)
C.R.S. § 37-60-121.5 Loan guarantee fund - creation
37-60-121.5. Loan guarantee fund - creation. The loan guarantee fund is hereby created in the state treasury and is referred to in this section as the "fund". The fund consists of money that the general assembly may appropriate or transfer to the fund. All interest and income derived from the deposit and investment of money in the fund shall be transferred to the severance tax perpetual base fund created in section 39-29-109 (2)(a). Money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the board for the purpose of guaranteeing the repayment of loans made for water projects with multiple participants.
C.R.S. § 37-60-122 General assembly approval
37-60-122. General assembly approval. (1) Money in the Colorado water conservation board construction fund shall be expended in the following manner and under the following circumstances:
(a) Repealed.
(b) The general assembly may authorize projects as it deems to be to the advantage of the people of the state of Colorado and shall direct the board to proceed with the projects in the priorities established by the general assembly under terms approved by the general assembly. The board is authorized to make loans without general assembly approval in amounts not to exceed ten million dollars. The unappropriated balance of money in the Colorado water conservation board construction fund and the state severance tax perpetual base fund shall be available and continuously appropriated for this purpose. Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), the board shall submit a written determination of the basis for the project loans to the general assembly by January 15 of the year following the year in which the loan was made.
(c) In order to determine the economic and engineering feasibility of any project proposed to be constructed from funds provided in whole or in part from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund, the board shall cause a feasibility report to be prepared on such proposed project if, in the discretion of the board, it appears to qualify for consideration under section 37-60-119. The board may also cause a feasibility report to be prepared on any other water project proposed in this state whether funded by the Colorado water conservation board construction fund or by any other source or entity or federal or state agency, and the board shall cooperate with any such entity or federal or state agency in the planning of such project. The board shall also cause any feasibility study to be made at the direction of the general assembly. For all such feasibility investigations, the board is authorized to loan, grant, or otherwise expend on a continuing basis the moneys appropriated to the construction fund authorized by section 37-60-121, in accordance with policies adopted by the board.
(2) When a feasibility report prepared pursuant to paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of this section is funded in part by an entity or agency other than the board, then the board may, at its discretion and subject to such procedures as it deems appropriate, have such entity or agency select an engineer to provide the professional services needed to prepare such report, notwithstanding the provisions of part 14 of article 30 of title 24, C.R.S.
(3) When design and construction of a project authorized pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section is funded in part by an entity or agency other than the board, then the board may, at its discretion and subject to such procedures as it deems appropriate, have such entity or agency select an engineer to provide the professional services needed for the construction management of the project, notwithstanding the provisions of part 14 of article 30 of title 24, C.R.S.
C.R.S. § 37-60-122.2 Fish and wildlife resources - legislative declaration - fund - authorization
37-60-122.2. Fish and wildlife resources - legislative declaration - fund - authorization. (1) (a) The general assembly hereby recognizes the responsibility of the state for fish and wildlife resources found in and around state waters which are affected by the construction, operation, or maintenance of water diversion, delivery, or storage facilities. The general assembly hereby declares that such fish and wildlife resources are a matter of statewide concern and that impacts on such resources should be mitigated by the project applicants in a reasonable manner. It is the intent of the general assembly that fish and wildlife resources that are affected by the construction, operation, or maintenance of water diversion, delivery, or storage facilities should be mitigated to the extent, and in a manner, that is economically reasonable and maintains a balance between the development of the state's water resources and the protection of the state's fish and wildlife resources.
(b) Except as provided in this subsection (1)(b), the applicant for any water diversion, delivery, or storage facility that requires an application for a permit, a license, or other approval from the United States, or that requires an application for an individual authorization from the division of administration in the department of public health and environment pursuant to section 25-8-205.1, shall inform the Colorado water conservation board, parks and wildlife commission, and division of parks and wildlife of its application and submit a mitigation proposal pursuant to this section. Exempted from such requirement are the Animas-La Plata project, the Two Forks dam and reservoir project, and the Homestake water project for which definite plan reports and final environmental impact statements have been approved or that are awaiting approval of the same; applicants for site-specific 404 federal dredge and fill permits or individual authorizations under section 25-8-205.1 (5)(a) for activities not requiring construction of a reservoir; and applicants for section 404 federal nationwide permits or general authorizations issued pursuant to section 25-8-205.1 (5)(b). If an applicant that is subject to this section and the commission agree upon a mitigation plan for the facility, the commission shall forward such agreement to the Colorado water conservation board, and the board shall adopt such agreement at its next meeting as the official state position on the mitigation actions required of the applicant. In all cases, the commission shall proceed expeditiously and, no later than sixty days after the applicant's notice, unless extended in writing by the applicant, make its evaluation regarding the probable impact of the proposed facility on fish and wildlife resources and their habitat and make its recommendation regarding such reasonable mitigation actions as may be needed.
uired of the applicant. In all cases, the commission shall proceed expeditiously and, no later than sixty days after the applicant's notice, unless extended in writing by the applicant, make its evaluation regarding the probable impact of the proposed facility on fish and wildlife resources and their habitat and make its recommendation regarding such reasonable mitigation actions as may be needed.
(c) The commission's evaluation and proposed mitigation recommendation shall be transmitted to the Colorado water conservation board. The board within sixty days, unless extended in writing by the applicant, shall either affirm the mitigation recommendation of the commission as the official state position or shall make modifications or additions thereto supported by a memorandum that sets out the basis for any changes made. Whenever modifications or additions are made by the board in the commission's mitigation recommendation, the governor, within sixty days, shall affirm or modify the mitigation recommendation which shall then be the official state position with respect to mitigation. The official state position, established pursuant to this subsection (1) shall be communicated to each federal, state, or other governmental agency from which the applicant must obtain a permit, license, or other approval.
(2) (a) Moneys transferred to the fish and wildlife resources fund pursuant to the provisions of section 37-60-121 (6) are hereby continuously appropriated to the Colorado water conservation board for the purpose of making grants pursuant to this subsection (2) and for offsetting the direct and indirect costs of the board for administering the grants. The interest earned from the investment of the moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund.
(b) To the extent that the cost of implementing the mitigation recommendation made pursuant to subsection (1) of this section exceeds five percent of the costs of a water diversion, delivery, or storage facility, the board shall, upon the application of the applicant, make a mitigation grant to the applicant. The amount of the grant shall be sufficient to pay for the mitigation recommendation as determined by this section to the extent required above the applicant's five percent share. Any additional enhancement shall be at the discretion and within the means of the board. Under no circumstance shall the total amount of the grant exceed five percent of the construction costs of the project, or be disbursed in installments that exceed seventy percent of the amount of the grant during any fiscal year. Any mitigation cost in excess of ten percent of the construction costs of a project shall be borne by the applicant.
(c) An applicant may apply for an enhancement grant by submitting to the commission and the board an enhancement proposal for enhancing fish and wildlife resources over and above the levels existing without such facilities. The commission shall submit its recommendations on the proposal to the board for its consideration. The board, with the concurrence of the commission, may award a grant for fish and wildlife enhancement. Any such enhancement grant will be shared equally by the Colorado water conservation board's fish and wildlife resources fund and the division of parks and wildlife's wildlife cash funds and other funds available to the division.
(d) For the purpose of this subsection (2), construction costs means the best estimate of the physical construction costs as fixed by the Colorado water conservation board as of the date of the grant application. Costs should be limited to design, engineering and physical construction and will not include the costs of planning, financing, and environmental documentation, mitigation costs, legal expenses, site acquisition or water rights.
), construction costs means the best estimate of the physical construction costs as fixed by the Colorado water conservation board as of the date of the grant application. Costs should be limited to design, engineering and physical construction and will not include the costs of planning, financing, and environmental documentation, mitigation costs, legal expenses, site acquisition or water rights.
(e) Species recovery grants from the fish and wildlife resources fund may be made for the purpose of responding to needs of declining native species and to those species protected under the federal "Endangered Species Act of 1973", 16 U.S.C. sec. 1531, et seq., as amended, in a manner that will carry out the state water policy.
(f) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2001, p. 692, § 28, effective May 30, 2001.)
(3) Decisions relating to the official state mitigation position made pursuant to paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of this section shall not be subject to judicial review.
(4) The board shall distribute mitigation and enhancement grants reasonably and equitably among water basins toward the end that those projects sponsored by beneficiaries east of the continental divide receive fifty percent of the money granted and those projects sponsored by beneficiaries west of the continental divide receive fifty percent of the money granted under this section.
