2011 Colorado legislation: Governor Hickenlooper signs HB 11-1289 and HB 11-1274

From The Pueblo Chieftain:

Hickenlooper also signed into law a bill that requires water users’ approval before water structures can get a historical designation. Under HB1289, before a water structure can be placed on the National Historical Register, holders of water rights associated with the structure must consent. Its sponsors said historical designations can greatly delay needed improvements and maintenance to structures and be detrimental to water users…

Hickenlooper also signed HB1274, sponsored by Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, which provides $14 million in funding for water projects from the Colorado Water Conservation Board. It devotes $12 million to the Animas-La Plata project on the Western Slope. The bill provides $500,000 to the Arkansas River Decision Support System to map irrigated acreage, delineate parcels and collect surface and groundwater data.

More 2011 Colorado legislation coverage here.

2011 Colorado legislation: HB 11-1300 (Conservation Easement Tax Credit Dispute Resolution) passes the state House Finance Committee

From the Colorado News Agency (Debbie Brazale):

House Bill 1300, sponsored by Rep. Marsha Looper, R-Calhan, would allow disputes over the validity of conservation-easement tax credits to go directly to court rather than forcing landowners to await a ruling by the Colorado Department of Revenue.

The measure would also allow those who buy and sell the tax credits granted to the original owners to be a party to disputes in court, and it offers deadlines for resolution of the 600 or so cases currently pending: July 2014 for the donor and 2016 for related parties.

Today’s action by the House Finance Committee represented the second time this month that the panel was asked to dissect aspects of the complex program, which has drawn scrutiny from the media and state regulators in recent years amid allegations of abuse. Earlier this month, the committee also heard House Bill 1208, by Rep. Wes McKinley, D-Walsh, and its fate has yet to be decided. McKinley’s bill seeks administrative remedies for current easements that are in dispute
Looper said her bill’s aim is to provide options for landowners and tax-credit buyers who have been snared in red tape over challenges by the Revenue Department over the validity of conservation-easement tax credits.

More 2011 Colorado legislation coverage here.

The Arkansas River Roundtable approves a study of water law and new water sharing strategies

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The study would help projects like the Arkansas Valley Super Ditch, or any effort that would allow farmers to retain water rights yet lease water, to determine what limitations could work against the concept, and what laws might help implementation. The study would then be discussed in a facilitated dialogue to air concerns in public…

The $20,000 study would be administered by the Pikes Peak Regional Water Authority, which [Gary Barber, chairman of the roundtable] manages, and would be jointly funded by four separate roundtables, in hopes of avoiding the pitfalls of a failed bill that raised numerous objections. The study of laws would be done by Sand Dollar Research, a firm headed by policy analyst Dick Brown. Heather Bergman, of Peak Facilitation and the facilitator for the Fountain Creek Vision Task Force, would referee community discussion about the findings…

Reeves Brown, a Beulah rancher who sits on the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District board that has supported Super Ditch, said the valley needs to find ways to make better use of water. “There’s extra water that could be put to use every year,” Brown said.

Some were nervous about the implications of changing water law. “You really risk a lot. What’s to prevent expansion of use?” asked Terry Scanga, manager of the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District. “It’s important to find out where we are now.”

More IBCC — basin roundtables coverage here.

2011 Colorado legislation: State Joint Budget Committee approves preserving a floor of $10 million of severance tax revenues for water projects

From the Sterling Journal Advocate (Marianne Goodland):

[JBC member Rep. Jon Becker] negotiated a lower cash transfer from a severance tax fund, an agreement that he said will preserve at least $10 million and maybe more for water projects…

[Sen. Greg Brophy] lauded [Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg] and especially Becker for making sure HB 1005 would pass. “Jon ensured that the money was there for the ag tax exemption, and he also made sure we put [millions more] into water projects. We cannot continue to fall behind in developing our water infrastructure.”

More 2011 Colorado legislation coverage here.

