Underground Storage

C.R.S. tit. 34, art. 64
in effect

C.R.S. § 34-64-101 Legislative declaration

34-64-101. Legislative declaration. Underground storage of natural gas is found and declared to be in the public interest because it will promote the conservation of natural gas, make natural gas more readily available to the domestic, commercial, and industrial consumers of this state, and permit the building of natural gas reserves and orderly withdrawal thereof in periods of peak demand.

C.R.S. § 34-64-102 Definitions

34-64-102. Definitions. As used in this article 64, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Commission" means the energy and carbon management commission created in section 34-60-104.3 (1). (1.3) "Local government" means a home rule or statutory county, municipality, or city and county. (1.5) "Disproportionately impacted community" has the meaning set forth in section 24-4-109 (2)(b)(II). (2) "Natural gas" means gas which has been produced from the earth in its original state or such gas after the same has been processed or treated. (3) "Natural gas public utility" means any person, partnership, corporation, or association engaged in the business of transporting, distributing, or storing natural gas within this state for ultimate public consumption and either authorized to do business in this state as a public utility or authorized to do business in this state as a natural gas company as defined in the federal "Natural Gas Act", and subject to regulations by the federal power commission. (3.5) (a) "Underground natural gas storage facility" means a facility that stores natural gas in an underground facility, including a depleted hydrocarbon reservoir, an aquifer reservoir, or a solution-mined salt cavern reservoir. (b) "Underground natural gas storage facility" includes any of the following equipment associated with the storage of natural gas in an underground facility: (I) Injection, withdrawal, monitoring, and observation wells; (II) Wellbores and downhole components; (III) Wellheads and associated wellhead piping; (IV) Wing-valve assemblies that isolate the wellhead from connected piping beyond the wing-valve assemblies; and (V) Any other equipment, facility, right-of-way, or building used in the storage of natural gas in an underground facility. (c) "Underground natural gas storage facility" does not include any pipeline facilities or equipment subject to regulation by the public utilities commission. (3.7) "Underground natural gas storage facility impacts" means, for an underground natural gas storage facility proposed to be sited in an area that would affect a disproportionately impacted community, the effect on public health and the environment, including air, water, soil, and the climate, caused by the incremental impacts that a proposed new underground natural gas storage facility would have when added to the impacts from development in the affected area. (4) "Underground reservoir" means any subsurface sand, stratum, or formation suitable for the injection and storage of natural gas therein and the withdrawal of natural gas therefrom. (5) "Underground storage" means the right to inject and store natural gas within and to withdraw natural gas from an underground reservoir.

C.R.S. § 34-64-103 Condemnation - public use

34-64-103. Condemnation - public use. Any natural gas public utility which is engaged in the distribution, transportation, or storage of natural gas, which gas, in whole or in part, is intended for ultimate distribution to the public, has the right to enter upon, take, or use property or any interest therein which is necessary for the injection, storage, and withdrawal of natural gas in the manner provided for by this article, and by the eminent domain law of the state of Colorado, all of which property to be used is hereby recognized and declared to be devoted to public use.

C.R.S. § 34-64-104 Application to commission - order

34-64-104. Application to commission - order. Before the right of condemnation may be exercised for the acquisition of property or any interest therein for underground storage of natural gas, said natural gas public utility shall make application to the commission for an order approving the proposed storage project. No such order shall be issued by the commission unless it shall be based upon substantial evidence and shall contain findings that the underground storage of natural gas in the land sought to be condemned is in the public interest and welfare, and that the storage reservoir is suitable and practicable, and that the formation or formations sought to be condemned are nonproductive of oil or gas in commercial quantities under either primary or secondary recovery methods.

C.R.S. § 34-64-105 Hearing - notice - review

34-64-105. Hearing - notice - review. (1) Upon the filing of the application as specified in section 34-64-104, the commission shall set a date for hearing and give notice thereof as for proceedings in rem, in accordance with the Colorado rules of civil procedure, and shall conduct said hearing in the manner provided for in sections 34-60-108 to 34-60-110 and 34-60-114. (2) Review of or relief from such order shall be as provided for in sections 34-60-111 to 34-60-113 and 34-60-115.