(5) The general assembly hereby recognizes the role instream flows and river restoration projects play in mitigating the effects of the construction, operation, and maintenance of water diversion, delivery, and storage facilities. Therefore, the Colorado water conservation board and the operators of existing water diversion, delivery, or storage facilities projects are hereby authorized to apply directly to the board for moneys for projects to carry out the purposes of this section. The board is authorized to grant such moneys if it finds that such projects will further the purposes of this section.
C.R.S. § 37-60-122.3 Wild and scenic rivers fund - created
37-60-122.3. Wild and scenic rivers fund - created. There is hereby created in the state treasury the wild and scenic rivers fund, referred to in this section as the "fund". The state treasurer shall transfer four hundred thousand dollars from previously unappropriated Colorado water conservation board construction fund moneys to the fund. The moneys in the fund are hereby continuously appropriated to the board to work with stakeholders within the state of Colorado to develop protection of river-dependent resources as an alternative to wild and scenic river designation under the federal "Wild and Scenic Rivers Act", 16 U.S.C. sec. 1271 et seq. In addition to any remaining balance in the fund at the end of any fiscal year, the board is hereby authorized to annually provide, from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund, up to four hundred thousand dollars in order to restore the unencumbered balance in the fund up to four hundred thousand dollars. All interest derived from the investment of moneys in the fund shall be credited to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund. The board shall review the purpose of the fund annually and is hereby authorized to cease providing moneys in the following year if, in its discretion, the board determines that the purposes for which the fund was established have ceased. The board may set terms and conditions as it deems appropriate concerning the annual expenditures of moneys from the fund.
C.R.S. § 37-60-122.4 Horse Creek basin account - creation
37-60-122.4. Horse Creek basin account - creation. (Repealed)
C.R.S. § 37-60-122.5 Emergency dam repair cash fund
37-60-122.5. Emergency dam repair cash fund. There is hereby created in the state treasury the emergency dam repair cash fund. The state treasurer is hereby authorized and directed to transfer money from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund to the emergency dam repair cash fund in such amounts and at such times as determined by the Colorado water conservation board. Such transfers must not exceed five hundred thousand dollars. The money in the emergency dam repair cash fund is continuously appropriated to the Colorado water conservation board and the division of water resources for the emergency repair of dams pursuant to section 37-87-108.5. All money collected by the state engineer pursuant to section 37-87-108.5 shall be transmitted to the state treasurer, who shall credit the money to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund. All interest derived from the investment of money in the emergency dam repair cash fund shall be credited to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund. Any balance remaining in the emergency dam repair cash fund at the end of any fiscal year remains in the fund.
C.R.S. § 37-60-122.6 Emergency infrastructure repair cash fund - authorization
37-60-122.6. Emergency infrastructure repair cash fund - authorization. (Repealed)
C.R.S. § 37-60-122.7 Feasibility study small grant fund - creation
37-60-122.7. Feasibility study small grant fund - creation.
(1) to (4) Repealed.
(5) (a) There is hereby created in the state treasury the feasibility study small grant fund for the purpose of making small grants to help pay the costs of preparing water project feasibility studies. The Colorado water conservation board shall approve small feasibility study grants based solely on criteria adopted by the board.
(b) On July 1, 2019, and on each July 1 thereafter, in addition to any remaining balance in the fund at the end of the fiscal year, the state treasurer is hereby authorized and directed to annually transfer up to five hundred thousand dollars from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund to the feasibility study small grant fund to restore the unencumbered balance in the feasibility study small grant fund to five hundred thousand dollars. The money in the feasibility study small grant fund is hereby continuously appropriated to the board for grants in compliance with this subsection (5). All interest derived from the investment of money in the feasibility study small grant fund shall be credited to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund. Any balance remaining in the feasibility study small grant fund at the end of any fiscal year shall remain in the fund and shall not revert to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund.
C.R.S. § 37-60-122.8 Publications fund
37-60-122.8. Publications fund. (1) There is hereby created in the state treasury the publications fund. The fund shall consist of moneys paid to the board from persons outside the board for copies of public records or publications provided by the board. The moneys in the fund may be expended by the board to pay for the cost of providing copies of public records or publications to persons outside the board. The moneys in the fund are hereby continuously appropriated to the board for the purposes established in this section.
(2) The publications fund shall have no more than ten thousand dollars in it and any amount in excess shall be credited to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund. All interest derived from the investment of moneys in the publications fund shall be credited to the publications fund.
(3) The state treasurer is hereby authorized and directed to transfer five thousand dollars from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund to the publications fund.
C.R.S. § 37-60-122.9 Colorado river recovery program loan fund - creation
37-60-122.9. Colorado river recovery program loan fund - creation. (1) There is hereby created in the state treasury the Colorado river recovery program loan fund for the purpose of making loans to the Colorado river and San Juan river recovery programs for the construction or improvement of certain water related projects in Colorado, under agreements with power users of the federal Colorado river storage project, required to recover the four endangered fish species of the upper Colorado river, including the San Juan river.
(2) The Colorado water conservation board shall recommend loans from the Colorado river recovery program loan fund to the general assembly pursuant to section 37-60-122 (1)(b). The loans shall be subject to an interest rate and repayment provisions to be determined by the Colorado water conservation board.
(3) The state treasurer is hereby authorized and directed to transfer to the Colorado river recovery program loan fund, created in subsection (1) of this section, out of any moneys in the Colorado water conservation board construction fund not otherwise appropriated, the sum of two million dollars. Interest earned on the funds in the Colorado river recovery program loan fund shall be credited to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund, created in section 37-60-121 (1).
C.R.S. § 37-60-123 Conformity with state water plan
37-60-123. Conformity with state water plan. (Repealed)
C.R.S. § 37-60-123.1 Loan foreclosure fund - created
37-60-123.1. Loan foreclosure fund - created. There is hereby created in the state treasury the loan foreclosure fund, referred to in this section as the "foreclosure fund". The state treasurer is hereby authorized and directed to transfer one hundred thousand dollars from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund to the foreclosure fund. The Colorado water conservation board is authorized to provide funding to cover the direct costs associated with completing foreclosure proceedings against a delinquent borrower from either the Colorado water conservation board construction fund or the severance tax perpetual base fund. The moneys in the foreclosure fund are hereby continuously appropriated to the board for loan foreclosure proceedings, including property management costs, appraisals, assessments, taxes, local government fees, insurance costs, court costs, and legal fees. All interest derived from the investment of moneys in the foreclosure fund shall be credited to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund. Any balance remaining in the foreclosure fund at the end of any fiscal year remains in the fund.
C.R.S. § 37-60-123.2 Flood and drought response fund - created
37-60-123.2. Flood and drought response fund - created. (1) There is hereby created in the state treasury the flood and drought response fund, referred to in this section as the "response fund". On July 1, 2019, and on each July 1 thereafter, in addition to any remaining balance in the response fund at the end of the fiscal year, the state treasurer is hereby authorized and directed to annually transfer up to five hundred thousand dollars from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund to the response fund to restore the unencumbered balance in the response fund to five hundred thousand dollars. The board is authorized to provide funding for flood and drought preparedness and for response and recovery activities following flood or drought events and disasters. The money in the response fund is hereby continuously appropriated to the board for flood and drought response purposes, including the immediate availability of funds for aerial photography of flooded areas, flood and drought documentation and identification of specific hazards, evaluations and revisions of floodplain designations and drought-prone areas, flood and drought forecasting and preparation, and development of disaster and recovery mitigation plans. The state treasurer shall credit all interest derived from the investment of money in the response fund to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund. Any balance remaining in the response fund at the end of any fiscal year remains in the fund.
(2) Repealed.
C.R.S. § 37-60-123.3 Water plan implementation cash fund - created - water plan implementation account - created - legislative declaration - reporting - repeal
37-60-123.3. Water plan implementation cash fund - created - water plan implementation account - created - legislative declaration - reporting - repeal. (1) (a) There is hereby created in the state treasury the water plan implementation cash fund, referred to in this section as the "fund". The fund consists of sports betting revenues transferred from the sports betting fund in accordance with section 44-30-1509, money transferred from the severance tax operational fund pursuant to section 39-29-109.3 (9), and any other money that the general assembly may appropriate or transfer to the fund. The state treasurer shall credit all interest and income derived from the deposit and investment of money in the fund to the fund.
(b) (I) The state treasurer shall transfer fifteen million dollars from the general fund to the fund. The board may use up to five percent of the money transferred by this subsection (1)(b)(I) to administer grants made pursuant to subsection (2)(a) of this section. By July 1, 2023, the board shall award pursuant to subsection (2) of this section all of the money transferred by this subsection (1)(b).
(II) This subsection (1)(b) is repealed, effective September 1, 2025.