2011 Colorado legislation: HB 11-1208 (Conservation Easements) gets a look-see from the state House Finance Committee

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Patrick Malone):

State Rep. Wes McKinley, D-Walsh, told the House Finance Committee that HB1208 aims to hold the state to its promise. “We made a deal with these people,” McKinley said. “We’re just going to have to go ahead and honor the deal.”[...]

McKinley said when the state began offering tax credits to leave land untouched, many in the land-rich but cash-poor agriculture community seized the opportunity. Because tax liabilities in the agriculture world are few, land donors parted with their tax credits for about 75 percent of their value to purchasers facing steep tax liabilities. When buyers redeemed those tax credits, the Department of Revenue rejected many because appraisers had overvalued the land by 500 to 1,000 times its true worth, in some cases. Buyers of the credits in turn sought to be made whole by the donors they had purchased the tax credits from, but often the proceeds of the easement sale had long been devoured by the expenses associated with agriculture — feed, seed and sustenance during droughts and blizzards that decimated crops and herds…

In short, HB1208 “simply says the credit will be allowed,” and the director will not contest or dig deeper into the appraised value of the conservation easement or its validity unless an appraiser associated with the credit has been found to commit fraud. The Department of Revenue has decried McKinley’s amnesty bill because landowners who recognize a prospect that could spare them the expense of squaring up with the state have been reluctant to participate in scheduled mediation sessions in hopes that the Legislature will whisk their problem away.

John Swartout, executive director of the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts, testified against the bill “because it treats everybody the same.”

More coverage from Debi Brazzale writing for the La Junta Tribune Democrat. From the article:

McKinley says the department has been demanding interest, fees and penalties on easements that they now say were overvalued. Some landowners receiving the notices have been waiting years, in some cases, for the department, who say they are overwhelmed and lack resources to resolve the disputes.

Rep. Cindy Acree, R-Aurora, expressed dismay at the predicament the landowners find themselves in. “This seems absurd that these cases are dragging on and on while interest is accruing,” said Acree.

Department of Revenue spokesman Mark Couch said the department is doing what it is obligated to do on behalf of taxpayers. Couch said that $466 million has been granted to filers since 2001 when the conservation-easement program began and that 16,000 tax returns have been honored.

“We don’t believe we’re the bad guys,” said Couch. “Our job is to protect the taxpayers, and we have the responsibility to make sure that the credits that are claimed are due to the filer.”

More 2011 Colorado legislation coverage here.

2011 Colorado legislation: HB 11-1289 (Water Supply Structure Historic Register)

From The Fort Morgan Times (Marianne Goodland):

Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, this week has quickly marshaled through a bill that would require consent of users of historic water structures when the state historical society wants to place the structure on an historic register. House Bill 11-1289 passed the House Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee on Monday, received approval from the House on second reading on Wednesday and got a 51-12 vote from the full House on Thursday. It now heads to the Senate…

There are more than 22,000 ditches and reservoirs in the state, Shimmin said, and the document [History Colorado put out a 70-page document, prepared several years ago by an architecture professor at the University of Colorado Denver] suggests that all of them might qualify for historical designation on the National Register of Historic Places. “It raised the level of concern in the water user community” because it seemed to designate every ditch and reservoir as an historic structure, he explained. The potential for listing includes regulatory implications, Shimmin said. Any project with federal action, money or property and that requires a federal permit has to go through historical preservation review.

If a third party requests the listing and the owner objects, it can`t be listed, he said, but it can be designated as eligible for listing at the national level, and that triggers the same federal regulations, including control over maintenance or repair. That would include anything in the structure along the system — from headgates right down to the cottonwood trees along the ditch — and implies that every feature is somehow historically significant. “It scared the holy heck out of the owners of the ditch and reservoir systems” that a new wave of federal or state regulations was coming that would impact any act of maintenance, repair or other operating changes, he said.

Under HB 1289 the society must get consent from anyone who has a property interest, including water rights, in a water supply structure, prior to the structure`s nomination on the state or national register. In addition, the state engineer would also have to give his consent. Water users were excluded from the public process, and no public hearings were held by the history society, Shimmin said.

