Mine Drainage Districts

C.R.S. tit. 34, art. 51
in effect

C.R.S. § 34-51-101 Petition for drainage district - definition

34-51-101. Petition for drainage district - definition. A majority of persons owning and operating mining claims in any mining camp or district whose aggregate valuation for the purpose of taxation within said district shall not be less than one-half the valuation for assessment of all mining claims and premises situated within the boundaries of the proposed drainage district may at any time file with the clerk of the district court of the county in which such claims or the larger part thereof are situated a verified petition addressed to the judge of said district court, praying for the organization of a mine drainage district. "Persons", as used in this article, includes partnerships, joint-stock associations, companies, and corporations.

C.R.S. § 34-51-102 Contents of petition

34-51-102. Contents of petition. (1) The petition shall set forth the name of the proposed mine drainage district; the acreage of the mining premises situate therein severally owned by the petitioners; approximately the aggregate area of all mining claims within the district; that said mining premises are capable of being drained and unwatered by one common system of drainage; and that such drainage will be of common benefit to all mining premises within the proposed boundaries of the district. (2) Such petition shall further designate the proposed boundaries and give the names of all mining claims known to be located or patented within the district and the names of owners thereof and their post-office addresses so far as known to the petitioners.

C.R.S. § 34-51-103 Publication of notice - contents

34-51-103. Publication of notice - contents. (1) Upon the filing of said petition, the court shall designate a newspaper published within the county where the district is situated and shall order that in such newspaper there shall be published a notice addressed individually to the owners of all the mining claims within the boundaries of the proposed district, other than the petitioners, and generally to all such other persons as may be interested in said mining claims. (2) Such notice shall be published for four successive weeks. It shall contain a copy of the petition and shall state that the petition will be heard on such date thereafter as may be set by the court and stated in such notice and shall notify all persons, owners of mining claims within said district, or persons interested therein, to appear and plead to said petition on or before a date certain, and that otherwise default will be taken and a decree made according to the facts and equities of the case as they may be found by the court.

C.R.S. § 34-51-104 Mail copy of notice

34-51-104. Mail copy of notice. The court shall further order that a copy of said notice be mailed by the clerk of the court to each person, other than the petitioners, named as an owner in said petition, at least four weeks before the next term of the said court. The fact of the publication and of the mailing of the copies shall be proved in the same manner as is by law required for the proof of publication of process in civil cases.

C.R.S. § 34-51-105 Proceedings after petition is filed

34-51-105. Proceedings after petition is filed. All owners of mining claims or parties interested therein, including encumbrancers, shall have the right to appear and plead to such petition, and if any material allegations of the same are traversed, the issue shall be tried to the court as in equity cases, and if default is made and no traverse or other objection to the petition filed, the court shall nevertheless require proof of all the material allegations of the petition.

C.R.S. § 34-51-106 Change of boundaries

34-51-106. Change of boundaries. The boundaries of the proposed district shall not necessarily be the same as those stated in the petition, and the court may diminish but shall not enlarge the same.

C.R.S. § 34-51-107 Decree and plat

34-51-107. Decree and plat. Upon final hearing, if the finding is in favor of the petitioners, the court shall make a decree that the proposed mine drainage district be established, stating its boundaries and describing it as "Mine Drainage District No. .......... of the county of .........." giving it the proper number, which decree shall contain a plat of the said boundaries. A certified copy of such decree, including the plat, shall be filed with the county clerk and recorder of the county in which the district is situated, and a second copy shall be filed with the division of local government in the department of local affairs.

C.R.S. § 34-51-108 Bond for costs

34-51-108. Bond for costs. Upon the filing of said petition, the petitioners shall file a bond with sufficient sureties to be approved by the clerk of the court, conditioned for the payment of all costs which may accrue up to and including the filing of said copies of the decree. The court has power to apportion the costs between the petitioners and the parties opposing the petition in case of contest.

C.R.S. § 34-51-109 Corporation name

34-51-109. Corporation name. Upon the signing of the decree and the filing of said copies, as provided in section 34-51-107, said district shall become a municipal corporation and have and exercise all the powers necessary and requisite to carry into effect the objects for which it is formed, including the power to sue and be sued, under the name and style of "Mining Drainage District No. ........ of the county of ..............", the number of the district and the name of the county both being part of its corporate name.