(2) From the fund, the board may approve of:
(a) Grants pursuant to section 37-60-106.3 (6);
(b) Expenditures to ensure compliance with interstate water allocation compacts, equitable apportionment decrees, international treaties, and federal laws relating to interstate storage and release, apportionment, and allocation of water, including to support projects and processes that may include compensation to water users for temporary and voluntary reductions in consumptive use that are regionally equitable and avoid disproportionate, negative economic or environmental impacts to any single subbasin or region; and
(c) Expenditures that may be necessary for the administration of grants and compact expenditures listed in subsections (2)(a) and (2)(b) of this section.
(3) (a) The general assembly finds and declares that:
(I) This subsection (3) is intended to respond to the negative economic impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as defined in section 37-60-134 (9)(b), and the resulting public health emergency by providing grant money to promote projects and actions that advance progress toward accomplishing the critical actions identified in the state water plan;
(II) Money allocated to the state pursuant to the "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021", as defined in section 37-60-134 (9)(a), and transferred to the water plan implementation account may be used for the purposes of this subsection (3); and
(III) The water plan implementation purposes described in this subsection (3) are important government services.
(b) There is hereby created in the water plan implementation cash fund the water plan implementation account, referred to in this subsection (3) as the "account". The money in the account is continuously appropriated to the board to use for the purposes set forth in this subsection (3).
(c) The account consists of all money transferred to the account on August 15, 2024, from the groundwater compact compliance and sustainability fund created in section 37-60-134 (3)(a).
(d) The board and any person that receives money from the board pursuant to this subsection (3) shall comply with the compliance, reporting, record-keeping, and program evaluation requirement established by the office of state planning and budgeting and the state controller in accordance with section 24-75-226 (5).
(e) This subsection (3) is repealed, effective September 1, 2027.
C.R.S. § 37-60-123.5 Agricultural emergency drought response
37-60-123.5. Agricultural emergency drought response. (1) If, pursuant to federal or state law, any portion of Colorado has received emergency drought designation or a disaster emergency has been proclaimed due to drought, notwithstanding the provisions of section 39-29-109 (1), C.R.S., in addition to any other moneys appropriated from the severance tax perpetual base fund, created by section 39-29-109 (2)(a), C.R.S., up to one million dollars in the severance tax perpetual base fund are continuously appropriated annually to the director of the Colorado water conservation board and the state engineer for use, in connection with the designation or proclamation, to make loans and grants to agricultural organizations for emergency drought-related water augmentation purposes.
(2) The director of the Colorado water conservation board and the state engineer shall consult with the commissioner of agriculture and the executive director of the department of natural resources before making any loans or grants pursuant to this section. Within three months after the end of any fiscal year during which the spending authority created pursuant to this section is exercised, the director and the state engineer shall report to the general assembly regarding how such spending authority was exercised.
C.R.S. § 37-60-123.7 Acquisitions of water for instream flows
37-60-123.7. Acquisitions of water for instream flows. (1) In addition to any other moneys appropriated from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund, up to one million dollars in the fund are continuously appropriated to the board annually to pay for the costs of acquiring water, water rights, and interests in water for instream flow use. The total amount of the continuous appropriation that is unencumbered in any fiscal year must not exceed one million dollars. The primary priority for expenditures of these revenues is the costs of water acquisitions for existing or new instream flow water rights to preserve and improve the natural environment to a reasonable degree. These revenues also may be used, in limited circumstances, for the costs of water acquisitions to:
(a) Preserve and improve the natural environment of species that have been listed as threatened or endangered under state or federal law, are candidate species, or are likely to become candidate species;
(b) Support wild and scenic alternative management plans; or
(c) Provide federal regulatory certainty.
(1.5) Repealed.
(2) Prior to any expenditure of funds under this section, the board shall adopt criteria and guidelines regarding its implementation of this spending authority. The board shall approve any expenditure of funds pursuant to this section. Within three months after the end of any fiscal year during which the spending authority created pursuant to this section is exercised, the board shall report to the general assembly regarding how such spending authority was exercised.
C.R.S. § 37-60-124 Office of water conservation and drought planning - creation - powers and duties
37-60-124. Office of water conservation and drought planning - creation - powers and duties. (1) There is hereby created as an office under the Colorado water conservation board the office of water conservation and drought planning. The office shall have such staff as are necessary and appropriate to carry out the duties established for the office.
(2) The office of water conservation and drought planning shall promote water conservation and drought mitigation planning by performing, to the degree feasible, duties including, but not limited to, the following:
(a) Participating as a member or chairperson of any state water availability task forces established to monitor, forecast, mitigate, or prepare for drought;
(b) Acting as a repository for water conservation and drought mitigation planning information;
(c) Disseminating water conservation, drought mitigation planning, and related information to water providers and the general public;
(d) Providing technical assistance to and working with municipal, industrial, agricultural, and other water providers and state agencies as they plan for, evaluate, and implement water conservation plans and programs, drought mitigation plans, or both;
(e) Coordination of the planning for and assistance in the implementation of water conservation plans by state agencies pursuant to section 37-96-103 (4);
(f) Administration of financial assistance for water conservation and drought mitigation planning and implementation measures and programs; and
(g) Evaluating water conservation and drought mitigation plans related to the use of such plans by water providers to address water needs and to prepare for water-related emergencies based upon policies and guidelines adopted by the board pursuant to section 37-60-126.
(3) The personal services, operating, travel and subsistence, capital, and legal services expenses of administering the office of water conservation and drought planning and the programs and activities authorized by subsection (2) of this section may be paid from such moneys as are appropriated, allocated, or otherwise credited to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund.
(4) Repealed.
C.R.S. § 37-60-124.4 Stream gauge fund - created
37-60-124.4. Stream gauge fund - created. There is hereby created in the state treasury the stream gauge fund, referred to in this section as the "gauge fund". The state treasurer is hereby authorized and directed to transfer two hundred fifty thousand dollars from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund to the gauge fund. The moneys in the gauge fund are hereby continuously appropriated to the board for stream gaging and data collection efforts related to instream flow monitoring, compact protection, decision support systems, and flood forecasting and analysis. In addition to any remaining balance in the gauge fund at the end of any fiscal year, the board is hereby authorized, from the water conservation board construction fund, to annually provide up to two hundred fifty thousand dollars in order to restore the unencumbered balance in the gauge fund to two hundred fifty thousand dollars. All interest derived from the investment of moneys in the gauge fund shall be credited to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund. The board shall review the purposes of the gauge fund annually and is hereby authorized to cease providing moneys in the following year if, in its discretion, the board determines that the purposes for which the gauge fund was established have ceased. The board may set terms and conditions as it deems appropriate concerning the annual expenditures of moneys from the gauge fund.
C.R.S. § 37-60-125 Authorizations for expenditures from Colorado water conservation board construction fund for demonstration of benefits of water efficiency
37-60-125. Authorizations for expenditures from Colorado water conservation board construction fund for demonstration of benefits of water efficiency. (1) The Colorado water conservation board is hereby authorized to expend five hundred thousand dollars from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund, notwithstanding the requirements of sections 37-60-119 to 37-60-122, for the purpose of a pilot program demonstrating the benefits of water efficiency measures by providing incentive grants, not to exceed fifty thousand dollars to any public agency, established under Colorado law, that requests assistance in the design and implementation of pilot water efficiency and conservation measures.
(2) The board is further authorized to expend eighty thousand dollars and 1.5 FTE for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1991, for personal services, operating, travel and subsistence, capital, and legal services expenses of administering the pilot program authorized in subsection (1) of this section from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund.
(3) The board shall develop guidelines for the range of potentially eligible projects for the pilot program authorized in subsection (1) of this section by October 1, 1991, and shall establish such criteria and feasibility measures as will assure that a range of potentially beneficial projects are demonstrated as part of the pilot program.
(4) and (5) Repealed.
C.R.S. § 37-60-126 Water conservation and drought mitigation planning - programs - relationship to state assistance for water facilities - guidelines - water efficiency grant program - definitions - repeal
37-60-126. Water conservation and drought mitigation planning - programs - relationship to state assistance for water facilities - guidelines - water efficiency grant program - definitions - repeal. (1) As used in this section and section 37-60-126.5, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) "Agency" means a public or private entity whose primary purpose includes the promotion of water resource conservation.
(b) "Covered entity" means each municipality, agency, utility, including any privately owned utility, or other publicly owned entity with a legal obligation to supply, distribute, or otherwise provide water at retail to domestic, commercial, industrial, or public facility customers, and that has a total demand for such customers of two thousand acre-feet or more.
(c) "Grant program" means the water efficiency grant program established pursuant to subsection (12) of this section.
(d) "Office" means the office of water conservation and drought planning created in section 37-60-124.
(e) "Plan elements" means those components of water conservation plans that address water-saving measures and programs, implementation review, water-saving goals, and the actions a covered entity shall take to develop, implement, monitor, review, and revise its water conservation plan.