Democrats, however, objected to the bill, stating that requiring permission from the users would permanently end any efforts to put a structure on the National Register.

The four structures already designated as historical are two segments of the [Grand Diversion] structure in the Palisade Canyon along I-70, the San Luis Peoples Ditch and Smith’s Irrigation Ditch in Denver (now known as Denver Ditch).

Steve Turner from History Colorado said that 800 water structures have been reviewed in the past five years and that 200 are considered historic and could be considered for inclusion on the state or federal registers. Sonnenberg said currently there are no plans to put any historic water structures on the state or federal register. “This bill is proactive,” he said, and added that HB 1289 has the support of Gov. John Hickenlooper.

More 2011 Colorado legislation coverage here.

2011 Colorado legislation: HB 11-1289 (Water Supply Structure Historic Register)

From the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Bobby Magill):

A bill moving briskly through the Legislature could make it more difficult for those old water supply structures to be included in either the Colorado Register of Historic Properties or the National Register of Historic Places. House Bill 1289, sponsored by Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, and Sen. Mary Hodge, D-Adams County, would require the consent of everyone with a property or water rights interest in a water supply structure for it to be considered for inclusion in the state or national register.

If any one of possibly many property owners objects, the structure would be ineligible for historic recognition by History Colorado, formerly the Colorado Historical Society, the state’s administrator of the National Register of Historic Places. “The fear was if someone needed to upgrade a diversion or a headgate, if it was on the historic list, then you have to go through extra paperwork or time and may not be able to get that done in a timely manner if you need to fix it,” Sonnenberg said.

More 2011 Colorado legislation coverage here.

2011 Colorado legislation: Governor Hickenlooper signs HB 11-1083 (Hydroelectricity and pumped hydro)

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Patrick Malone):

Under HB1083, the Public Utilities Commission can authorize hydro projects and allow rates to be adjusted to recover the costs of the projects, similar to other renewable energy sources like wind and solar…

Concessions to environmental groups that worried about the impact on aquatic life and others who were concerned about its impact on downstream water users paved the way for the bill’s popularity. “When we started out, I was scratching my head wondering how we were going to get this passed. We were butting our heads against a wall,” said sponsor Rep. Keith Swerdfeger, R-Pueblo West. “We backed up, just started communicating with the people that had concerns, and then it came on board.”

The bill passed through two committees, the Senate and the House twice without a vote against it. Experts testified that hydro is an economical way — except for the hefty up-front investment — to store and generate energy in order to fill gaps in wind and solar generation, and that up to six sites throughout the state have been identified as suitable sites for hydroelectric plants.

More 2011 Colorado legislation coverage here. More hydroelectric coverage here and here.

2011 Colorado legislation: HB 11-1286 (Clarify State Engineer Nontributary Rule Authority) sails through the state House

Click here for Joe Hanel’s analysis of the bill from The Durango Herald.

More coverage from Patrick Malone writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

Under HB1286, Water Court would be the last line of appeal for decisions by the state engineer. The bill arose in response to a 2009 Colorado Supreme Court ruling that found oil and gas wells are subject to the tributary water permitting process. Supporters of the bill have said it would streamline the permitting and appeal processes. In a committee hearing, an opponent objected that it represents legislative side-stepping of the high court. Next, the bill will be heard by a Senate committee.

More HB 11-1286 coverage here.

2011 Colorado legislation: Governor Hickenlooper signs SB 11-021 (Term Limits Water Facility Operators Boards)

From the Longmont Times:

Gov. John Hickenlooper today signed Black Hawk Democratic Sen. Jeanne Nicholson’s Senate Bill 21, removing term limits for people serving on the state’s Water and Wastewater Facility Operators Certification Board. Previously, members of that panel had been capped at serving two consecutive four-year terms.

More 2011 Colorado legislation coverage here.