C.R.S. § 34-51-110 Contracts - corporate power

34-51-110. Contracts - corporate power. All contracts and conveyances of a mine drainage district shall be in its corporate name, but corporate powers shall be exercised by the board of supervisors provided for in section 34-51-111.

C.R.S. § 34-51-111 Election of supervisors

34-51-111. Election of supervisors. (1) The court in the decree establishing a mine drainage district shall order an election to be held under the supervision of the board of county commissioners of the county wherein said district, or the greater portion thereof, is situated, for the purpose of electing five individuals to constitute the board of supervisors for said district, and shall set the time and place of said election, and direct the clerk of said board of county commissioners to cause notice of said election, and the time and place thereof, to be published for four successive weeks prior to the date of said election, in some newspaper published within the county. The individuals so elected shall hold office for one, two, three, four, and five years, in accordance with the number of votes received by them respectively. The individual receiving the highest number of votes is to serve for five years, the one receiving the next highest, four years, the next highest, three years, the next highest, two years, and the next highest, one year. (2) Each year following the organization of the mine drainage district, elections shall be called by and held under the supervision of the board of county commissioners for the purpose of electing a successor to the member of the board of supervisors of the mine drainage district whose term expires, and to fill any other vacancies that may exist in said board, and at such election a new member shall be elected to said board of supervisors to hold office for five years. Notice of such subsequent elections is to be given in the same manner as provided in this section to be given in the case of the first election. At all elections for members of the board of supervisors of a mine drainage district, each person owning mining claims in the district shall be entitled to one vote for each claim or fractional claim within said district, owned by such person, and only individuals who are residents of the county wherein the mine drainage district lies, and who are owners of mining claims within said district, or officers, managers, or superintendents of corporations owning mining claims within said district shall be qualified for election as members of said board.

C.R.S. § 34-51-112 Organization - records - office

34-51-112. Organization - records - office. The board of county commissioners shall provide office room for said board of supervisors and a place for the deposit of their records. Said board shall organize by electing a chairman from their own number and by electing a clerk not of their own number, and the board shall require such clerk to keep regular minutes of their meetings and accounts of all receipts and expenditures. All records and accounts shall be open to public inspection, the same as the public records of the office of the county clerk and recorder. Meetings shall be at the call of the chairman or any two members of the board, and not less than three members shall constitute a quorum. All special and regular meetings of the board of supervisors shall be held at locations which are within the boundaries of the district or which are within the boundaries of any county in which the district is located, in whole or in part, or in any county so long as the meeting location does not exceed twenty miles from the district boundaries. The provisions of this section governing the location of meetings may be waived only if the proposed change of location of a meeting of the board appears on the agenda of a regular or special meeting of the board and if a resolution is adopted by the board stating the reason for which a meeting of the board is to be held in a location other than under the provisions of this section and further stating the date, time, and place of such meeting.

C.R.S. § 34-51-113 Selection of system

34-51-113. Selection of system. Said board shall determine upon a system of mine drainage for the district, either by gravity, power, or by both combined, and to assess the cost thereof upon the property to be benefited thereby.

C.R.S. § 34-51-114 Notice of selection of system

34-51-114. Notice of selection of system. Upon the adoption of any system of drainage, the clerk of the board shall cause to be published once a week for four successive weeks in some weekly newspaper published in the county a notice stating in general terms the system adopted and the estimated cost, and shall mail a copy of such notice to each person shown on the mine drainage district records to be a party in interest.

C.R.S. § 34-51-115 Letting contracts

34-51-115. Letting contracts. The board has power to employ labor and professional services as required and to do all things necessary to carry out the details of the plan and to contract for the work to be done by a single contract or to divide it into sections and let contracts from time to time.

C.R.S. § 34-51-116 Inspection

34-51-116. Inspection. All parties in interest shall have access to the main avenues and laterals of such drainage system, subject to such rules and regulations as are adopted by the board of supervisors.