(f) "Public facility" means any facility operated by an instrument of government for the benefit of the public, including, but not limited to, a government building; park or other recreational facility; school, college, university, or other educational institution; highway; hospital; or stadium.
(g) "Water conservation" means water use efficiency, wise water use, water transmission and distribution system efficiency, and supply substitution. The objective of water conservation is a long-term increase in the productive use of water supply in order to satisfy water supply needs without compromising desired water services.
(h) "Water conservation plan", "water use efficiency plan", or "plan" means a plan adopted in accordance with this section.
(i) "Water-saving measures and programs" includes a device, a practice, hardware, or equipment that reduces water demands and a program that uses a combination of measures and incentives that allow for an increase in the productive use of a local water supply.
(2) (a) Each covered entity shall, subject to section 37-60-127, develop, adopt, make publicly available, and implement a plan pursuant to which such covered entity shall encourage its domestic, commercial, industrial, and public facility customers to use water more efficiently. Any state or local governmental entity that is not a covered entity may develop, adopt, make publicly available, and implement such a plan.
(b) The office shall review previously submitted conservation plans to evaluate their consistency with the provisions of this section and the guidelines established pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of this section.
rs to use water more efficiently. Any state or local governmental entity that is not a covered entity may develop, adopt, make publicly available, and implement such a plan.
(b) The office shall review previously submitted conservation plans to evaluate their consistency with the provisions of this section and the guidelines established pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of this section.
(c) On and after July 1, 2006, a covered entity that seeks financial assistance from either the board or the Colorado water resources and power development authority shall submit to the board a new or revised plan to meet water conservation goals adopted by the covered entity, in accordance with this section, for the board's approval prior to the release of new loan proceeds.
(3) The manner in which the covered entity develops, adopts, makes publicly available, and implements a plan established pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall be determined by the covered entity in accordance with this section. The plan shall be accompanied by a schedule for its implementation. The plans and schedules shall be provided to the office within ninety days after their adoption. For those entities seeking financial assistance, the office shall then notify the covered entity and the appropriate financing authority that the plan has been reviewed and whether the plan has been approved in accordance with this section.
(4) A plan developed by a covered entity pursuant to subsection (2) of this section must, at a minimum, include a full evaluation of the following plan elements:
(a) The water-saving measures and programs to be used by the covered entity for water conservation. In developing these measures and programs, each covered entity shall, at a minimum, consider the following:
(I) Water-efficient fixtures and appliances, including toilets, urinals, clothes washers, showerheads, and faucet aerators;
(II) Low water use landscapes, drought-resistant vegetation, removal of phreatophytes, and efficient irrigation;
(III) Water-efficient industrial and commercial water-using processes;
(IV) Water reuse systems;
(V) Distribution system leak identification and repair;
(VI) Dissemination of information regarding water use efficiency measures, including by public education, customer water use audits, and water-saving demonstrations;
(VII) (A) Water rate structures and billing systems designed to encourage water use efficiency in a fiscally responsible manner.
(B) The department of local affairs may provide technical assistance to covered entities that are local governments to implement water billing systems that show customer water usage and that implement tiered billing systems.
(VIII) Regulatory measures designed to encourage water conservation;
(IX) Incentives to implement water conservation techniques, including rebates to customers to encourage the installation of water conservation measures;
(b) A section stating the covered entity's best judgment of the role of water conservation plans in the covered entity's water supply planning;
(c) The steps the covered entity used to develop, and will use to implement, monitor, review, and revise, its water conservation plan;
(d) The time period, not to exceed seven years, after which the covered entity will review and update its adopted plan;
(e) Either as a percentage or in acre-foot increments, an estimate of the amount of water that has been saved through a previously implemented conservation plan and an estimate of the amount of water that will be saved through conservation when the plan is implemented; and
lan;
(d) The time period, not to exceed seven years, after which the covered entity will review and update its adopted plan;
(e) Either as a percentage or in acre-foot increments, an estimate of the amount of water that has been saved through a previously implemented conservation plan and an estimate of the amount of water that will be saved through conservation when the plan is implemented; and
(f) (I) Best management practices for water demand management, water efficiency, and water conservation that may be implemented through land use planning efforts.
(II) In order to assist covered entities in meeting the requirements of subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (f), the board, in consultation with the division of local government in the department of local affairs, shall:
(A) Develop training programs, including introductory programs, refresher programs, and advanced programs, for local government water use, water demand, water consumption, and land use planners regarding best management practices for water demand management, water efficiency, and water conservation;
(B) Provide the training, on a recurring basis, free of charge to local water use, water demand, and land use planners; and
(C) Make recommendations regarding how to better integrate water demand management and conservation planning into land use planning, including, as appropriate, legislative, regulatory, and guidance or policy recommendations.
(4.5) (a) On an annual basis starting no later than June 30, 2014, covered entities shall report water use and conservation data, to be used for statewide water supply planning, following board guidelines pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subsection (4.5), to the board by the end of the second quarter of each year for the previous calendar year.
(b) No later than February 1, 2012, the board shall adopt guidelines regarding the reporting of water use and conservation data by covered entities and shall provide a report to the senate agriculture and natural resources committee and the house of representatives agriculture, livestock, and natural resources committee, or their successor committees, regarding the guidelines. These guidelines shall:
(I) Be adopted pursuant to the board's public participation process and shall include outreach to stakeholders from water providers with geographic and demographic diversity, nongovernmental organizations, and water conservation professionals; and
(II) Include clear descriptions of: Categories of customers, uses, and measurements; how guidelines will be implemented; and how data will be reported to the board.
(c) Repealed.
(5) Each covered entity and other state or local governmental entity that adopts a plan shall follow the entity's rules, codes, or ordinances to make the draft plan available for public review and comment. If there are no rules, codes, or ordinances governing the entity's public planning process, then each entity shall publish a draft plan, give public notice of the plan, make such plan publicly available, and solicit comments from the public for a period of not less than sixty days after the date on which the draft plan is made publicly available. Reference shall be made in the public notice to the elements of a plan that have already been implemented.
(6) The board is hereby authorized to recommend the appropriation and expenditure of revenues as are necessary from the unobligated balance of the five percent share of the severance tax operational fund designated for use by the board for the purpose of the office providing assistance to covered entities to develop water conservation plans that meet the provisions of this section.
n implemented.
(6) The board is hereby authorized to recommend the appropriation and expenditure of revenues as are necessary from the unobligated balance of the five percent share of the severance tax operational fund designated for use by the board for the purpose of the office providing assistance to covered entities to develop water conservation plans that meet the provisions of this section.
(7) (a) The board shall adopt guidelines for the office to review water conservation plans submitted by covered entities and other state or local governmental entities. The guidelines shall define the method for submitting plans to the office, the methods for office review and approval of the plans, and the interest rate surcharge provided for in paragraph (a) of subsection (9) of this section.
(b) If no other applicable guidelines exist as of June 1, 2007, the board shall adopt guidelines by July 31, 2007, for the office to use in reviewing applications submitted by covered entities, other state or local governmental entities, and agencies for grants from the grant program and from the grant program established in section 37-60-126.5 (3). The guidelines shall establish deadlines and procedures for covered entities, other state or local governmental entities, and agencies to follow in applying for grants and the criteria to be used by the office and the board in prioritizing and awarding grants.
(8) A covered entity may at any time adopt changes to an approved plan in accordance with this section after notifying and receiving concurrence from the office. If the proposed changes are major, the covered entity shall give public notice of the changes, make the changes available in draft form, and provide the public an opportunity to comment on such changes before adopting them in accordance with subsection (5) of this section.
(9) (a) Neither the board nor the Colorado water resources and power development authority shall release grant or loan proceeds to a covered entity unless the covered entity provides a copy of the water conservation plan adopted pursuant to this section; except that the board or the authority may release the grant or loan proceeds notwithstanding a covered entity's failure to comply with the reporting requirements of subsection (4.5) of this section or if the board or the authority, as applicable, determines that an unforseen emergency exists in relation to the covered entity's loan application, in which case the board or the authority, as applicable, may impose a grant or loan surcharge upon the covered entity that may be rebated or reduced if the covered entity submits and adopts a plan in compliance with this section in a timely manner as determined by the board or the authority, as applicable.
(b) The board and the Colorado water resources and power development authority, to which any covered entity has applied for financial assistance for the construction of a water diversion, storage, conveyance, water treatment, or wastewater treatment facility, shall consider any water conservation plan filed pursuant to this section in determining whether to render financial assistance to such entity. Such consideration shall be carried out within the discretion accorded the board and the Colorado water resources and power development authority pursuant to which such board and authority render such financial assistance to such covered entity.
facility, shall consider any water conservation plan filed pursuant to this section in determining whether to render financial assistance to such entity. Such consideration shall be carried out within the discretion accorded the board and the Colorado water resources and power development authority pursuant to which such board and authority render such financial assistance to such covered entity.