2011 Colorado legislation: HB 11-1286 (Clarify State Engineer Nontributary Rule Authority) passes the House Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee

From The Colorado Statesman (Marianne Goodland):

The state is made up of groundwater basins, designed by the Colorado Ground Water Commission. Nontributary groundwater is located outside those basins, and is defined as places where water withdrawal, within 100 years, will not “deplete the flow of a natural stream at an annual rate greater than one-tenth of one percent” per year. It is water that is so deep and isolated from surface water that the impact of its withdrawal would be minimal.

More importantly, nontributary groundwater is not subject to the doctrine of prior appropriation. That’s a fundamental concept within Colorado water law, and in its simplest form says whomever was there first gets the water right. According to the HB 1286 fiscal note, nontributary groundwater “is based on ownership of the overlying land and a 100-year aquifer life expectancy.”

According to [State Engineer Dick Wolfe’s] presentation, a domestic water well generally drills down to about 300 feet. An oil or gas well may need to drill down by 3,000 feet or more, and in Southwestern Colorado, they’re drilling for coal bed methane at levels up to 7,000 feet deep. When an oil or gas well is drilled, it results in “produced water.” That’s water that is removed from a geologic formation during the extraction process of mining for oil or gas. Once the water reaches the surface it must be separated from the mineral. If the state engineer determines that groundwater is coming from a tributary source, then the oil and gas company must get a water permit. No permit is needed if the water comes from a nontributary source.

More 2011 Colorado legislation coverage here.

2011 Colorado legislation: Governor Hickenlooper signs HB 11-1177 (Healthy Rivers Fund Tax Donation)

From the Vail Daily:

On Tuesday, House Bill 11-1177, Healthy Rivers Fund Tax Donation, sponsored by Sen. Jean White, R-Hayden, was signed today by Gov. John Hickenlooper. This bill continues the work of the Colorado Healthy Rivers Fund, which works to protect outdoor areas across the state.

More instream flow coverage here.

2011 Colorado legislation: HB 11-1286, Clarify [State Engineer] Nontributary Rule [Authority]

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Patrick Malone):

The House Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee voted 13-0 to adopt HB1286, sponsored by Reps. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, and John Becker, R-Fort Morgan. The bill aims to streamline the decision-making process on water permits. A 2009 Colorado Supreme Court decision found that water used in coal-bed methane natural gas extraction is subject to the requirements of tributary water permitting. The ruling granted Water Courts authority over permitting conflicts and appeals…

Nontributary water can be exempt from permitting, Following the court’s ruling, the state engineer developed rules to govern permitting within the framework of the court’s decision, and developed a map that reflects extraction operations subject to permitting under it. Among them were some wells in the Raton Basin near Trinidad. Under HB1286, the state engineer’s rules would be acknowledged in statute, appeals of permit decisions would be routed through the rule-making process instead of through Water Court and further appeals of those decisions to a Water Court would require a higher standard of proof to overturn earlier rulings in the chain of appeals.

The chief opponent of the bill to testify Monday was lawyer Philip Lopez of the firm White & Jankowski, which represents the plaintiffs who were victorious in the 2009 case. He characterized the bill as an attempt to legislate around judicial decisions, argued the ruling has not led to the shutdown of any gas wells and said the state engineer’s map confers by default a water right to the oil and gas industry that other water users must follow process to attain.

More coverage from Joe Hanel writing for The Durango Herald. From the article:

House Bill 1286 raises the legal standard the ranchers will need to prove to win their lawsuits against State Engineer Dick Wolfe. Last year, Wolfe drew maps that showed which gas and oil wells needed to get water permits and which ones could drill without going to court to fight about who owns the water…

The Vance and Fitzgerald families took Wolfe’s office to court several years ago for not protecting their water rights from gas wells, and they won at the state Supreme Court in 2009. The ruling shocked the gas industry, and legislators worried all 40,000 gas and oil wells in the state would need to get water permits. So they gave Wolfe’s office the power to draw maps that show where gas wells interact with surface water. Gas wells outside the zone do not need to replace the water they use because the water is assumed to be so deep underground that it will have no effect on surface streams.