C.R.S. § 34-51-117 Board may levy tax

34-51-117. Board may levy tax. (1) In order to provide for the payment of the expenses of a drainage system and for the payment of any issue of bonds, the board of supervisors has power to levy and cause to be collected a tax upon all mining claims within the district. Such tax shall be voted only at a regular meeting of the board and shall not exceed in any one year fifty mills on every dollar of valuation as shown by the assessment roll of the county assessor. (2) The board of supervisors in lieu of said tax levy upon the valuation for assessment, or in the event such levy will not produce sufficient revenue to meet the payments from time to time accruing upon said bonds and interest thereon and the expenses of the mine drainage district, may order a levy against the net sale price of all ores produced in the mine drainage district, using either in combination, with such division or combination of the tax to be raised as to the board of supervisors seems meet and proper. (3) Said tax levy, whether by one or both of said methods, or a combination thereof, shall be voted by said board of supervisors annually and shall be certified to the board of county commissioners of the county wherein said mine drainage district is located on or before the first Monday in November in each year. (4) In any mining district where there already exists a drainage tunnel which has lowered the water or drained the district to some ascertained level, there shall be no taxation on the net value of ores under the provisions of this article, in respect to any ore taken out of any portion of any mine above the level now drained by any existing tunnel. (5) The additional levy last mentioned shall not exceed ten percent of the net sales price of such ores, and the moneys so levied and collected from said levy on said net sales price shall be used for the payment of bonds and interest thereon and other expenses of the mine drainage district the same as if it had been collected under the tax levy provided in subsection (1) of this section. Said net sales price shall be computed from the gross sales price after deducting the reasonable cost of haulage from the mine to the railroad or smelter or mill, and railroad freight and smelter or other treatment charges in mill or smelter. In order to effectuate the payment of said royalty, said board may order that all such ore so produced and sold from the mine drainage district shall be shipped under such rules and regulations as the board of supervisors may prescribe, either in the name of the board of supervisors, or with notice to the ore purchaser, smelter, or miller that the said ores are subject to the taxation provided in this section. (6) It is the duty of the ore purchaser, smelter, or miller to deduct said tax before making settlement with the mine owner, lessee, or other shipper, and to pay the amount of said tax direct to the county treasurer of the county in which said drainage district shall be situated; and it is the duty of the county treasurer to issue proper receipts therefor to the purchaser, smelter, or miller, and to all persons interested in the net proceeds of the ore sale so taxed. (7) The tax on the net sales price of such ores shall be levied against the mine owner or lessor, and against the lessee, sublessee, or other persons having property rights in said ore, and shall be paid by them respectively in the proportion in which they are respectively interested in the net sales price. Said persons respectively shall file with the board of supervisors proper papers to evidence their respective interest in said net sales price, and if such filings are not made then the board of supervisors shall collect said tax against the owner of the property, or against the owner and lessee as their respective interest may appear from any recorded lease or working contract which is on record in the office of the county clerk and recorder of said county at the date of said levy or tax. heir respective interest in said net sales price, and if such filings are not made then the board of supervisors shall collect said tax against the owner of the property, or against the owner and lessee as their respective interest may appear from any recorded lease or working contract which is on record in the office of the county clerk and recorder of said county at the date of said levy or tax. (8) In the event that at the date of said tax there are any valid mining leases on property within the drainage district executed prior to January 30, 1934, said tax shall be apportioned among and paid by the owners, lessors, lessees, or sublessees or other persons in interest in the sale of said ores in the manner provided in subsection (7) of this section. Whenever any such lease or any mining lease is executed after January 30, 1934, and contains a covenant that the lessee shall pay taxes, or general taxes, such covenant shall not be construed to include any special tax authorized by this article; and in such event the mine drainage district taxes shall be apportioned as provided in this section, and said taxes shall not be chargeable against the lessee or sublessee except by express mention of mine drainage district taxes. It is lawful for the parties in interest to contract for and agree among themselves as to their respective liabilities for the mine drainage district taxes, and upon recording such contract or agreement in the office of the county clerk and recorder in the county in which the mine drainage district is situated and serving a copy of said contract or agreement upon the board of supervisors, it is the duty of the board of supervisors to make such orders as will effectuate the division of the tax liability according to the terms of said contract or agreement. (9) It is the duty of the county treasurer to carry all taxes collected by him under the provisions of this article in a separate fund in the name of the mine drainage district and to disburse the said funds under the provisions of this article and the orders of the board of supervisors of the mine drainage district; and said funds shall be disbursed only for the lawful purposes of the mine drainage district.