(c) The board and the Colorado water resources and power development authority may enter into a memorandum of understanding with each other for the purposes of avoiding delay in the processing of applications for financial assistance covered by this section and avoiding duplication in the consideration required by this subsection (9).
(10) Repealed.
(11) (a) (I) Any section of a restrictive covenant or of the declaration, bylaws, or rules and regulations of a common interest community, all as defined in section 38-33.3-103, and any rule or policy of a special district, as defined in section 32-1-103 (20), that prohibits or limits xeriscape, prohibits or limits the installation or use of drought-tolerant vegetative landscapes, requires cultivated vegetation to consist wholly or partially of turf grass, or prohibits the use of nonvegetative turf grass in the backyard of a residential property is hereby declared contrary to public policy and, on that basis, is unenforceable. This subsection (11)(a) does not prohibit common interest communities or special districts from adopting and enforcing design or aesthetic guidelines or rules that apply to drought-tolerant vegetative or nonvegetative landscapes or regulate the type, number, and placement of drought-tolerant plantings and hardscapes that may be installed on property that is subject to the guidelines or rules; except that the guidelines or rules must not prohibit the use of nonvegetative turf grass in the backyard of a residential property.
(II) This subsection (11)(a), as amended by House Bill 21-1229, enacted in 2021, does not apply to an association that includes time share units, as defined in section 38-33-110 (7).
(III) This subsection (11)(a), as amended by Senate Bill 23-178, enacted in 2023, applies only to a unit that is a single-family home that shares one or more walls with another unit and does not apply to a unit that is a detached single-family home.
(a.5) (I) Any section of a restrictive covenant or of the declaration, bylaws, or rules and regulations of a common interest community, all as defined in section 38-33.3-103, and any rule or policy of a special district, as defined in section 32-1-103 (20), that prohibits or limits xeriscape, prohibits or limits the installation or use of drought-tolerant vegetative or nonvegetative landscapes, requires cultivated vegetation to consist wholly or partially of turf grass, or prohibits the use of nonvegetative turf grass in the backyard of a residential property is hereby declared contrary to public policy and, on that basis, is unenforceable. This subsection (11)(a.5) does not prohibit common interest communities or special districts from adopting and enforcing design or aesthetic guidelines or rules that apply to drought-tolerant vegetative or nonvegetative landscapes or regulate the type, number, and placement of drought-tolerant plantings and hardscapes that may be installed on property that is subject to the guidelines or rules; except that the guidelines or rules must:
(A) Not prohibit the use of nonvegetative turf grass in the backyard of a residential property;
(B) Not unreasonably require the use of hardscape on more than twenty percent of the landscaping area of a unit of a common interest community, as those terms are defined in section 38-33.3-103 (8) and (30);
(C) Allow a unit owner, as defined in section 38-33.3-103 (31), an option that consists of at least eighty percent drought-tolerant plantings; and
in the backyard of a residential property;
(B) Not unreasonably require the use of hardscape on more than twenty percent of the landscaping area of a unit of a common interest community, as those terms are defined in section 38-33.3-103 (8) and (30);
(C) Allow a unit owner, as defined in section 38-33.3-103 (31), an option that consists of at least eighty percent drought-tolerant plantings; and
(D) Not prohibit vegetable gardens in the front, back, or side yard of a unit owner's property. As used in this subsection (11)(a.5)(I)(D), "vegetable garden" means a plot of ground or an elevated soil bed in which pollinator plants, flowers, or vegetables or herbs, fruits, leafy greens, or other edible plants are cultivated.
(II) This subsection (11)(a.5) does not apply to:
(A) A unit owners' association, as defined in section 38-33.3-103 (3), that includes time share units, as defined in section 38-33-110 (7); or
(B) A unit, as defined in section 38-33.3-103 (30), that is a single-family home that shares one or more walls with another unit.
(b) As used in this subsection (11):
(I) "Executive board policy or practice" includes any additional procedural step or burden, financial or otherwise, placed on a unit owner who seeks approval for a landscaping change by the executive board of a unit owners' association, as defined in section 38-33.3-103, C.R.S., and not included in the existing declaration or bylaws of the association. An "executive board policy or practice" includes, without limitation, the requirement of:
(A) An architect's stamp;
(B) Preapproval by an architect or landscape architect retained by the executive board;
(C) An analysis of water usage under the proposed new landscape plan or a history of water usage under the unit owner's existing landscape plan; and
(D) The adoption of a landscaping change fee.
(II) "Restrictive covenant" means any covenant, restriction, bylaw, executive board policy or practice, or condition applicable to real property for the purpose of controlling land use, but does not include any covenant, restriction, or condition imposed on such real property by any governmental entity.
(II.5) "Turf" means a covering of mowed vegetation, usually turf grass, growing intimately with an upper soil stratum of intermingled roots and stems.
(III) "Turf grass" means continuous plant coverage consisting of nonnative grasses or grasses that have not been hybridized for arid conditions which, when regularly mowed, form a dense growth of leaf blades and roots.
(IV) "Xeriscape" has the meaning set forth in section 38-33.3-103 (33).
(c) Nothing in this subsection (11) precludes the executive board of a common interest community from taking enforcement action against a unit owner who allows his or her existing landscaping to die or go dormant; except that:
(I) No enforcement action shall require that a unit owner water in violation of water use restrictions declared by the jurisdiction in which the common interest community is located, in which case the unit owner shall water his or her landscaping appropriately but not in excess of any watering restrictions imposed by the water provider for the common interest community;
(II) Enforcement shall be consistent within the community and not arbitrary or capricious; and
(III) In any enforcement action in which the existing turf grass is dead or dormant due to insufficient watering, the unit owner shall be allowed a reasonable and practical opportunity, as defined by the association's executive board, with consideration of applicable local growing seasons or practical limitations, to reseed and revive turf grass before being required to replace it with new sod.
d
(III) In any enforcement action in which the existing turf grass is dead or dormant due to insufficient watering, the unit owner shall be allowed a reasonable and practical opportunity, as defined by the association's executive board, with consideration of applicable local growing seasons or practical limitations, to reseed and revive turf grass before being required to replace it with new sod.
(d) (I) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (11)(d)(II) of this section, this subsection (11) does not supersede any subdivision regulation of a county, city and county, or other municipality.
(II) This subsection (11) supersedes a rule or policy of a special district, as defined in section 32-1-103 (20), only in the case of a direct conflict.
(12) (a) (I) There is hereby created the water efficiency grant program for purposes of providing state funding to aid in the planning and implementation of water conservation plans developed in accordance with the requirements of this section and to promote the benefits of water efficiency. The board is authorized to distribute grants to covered entities, other state or local governmental entities, and agencies in accordance with its guidelines from the moneys transferred to and appropriated from the water efficiency grant program cash fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury.
(II) Moneys in the water efficiency grant program cash fund are hereby continuously appropriated to the board for the purposes of this subsection (12) and shall be available for use until the programs and projects financed using the grants have been completed.
(III) For each fiscal year beginning on or after July 1, 2010, the general assembly shall appropriate from the fund to the board up to five hundred thousand dollars annually for the purpose of providing grants to covered entities, other state and local governmental entities, and agencies in accordance with this subsection (12). Commencing July 1, 2008, the general assembly shall also appropriate from the fund to the board fifty thousand dollars each fiscal year to cover the costs associated with the administration of the grant program and the requirements of section 37-60-124. Moneys appropriated pursuant to this subparagraph (III) shall remain available until expended or until June 30, 2020, whichever occurs first.
(IV) The state treasurer shall transfer any money remaining in the fund on June 30, 2030, to the severance tax operational fund described in section 39-29-109 (2)(b).
(V) On April 30, 2021, the state treasurer shall transfer two hundred nineteen thousand eight hundred three dollars from the water efficiency grant program created in subsection (12)(a)(I) of this section to the severance tax operational fund created in section 39-29-109 (2)(b)(I).
(b) Any covered entity or state or local governmental entity that has adopted a water conservation plan and that supplies, distributes, or otherwise provides water at retail to customers may apply for a grant to aid in the implementation of the water efficiency goals of the plan. Any agency may apply for a grant to fund outreach or education programs aimed at demonstrating the benefits of water efficiency. The office shall review the applications and make recommendations to the board regarding the awarding and distribution of grants to applicants who satisfy the criteria outlined in this subsection (12) and the guidelines developed pursuant to subsection (7) of this section.