C.R.S. § 34-64-106 Petition to district court - procedure

34-64-106. Petition to district court - procedure. Any natural gas public utility, having first obtained an order from the commission which has become final, desiring to exercise the right of eminent domain for the purpose of acquiring property for the underground storage of natural gas, shall do so in the manner provided in this article. Such natural gas public utility shall present to the district court of the county wherein the land or some portion thereof is situated a petition setting forth the purpose for which the property is sought to be acquired, a description of the property sought to be appropriated, and the names of the owners of the property as shown by the records of such county. The petitioner shall file the order of the commission as a part of its petition, and no decree or rule by the court granting said petition shall be entered without such order having been filed therewith. The court shall examine said petition and determine whether the petitioner has the power of eminent domain and whether said property is necessary for its lawful purposes, and if found in the affirmative such findings shall be entered in the record. All proceedings under this section shall follow the procedure then in force and effect pertaining to eminent domain.

C.R.S. § 34-64-107 Property rights

34-64-107. Property rights. All natural gas in said underground reservoir, and the rights reasonably necessary for the injection and storage in and withdrawal from said underground reservoir of said natural gas, as defined and limited by the decree of the district court, shall be the property of said natural gas public utility. In no event shall such gas be subject to the right of the owner of the surface of said lands or of any mineral interest therein or of any person other than the public utility, its successors, or its assigns, to produce, take, reduce to possession, or otherwise interfere with or exercise any control over the gas. The right of condemnation granted by this article shall be without prejudice to the rights of the owner of said land or of other rights and interests therein to drill or bore through the underground stratum or formation so appropriated in such manner as to comply with orders, rules, and regulations of the commission issued for the purpose of protecting underground storage, strata, or formations against pollution or against the escape of natural gas therefrom, and shall be without prejudice to the rights of the owner of said lands or other rights or interests therein as to all other uses thereof. The additional cost of complying with such regulations or orders in order to protect the storage shall be paid by the public utility.

C.R.S. § 34-64-108 Regulation of intrastate underground natural gas storage facilities - fees - rules

34-64-108. Regulation of intrastate underground natural gas storage facilities - fees - rules. (1) (a) Notwithstanding section 40-2-115, the commission has the exclusive authority to regulate all intrastate underground natural gas storage facilities in the state. The commission may adopt rules for the permitting and regulation of intrastate underground natural gas storage facilities. (b) The commission may submit a certification to, or enter into an agreement with, the United States secretary of transportation under 49 U.S.C. secs. 60105 and 60106, as amended, to authorize the commission to enforce the rules of the United States department of transportation concerning intrastate underground natural gas storage facilities promulgated under 49 U.S.C. sec. 60101 et seq., as amended. (c) If the commission submits a certification to the United States secretary of transportation or enters into an agreement with the United States secretary of transportation pursuant to subsection (1)(b) of this section, any rules adopted by the commission pursuant to subsection (1)(a) of this section must be at least as stringent as the applicable federal requirements. (2) In exercising its regulatory authority pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the commission: (a) Shall regulate intrastate underground natural gas storage facilities in a manner that protects public health, safety, and welfare, including the protection of the environment and wildlife resources; (b) May assess and collect regulatory and permitting fees from the operators of intrastate underground natural gas storage facilities in an amount and frequency determined by the commission by rule; (c) Shall, if an underground natural gas storage facility is proposed to be sited in an area that would affect a disproportionately impacted community, evaluate and address any underground natural gas storage facility impacts from the proposal to ensure that the terms and conditions of any permit issued under this section are sufficient to ensure that any underground natural gas storage facility impacts are avoided, minimized to the extent practicable, or, to the extent that any underground natural gas storage facility impacts remain, the remaining underground natural gas storage facility impacts are mitigated; and (d) Shall, if any underground natural gas storage facility impacts are evaluated and addressed pursuant to subsection (2)(c) of this section, provide a plain language summary of how the underground natural gas storage facility impacts are avoided, minimized if not avoided, or mitigated if not minimized, and any underground natural gas storage facility impacts that cannot be avoided, minimized, or mitigated. (3) An operator of an intrastate underground natural gas storage facility shall not construct a new facility unless the operator provides evidence to the commission that: (a) The operator has filed an application with the local government with jurisdiction to approve the siting of the proposed intrastate underground natural gas storage facility, including the local government's disposition of the application; or (b) The local government with jurisdiction to approve the siting of the proposed intrastate underground natural gas storage facility does not regulate the siting of such facilities. (4) The commission shall transfer all fees collected under this section to the state treasurer, who shall credit the fees to the energy and carbon management cash fund created in section 34-60-122 (5). (5) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, nothing in this section establishes, alters, impairs, or negates the ability of a local government to regulate land use related to intrastate underground natural gas storage facilities.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-34.docxFetched: 10/6/2026

Starting a business in Colorado? Colorado LLC guide: costs and requirements