C.R.S. § 34-51-118 Collection of taxes

34-51-118. Collection of taxes. Such levy shall be certified by the clerk under the seal of the district, to the county assessor, and shall be extended upon his books and collected in all respects as provided for the collection of other taxes in the county in which the district is situate. The general revenue laws of this state for the assessment, levying, and collection of taxes, and providing for relief to the taxpayer in cases of erroneous, double, or illegal assessments, except as modified in this section, shall be applicable for the purposes of this article, including the enforcement of penalties and forfeitures for delinquent taxes, except that the duties and functions vested by law in county boards of equalization in reference to general taxes shall be exercised in the case of all taxes levied and collected under this article by the respective boards of supervisors of the various mine drainage districts that may be authorized under this article.

C.R.S. § 34-51-119 Bonds - sales - interest and lien

34-51-119. Bonds - sales - interest and lien. The board has power to raise money necessary to carry out the system of drainage adopted, and to otherwise accomplish the objects and purposes of this article, by the issue and sale of bonds, bearing interest not to exceed eight percent per annum, payable at the office of the county treasurer, in even sums of not less than five hundred dollars, and such bonds shall be a lien upon all property within the boundaries of the district made taxable under this article. The board may sell bonds from time to time in such quantities as may be necessary to carry out the objects and purposes of this article. Before making any sale the board shall, at a meeting, by resolution declare its intention to sell and shall cause such resolution to be entered in the minutes and notice of the sale to be given by publication thereof at least twenty days in a daily newspaper published in the city of Denver, and in any other newspaper, at its discretion. The notice shall state that sealed proposals will be received by the board at its office, for the purchase of the bonds, till the day and hour named in the resolution. At the time appointed the board shall open the proposals and award the purchase of the bonds to the highest responsible bidder and may reject all bids; but said board in no event shall sell any of said bonds for less than ninety-five percent of the face value thereof.

C.R.S. § 34-51-120 Warrants

34-51-120. Warrants. The county treasurer shall pay out the funds collected as taxes under sections 34-51-117 to 34-51-119, or any funds however acquired, only upon warrants drawn against the same by the mine drainage district, under its corporate seal, signed by the clerk and countersigned by the chairman of the board. Warrants drawn under this article shall be assignable, transferable, and payable in all respects the same as county warrants.

C.R.S. § 34-51-121 Salaries and per diem

34-51-121. Salaries and per diem. The salary of the clerk shall be fixed by the board. The members of the board shall receive no compensation, except five dollars per day while in actual session, and no member shall receive in the aggregate more than two hundred dollars in any one calendar year.

C.R.S. § 34-51-122 Collection of tolls

34-51-122. Collection of tolls. Every mine drainage district has a right to collect tolls for the use of the right-of-way, upon terms fixed by the board, which shall be the same to all parties for like services; to accept compensation for service to adjoining mines outside the district and accept revenue from all parties benefited by any use of the property, assets, or easements of the district. All funds accruing under this section shall be used to diminish the tax rate and any excess of revenue over expenses not held as a sinking fund shall be repaid pro rata to the payers of previous taxes.

C.R.S. § 34-51-123 Eminent domain

34-51-123. Eminent domain. Any mine drainage district has the right to accept deeds for rights-of-way and other easements by gift or upon compensation to be paid, and when reasonable compensation for rights-of-way or other essential easements cannot be agreed upon, the district has the power to exercise the right of eminent domain under the statutes of this state.

C.R.S. § 34-51-124 Prior drainage statutes

34-51-124. Prior drainage statutes. Nothing in this article shall be construed to repeal the provisions of the statutes of this state concerning drainage, but said statutes shall have no application within the limits of any mine drainage district created under the existing provisions of this article.
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

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