(b.5) Repealed.
(c) This subsection (12) is repealed, effective July 1, 2030.
C.R.S. § 37-60-126.5 Drought mitigation planning - programs - relationship to state assistance
37-60-126.5. Drought mitigation planning - programs - relationship to state assistance. (1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, "drought mitigation" means the planning and implementation of actions and programs used in periods of unusual water scarcity, with a combination of actions and programs taken before a drought to reduce the occurrence and severity of water supply shortages, and actions and programs taken during a drought to manage water supplies and water demand appropriately.
(2) The office shall develop programs to provide technical assistance to covered entities and other state or local governmental entities in the development of drought mitigation plans.
(3) The board is hereby authorized to expend revenues from the water efficiency grant program cash fund and to recommend the appropriation and expenditure of the revenues as is necessary from the unobligated balance of the five-percent share of the severance tax operational fund designated for use by the board for the purpose of assisting covered entities and other state or local governmental entities to develop drought mitigation plans that the office identifies as sufficient.
(4) The board shall adopt guidelines for the office to use in reviewing, evaluating, and approving drought mitigation plans submitted by covered entities or other state or local governmental entities in accordance with this section.
C.R.S. § 37-60-127 Applicability of provisions requiring funding by political subdivisions of the state
37-60-127. Applicability of provisions requiring funding by political subdivisions of the state. No provision of section 37-60-124, 37-60-125, 37-60-126, or 37-96-103 (4) to (6) that requires funding by any political subdivision of the state that is a covered entity as defined in section 37-60-126 (1)(b) applies to any such political subdivision if the entity submits the applicable provision and its requirements, including all costs to the inhabitants of the respective jurisdiction, to the qualified electors of any such political subdivision, and a majority of the qualified electors do not approve the applicable provision and its requirements.
C.R.S. § 37-60-128 Sunset of water conservation provisions - review by general assembly
37-60-128. Sunset of water conservation provisions - review by general assembly. (Repealed)
C.R.S. § 37-60-129 Availability of funds
37-60-129. Availability of funds. Moneys appropriated or authorized to the board from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund and from the Colorado river recovery program loan fund shall remain available to the board for the original purposes, unless deauthorized by the legislature, until any project for which the moneys were appropriated or authorized is completed.
C.R.S. § 37-60-130 Well augmentation loans
37-60-130. Well augmentation loans.
(1) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2004, p. 884, § 16, effective May 21, 2004.)
(2) The board is hereby authorized to make loans from unreserved cash in the Colorado water conservation board construction fund to organizations or entities for the purchase of augmentation water or the rights to such water to replace out-of-priority depletions to surface water rights and to prevent material depletions of stateline flows that might result in violation of compacts or interstate decrees.
(3) The board shall approve or deny applications for loans based upon criteria including, but not limited to, whether the:
(a) Source of augmentation water is from a reliable, permanent supply;
(b) Applicant has adequate security or collateral to assure repayment;
(c) Applicant has the ability to repay the loan at an interest rate and over a period of time as set by the board;
(d) Applicant is able to collect payments for the augmented water from its members;
(e) Loan will serve the needs of a broad group of users rather than a specific user;
(f) Loan will assist in maintaining the agricultural viability of the area served;
(g) Applicant obtains commitments from its members that any such member who fails to make payments in accordance with the loan agreement shall cease pumping water; and
(h) Applicant obtains commitments from its members to comply with any rules or changes to rules as promulgated or amended by the state engineer that govern the measurement of groundwater withdrawals and the use of such groundwater.
(4) (a) The state engineer shall promptly and completely curtail the use of a well by the owner of such well if such owner has accepted the benefit of a well augmentation loan and fails to make a payment required pursuant to the terms of subsection (3) of this section.
(b) This section shall apply regardless of whether the well owner accepts the benefit of the well augmentation loan directly or through membership in a participating association or organization.
(c) Curtailment pursuant to this subsection (4) shall remain in effect for as long as any payment remains past due.
C.R.S. § 37-60-131 Natural hazard mapping - fund - repeal
37-60-131. Natural hazard mapping - fund - repeal. (Repealed)
C.R.S. § 37-60-132 Invasive phreatophyte control program - creation - fund - repeal
37-60-132. Invasive phreatophyte control program - creation - fund - repeal. (Repealed)
C.R.S. § 37-60-133 Minimum criteria and guidelines for agricultural water protection programs
37-60-133. Minimum criteria and guidelines for agricultural water protection programs. (1) (a) The board shall develop minimum criteria and guidelines for the establishment of an agricultural water protection program in each water division pursuant to section 37-92-305 (19)(b)(IV)(B) to assure sufficient protection and monitoring of agricultural water protection water rights pursuant to section 37-92-305 (19)(b)(III).
(b) The board may promulgate separate minimum criteria and guidelines for each water division.
(c) (I) Until finalization of the criteria and guidelines, the board shall post and periodically update draft criteria and guidelines on its website.
(II) The board shall consider any comments it receives on the draft criteria and guidelines and, upon the request of an eligible entity, as defined in section 37-92-305 (19)(c), the board shall hold a meeting with the eligible entity to receive the eligible entity's comments.
(III) The board shall hold at least one public meeting in each water division to present the draft criteria and guidelines and receive comments on them.
(2) The board shall finalize the criteria and guidelines within one year after initiating the process to develop criteria and guidelines.
(3) As used in this section, "agricultural water protection water right" has the same meaning as in section 37-92-305 (19)(a).
C.R.S. § 37-60-134 Groundwater compact compliance and sustainability fund - creation - conservation district recommendations for expenditures - state engineer approval - legislative declaration - transfer - definitions - reports - notice to revisor of statutes - repeal
37-60-134. Groundwater compact compliance and sustainability fund - creation - conservation district recommendations for expenditures - state engineer approval - legislative declaration - transfer - definitions - reports - notice to revisor of statutes - repeal. (1) The general assembly hereby:
(a) Finds and determines that:
(I) Groundwater well pumping in certain areas of the state provides the principal source of irrigation water supply but consequently may reduce the quantity of groundwater in the aquifers and may impact the hydrogeology of connected surface streams, resulting in reduced streamflows that threaten senior water rights and the state's compliance with interstate compacts;
(II) Groundwater use is extensive in four of the eight major river basins in Colorado, namely the Rio Grande, Republican, Arkansas, and South Platte river basins, and such groundwater use is closely tied to the agricultural economy in those areas;
(III) Previous United States supreme court litigation initiated in neighboring states regarding compact compliance by the Rio Grande, Arkansas, and Republican river basins have involved complaints regarding the extent of groundwater use in those areas. Settlements of the lawsuits in the Rio Grande and Republican river basins resulted in the creation of water conservation districts to address groundwater management and conservation.
(IV) Despite the conservation districts' and the state's diligent efforts to implement strategies to reduce groundwater use, including the creation of six groundwater management subdistricts in the Rio Grande river basin and the use of various federal, state, and local funding sources to incentivize the purchase and retirement of irrigated acreage, extensive groundwater use in the Rio Grande and Republican river basins continues to threaten aquifer sustainability, senior water rights, and compact compliance;
(V) As part of the efforts to reduce groundwater use, the state entered into a stipulation with Kansas and Nebraska in 2016 in which the state agreed to retire twenty-five thousand acres of irrigated acreage in the Republican river basin by 2029, and, pursuant to standards for groundwater management set forth in section 37-92-501 (4), the groundwater management subdistrict number 1 created in the Rio Grande water conservation district is required to retire forty thousand acres of irrigated acreage by 2029;
(VI) To date, only about three thousand acres have been retired in the Republican river basin and only about thirteen thousand acres have been retired in the Rio Grande river basin; and
(VII) If the acreage retirement requirements in the Rio Grande and Republican river basins are not met, the state might be required to mandate groundwater use reductions for productive farmland in the basins to achieve compact compliance, thus threatening the agricultural economies in the river basins; and
and only about thirteen thousand acres have been retired in the Rio Grande river basin; and
(VII) If the acreage retirement requirements in the Rio Grande and Republican river basins are not met, the state might be required to mandate groundwater use reductions for productive farmland in the basins to achieve compact compliance, thus threatening the agricultural economies in the river basins; and
(b) Declares that:
(I) Greater funding is needed to incentivize the retirement of irrigation wells and irrigated acreage to comply with the groundwater use reduction requirements;
(II) To accelerate the state's progress in retiring irrigated acreage in the Republican and Rio Grande river basins in order to meet state-mandated deadlines, a state fund should be created to provide financial incentives and assistance for the buying and retiring of irrigation wells and irrigated acreage in the basins;
(III) Such use of state money would also help promote conservation and sustainability of groundwater resources in furtherance of the state water plan developed pursuant to section 37-60-106.3; and
(IV) The board should administer the fund and distribute money from the fund based on recommendations of the board of directors of the Rio Grande water conservation district appointed pursuant to section 37-48-103 or the board of directors of the Republican river water conservation district appointed pursuant to section 37-50-104, which recommendations the state engineer should first review.
(2) The general assembly further finds and declares that:
(a) This section is intended to respond to the negative economic impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting public health emergency by providing financial incentives for the voluntary retirement of irrigated acreage and wells in order to maintain interstate compact compliance and for the promotion of conservation and sustainability of groundwater resources in furtherance of the state water plan;
(b) Money allocated to the state pursuant to the "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" and transferred to the groundwater compact compliance and sustainability fund created in subsection (3)(a) of this section may be used for the purposes of this section; and
(c) The compact compliance, groundwater resource sustainability, and groundwater conservation purposes described in this section are important government services.
(3) (a) The groundwater compact compliance and sustainability fund is hereby created in the state treasury and consists of money that the general assembly may appropriate or transfer to the fund; money that the state may receive from federal sources, including federal sources of stimulus funding or recovery funding; and any gifts, grants, or donations that the board seeks, accepts, and expends for the purposes set forth in this section. The money in the fund is subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly.
money that the general assembly may appropriate or transfer to the fund; money that the state may receive from federal sources, including federal sources of stimulus funding or recovery funding; and any gifts, grants, or donations that the board seeks, accepts, and expends for the purposes set forth in this section. The money in the fund is subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly.
(b) The board shall administer the fund to implement the groundwater compact compliance and sustainability purposes established in accordance with this section. The board may use up to five percent of the money annually appropriated to the fund to pay the board's direct and indirect costs, as well as the direct and indirect costs incurred by the Rio Grande water conservation district, the Republican river water conservation district, and the state engineer in implementing this section.
(4) The board may disburse money from the fund for purposes related to compact compliance and groundwater resource sustainability and conservation, including the financing of programs directed at buying and retiring irrigated acreage to reduce groundwater use. The board of directors of the Rio Grande water conservation district and the board of directors of the Republican river water conservation district, in collaboration with the board and the state engineer, may each establish eligibility and application criteria for disbursement of money from the fund. Each board of directors shall post on its website any criteria established pursuant to this subsection (4).
(5) The board shall disburse money from the fund based on recommendations from the board of directors of either the Rio Grande water conservation district or the Republican river water conservation district, which recommendations must first be approved by the state engineer.
(6) If all groundwater reduction requirements established by federal or state court order or stipulation have been met and all statutorily mandated groundwater reduction standards have been achieved, this section will be repealed; except that this section shall not be repealed before January 1, 2025. The board shall notify the revisor of statutes in writing of the date when the conditions specified in this subsection (6) have occurred by emailing the notice to revisorofstatutes.ga@coleg.gov. The board shall also send a copy of the notice to the state treasurer who, within three days after receiving the notice, shall transfer any money remaining in the fund to the general fund. This section is repealed, effective upon the date identified in the notice or, if the notice does not specify that date, upon the date of the notice to the revisor of statutes.
(7) (a) For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, the general assembly shall appropriate to the fund sixty million dollars from the economic recovery and relief cash fund created in section 24-75-228 (2)(a). The board may use the money appropriated for the purposes set forth in this section. Except as provided in subsection (7)(b) of this section, any money appropriated to the fund in the 2022-23 state fiscal year that is unobligated or unexpended at the end of the state fiscal year remains available for expenditure by the board in subsequent state fiscal years without further appropriation, subject to the requirements for obligating and expending money received under the "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021", as specified in section 24-75-226 (4)(d).
y appropriated to the fund in the 2022-23 state fiscal year that is unobligated or unexpended at the end of the state fiscal year remains available for expenditure by the board in subsequent state fiscal years without further appropriation, subject to the requirements for obligating and expending money received under the "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021", as specified in section 24-75-226 (4)(d).
(b) On August 15, 2024, if there is unobligated or unencumbered money in the fund, the state treasurer shall:
(I) If the amount of unobligated or unencumbered money is twenty million dollars or less, transfer all of the unobligated money to the water plan implementation account; or
(II) If the amount of unobligated or unencumbered money is greater than twenty million dollars, transfer to the water plan implementation account twenty million dollars.
(8) (a) The board and any person that receives money from the board pursuant to this section or section 37-60-123.3 (3) shall comply with the compliance, reporting, record-keeping, and program evaluation requirements established by the office of state planning and budgeting and the state controller in accordance with section 24-75-226 (5).
(b) Commencing in 2023, and for each year thereafter through 2027, as part of its annual presentations to the general assembly under the "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act", part 2 of article 7 of title 2, the department of natural resources shall report on how much money the board has expended under this section and if the board expects to expend the full sixty million dollars for the purposes set forth in this section or, if money is transferred to the water plan implementation account in 2024, if the board is on track to expend the full sixty million dollars for the purposes set forth in this section and the purposes set forth in section 37-60-123.3 (3).
(9) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" means the federal "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021", Pub.L. 117-2, as the act may be subsequently amended.
(b) "COVID-19" means the coronavirus disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, also known as SARS-CoV-2.
(c) "Fund" means the groundwater compact compliance and sustainability fund created in subsection (3)(a) of this section.
(d) "Water plan implementation account" means the water plan implementation account created in section 37-60-123.3 (3)(b).
C.R.S. § 37-60-135 State turf replacement program - creation - administration - turf replacement fund - creation - legislative declaration - definitions
37-60-135. State turf replacement program - creation - administration - turf replacement fund - creation - legislative declaration - definitions. (1) The general assembly finds and declares that:
(a) Promoting the efficient and maximum utilization of Colorado's water resources by decreasing the amount of irrigated turf can:
(I) Increase communities' resilience regarding drought and climate change;
(II) Reduce the sale of agricultural water rights in response to increased demand for municipal water use; and
(III) Protect river flows;
(b) Irrigation of outdoor landscaping accounts for nearly half of water use within the municipal and industrial sectors of the state and is mostly used for irrigation of nonnative turf grass;
(c) While there are appropriate and important uses for irrigated turf, including for parks, sports fields, playgrounds, and portions of residential yards, much of the turf in the state is nonessential and is located in areas that receive little, if any, use. Such irrigated turf could be replaced with water-wise landscaping without impacting quality of life or landscape functionality.
(d) Examples of nonessential turf include turf used for:
(I) Medians;
(II) Areas adjacent to open spaces or transportation corridors;
(III) Areas sloped with more than a twenty-five percent grade;
(IV) Storm water drainage and detention basins;
(V) Commercial, institutional, or industrial properties;
(VI) Common elements in a common interest community, as those terms are defined in section 38-33.3-103; and
(VII) Portions of residential yards;
(e) Water-wise landscaping must play a critical role in providing substantial and permanent water savings and in minimizing water waste in Colorado communities;
(f) Local jurisdictions should establish policies that reduce nonessential turf used for new developments or redeveloped areas and increase the use of water-wise landscaping;
(g) The state must prioritize the use of water-wise landscaping for existing and new state government properties;
(h) Turf replacement programs provide a proven and effective strategy for reducing outdoor water demand significantly, and evidence from existing programs demonstrates that, for each acre of turf removed, one to two acre-feet per year of water savings can be realized, meaning that for every one hundred acres of turf converted to water-wise landscapes, up to two hundred acre-feet per year of water may be conserved; and
(i) The board should develop a state turf replacement program to incentivize the voluntary replacement of irrigated turf on residential properties and commercial, institutional, or industrial properties as a means of responding to increased water demand throughout the state.
(2) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) "Campus" means a collection of two or more buildings that are owned and operated by the same person and have a shared purpose and function as a single property.
(b) "Commercial, institutional, or industrial" or "CII":
(I) Means the commercial, institutional, or industrial sector in the state; and
(II) Includes local governments, schools, and businesses.
(c) "District" means:
(I) A district or special district formed pursuant to title 32, including a metropolitan district, as defined in section 32-1-103 (10); a water and sanitation district, as defined in section 32-1-103 (24); and a water district, as defined in section 32-1-103 (25);
(II) A water conservancy district established under article 45 of this title 37; or
(III) A water conservation district established under article 46, 47, 48, or 50 of this title 37.
(d) "Eligible entity" means any of the following entities that already administer or plan to administer a turf replacement program in the state:
(I) A local government;
(II) A district;
(III) A Native American tribe; or
(IV) A nonprofit organization.
blished under article 45 of this title 37; or
(III) A water conservation district established under article 46, 47, 48, or 50 of this title 37.
(d) "Eligible entity" means any of the following entities that already administer or plan to administer a turf replacement program in the state:
(I) A local government;
(II) A district;
(III) A Native American tribe; or
(IV) A nonprofit organization.
(e) "Invasive plant species" means plants that are not native to the state and that:
(I) Are introduced into the state accidentally or intentionally;
(II) Have no natural competitors or predators in the state because the state is outside of their competitors' or predators' range; and
(III) Have harmful effects on the state's environment or economy or both.
(f) "Local government" means a statutory or home rule municipality, county, or city and county.
(g) (I) "Residential property" means any real property upon which a dwelling is constructed.
(II) "Residential property" includes:
(A) Both units and common elements in a common interest community, as those terms are defined in section 38-33.3-103; and
(B) Single-family detached properties and single-family attached properties that are not in a common interest community.
(h) "School" means:
(I) A public school maintained and operated by a school district created pursuant to article 30 of title 22;
(II) A district charter school as defined in section 22-11-103 (12);
(III) An institute charter school as defined in section 22-11-103 (17);
(IV) A private school as defined in section 22-30.5-103 (6.5);
(V) A state institution of higher education as defined in section 23-1-108 (7)(g)(II); or
(VI) A private institution of higher education as defined in section 23-18-102 (9).
(i) "Turf" means continuous plant coverage consisting of nonnative grasses or grasses that have not been hybridized for arid conditions and which, when regularly mowed, form a dense growth of leaf blades and roots.
(j) "Turf replacement fund" or "fund" means the turf replacement fund created in subsection (6) of this section.
(k) "Turf replacement program" or "program" means a program through which financial compensation or in-kind or subsidized goods or services are provided to assist with the voluntary replacement of irrigated turf for:
(I) Residential properties; and
(II) CII properties, including industrial and business campuses.
(l) "Water-wise landscape" or "water-wise landscaping":
(I) Means a water- and plant-management practice that:
(A) Is intended to be functional and attractive;
(B) Emphasizes the use of plants that require lower supplemental water, such as native and drought-tolerant plants; and
(II) Prioritizes the following seven key principles:
(A) Planning and design for water conservation, beauty, and utility;
(B) Improving soil;
(C) Applying efficient irrigation;
(D) Limiting turf to high traffic, essential areas;
(E) Selecting plants that have low water demand;
(F) Applying mulch; and
(G) Maintaining the landscape.
(3) On or before July 1, 2023, the board shall develop a state turf replacement program:
(a) To provide money to an eligible entity that itself provides matching money in an amount up to fifty percent of the direct and indirect costs that the eligible entity and any third party it contracts with in developing or implementing a turf replacement program will incur;
(b) Through one or more third-party contractors chosen in accordance with subsection (5) of this section, to administer one or more turf replacement programs in areas throughout the state in which no eligible entity has developed or is planning to implement a turf replacement program during a specified irrigation season. Turf replacement programs developed pursuant to this subsection (3)(b) may serve residential properties; commercial, institutional, or industrial properties; or both.
of this section, to administer one or more turf replacement programs in areas throughout the state in which no eligible entity has developed or is planning to implement a turf replacement program during a specified irrigation season. Turf replacement programs developed pursuant to this subsection (3)(b) may serve residential properties; commercial, institutional, or industrial properties; or both.
(c) Through which money appropriated or transferred to the turf replacement fund may be provided to an eligible entity that utilizes federal funds to serve as a portion of the nonfederal match money that a federal grant or loan program requires of the eligible entity.
(4) (a) With regard to an eligible entity applicant seeking money for a turf replacement program that it administers or plans to administer, the eligible entity may apply to the board in the form and manner determined by the board for money to assist the eligible entity in providing turf replacement for:
(I) Its own property;
(II) Residential property within the eligible entity's boundaries or service area; or
(III) Commercial, institutional, or industrial property located within the eligible entity's boundaries or service area.
(b) An eligible entity awarded money:
(I) May use a portion of the money to cover its direct and indirect costs, including the direct and indirect costs incurred by any third-party contractor, in developing and administering a turf replacement program;
(II) Is encouraged to require that its program participants update irrigation systems to efficiently irrigate water-wise landscaping as a condition of participating in the eligible entity's turf replacement program; and
(III) Is encouraged to require that its program participants maintain or create defensible space to reduce wildfire risk.
(c) The board's application requirements for applications received pursuant to this subsection (4) must include a requirement that the eligible entity demonstrate to the satisfaction of the board that:
(I) The eligible entity has matching money as required under subsection (3)(a) of this section;
(II) The eligible entity will start using any money awarded for implementation of a turf replacement program within twelve months after being awarded the money;
(III) If the eligible entity has an existing turf replacement program, the eligible entity will use the money awarded in a manner that expands its turf replacement program, either by increasing the financial incentives offered per property or by expanding the annual total acreage of turf replaced under the program; and
(IV) The eligible entity will not allow the use of money for the replacement of turf with any of the following:
(A) Impermeable concrete;
(B) Artificial turf;
(C) Water features such as fountains;
(D) Invasive plant species; or
(E) Turf.
program, either by increasing the financial incentives offered per property or by expanding the annual total acreage of turf replaced under the program; and
(IV) The eligible entity will not allow the use of money for the replacement of turf with any of the following:
(A) Impermeable concrete;
(B) Artificial turf;
(C) Water features such as fountains;
(D) Invasive plant species; or
(E) Turf.
(5) (a) The board shall contract with one or more third parties, selected in compliance with the "Procurement Code", articles 101 to 112 of title 24, to administer one or more turf replacement programs in accordance with subsection (3)(b) of this section. The board and third-party contractor or contractors may use money from the turf replacement fund to cover their direct and indirect costs in developing and administering one or more turf replacement programs under this subsection (5). The board and third-party contractor or contractors shall collaborate to develop one or more turf replacement programs that:
(I) Are based on industry best practices and that may then serve as a model for turf replacement programs that eligible entities administer;
(II) Are designed to require that:
(A) Removed turf be replaced with a minimum percentage of living plant species;
(B) Low or medium water-use plant species or both are used instead of high water-use plant species in replacing the turf;
(C) There is an emphasis on using native and pollinator-friendly plant species; and
(D) There is an emphasis on creating and maintaining defensible space to reduce wildfire risk.
(III) Offer rebates or in-kind or subsidized goods or services to property owners in an amount that balances incentivizing property owners to voluntarily participate in the program while not discouraging eligible entities in the area from developing and administering a local program to serve the area.
(b) The board shall establish the responsibilities and the accountability of the third-party contractor or contractors in managing the program pursuant to this subsection (5), which responsibilities and accountability must include:
(I) Ensuring all project work is being completed in an efficient manner and within the project budget;
(II) Developing and submitting program invoices to the board; and
(III) Providing the board with progress reports about the program and a final report regarding use of the money awarded for the program, including administrative costs.
(c) A residential property owner or CII property owner or manager may apply to a third-party contractor, in a form and manner determined by the board and the third-party contractor, for money for turf replacement on the applicant's property as part of a turf replacement program established pursuant to this subsection (5). The application developed by the board and third-party contractor must inform an applicant that applicants receiving money under this subsection (5):
(I) May use the money to cover the cost of all design, materials, plantings, and labor required to complete landscaping and irrigation system modifications to remove turf and replace it with water-wise landscaping;
(II) Are encouraged to update irrigation systems to efficiently irrigate water-wise landscaping as part of the applicants' participation in the program; and
(III) Shall not use the money to replace turf with any of the following:
(A) Impermeable concrete;
(B) Artificial turf;
(C) Water features such as fountains;
(D) Invasive plant species; or
(E) Turf.
place it with water-wise landscaping;
(II) Are encouraged to update irrigation systems to efficiently irrigate water-wise landscaping as part of the applicants' participation in the program; and
(III) Shall not use the money to replace turf with any of the following:
(A) Impermeable concrete;
(B) Artificial turf;
(C) Water features such as fountains;
(D) Invasive plant species; or
(E) Turf.
(6) (a) (I) The turf replacement fund is hereby created in the state treasury to be administered by the board for implementation of this section. The fund consists of money that the general assembly may appropriate or transfer to the fund, any federal money that the board receives for the program, and any gifts, grants, or donations that the board receives from private or public sources pursuant to subsection (6)(a)(II) of this section. The state treasurer shall credit all interest and income derived from the deposit and investment of money in the fund to the fund.
(II) The board may seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources for the purposes of this section.
(b) Subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly, the board may use the money in the fund for the purposes set forth in this section until the money is expended.
(c) Repealed.
(7) Nothing in this section shall be construed to add a requirement for a water conservation plan that a covered entity files pursuant to section 37-60-126 (2).
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-37.docxFetched: 10/6/2026