But the Vance and Fitzgerald families sued again, along with the San Juan Citizens Alliance, the Oil and Gas Accountability Project and the city of Sterling. Several lawsuits are active, and the main one is working its way through the water court in Greeley…

Mike King, director of the Department of Natural Resources, urged legislators to pass the bill. Wolfe’s office is in King’s department, and King cited the extensive work the engineer’s office did to draw the maps. “What we’re asking is an affirmation of that to remove all doubt,” King said. “This is critical that we resolve this issue and that it doesn’t get litigated and then appealed to the Supreme Court, and we have a two-year window of uncertainty that would not be good for oil and gas production in Colorado.”

More 2011 Colorado legislation coverage here. More coalbed methane coverage here and here.

2011 Colorado legislation: HB 11-1093 clears state House 65-0 on the way to Governor Hickenlooper’s desk

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Patrick Malone):

On Monday, the Colorado House by a 65-0 vote passed an amended version of HB1083, which now moves to Gov. John Hickenlooper’s desk awaiting his signature to become law. It passed unanimously through two committee hearings, two votes in the House and a vote in the Senate — more than 180 votes cast, and not one in opposition.

The bill adds hydroelectric and pumped-hydro operations to the list of new energy technologies that the Public Utilities Commission can consider. Those projects would now qualify for cost recovery through rates…

An amendment to the bill that guides the PUC to consider projects’ impacts on aquatic life and another that firmed-up that downstream water users would not be adversely affected by new hydro projects helped the legislation to sail through the Legislature. In the Senate a provision was added that directs the PUC to consider the costs and benefits associated with projects when mulling their approval.

More 2011 Colorado legislation coverage here. More hydroelectric coverage here and here.

2011 Colorado legislation: SB 11-050 (Value Of Condemned Conservation Easement)

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Patrick Malone):

On Monday, a bill that aimed to compel fair-market values for easements was retooled, and now calls for a task force to study the issue in the months between legislative sessions. Hundreds of conservation easements ceded to the state for tax credits are being challenged by the Colorado Department of Revenue on grounds that appraisers overvalued the parcels…

The 12-member interim task force that SB50 proposes would be appointed by Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, and House Speaker Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch. It would include two landowners who have placed easements on their property…

Sen. Kevin Grantham, R-Canon City, asked the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, whether the task force would be seated with respect to regional representation. Roberts said she hoped so, but that would be up to the Senate president and the House speaker. Legislative Council is studying the feasibility of the interim effort, and will report back to the Legislature.

More 2011 Colorado legislation coverage here. More conservation easements coverage here and here.

2011 Colorado legislation: HB 11-1083 — Hydroelectricity and Pumped Hydro — update

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Patrick Malone):

Next, the bill faces a formal vote in the Senate. If it passes there, it will return to the House for consideration of an amendment attached in a Senate committee that directs the PUC to consider costs and benefits of hydro projects when issuing permits for new plants.

In its first trip through the House, the bill passed unanimously. To date, there hasn’t been a vote against it in either of the committees that head the bill. [Sen. Kevin Grantham] credited House sponsor Rep. Keith Swerdfeger, R-Pueblo West, for building consensus among groups that tend to oppose hydro projects before introducing it. “Keith carried a lot of the water on this thing from the front end,” Grantham said. “He laid the foundation for the broad support it’s getting.”

[Sen. Angela Giron] emphasized that HB1083 is an example of bipartisan cooperation in the interest of job creation. She said if the South Slope project comes to be, it could be the bill with the greatest economic impact of the 2011 legislative session.

More HB 11-1083 coverage here. More 2011 Colorado legislation coverage here. More hydroelectric coverage here and here.

2011 Colorado legislation: HB 11-1083 (Hydroelectricity & Pumped Hydro) passes state Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy Committee

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Patrick Malone):

Sens. Angela Giron, D-Pueblo, and Kevin Grantham, R-Canon City, presented HB1083 to the Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy Committee as a job-creating measure and a logical complement to Colorado’s existing renewable energy portfolio.

TransCanada Corp. is in the early stages of exploring the South Slope project, a possible $800 million hydroelectric station near Penrose that could create up to 300 temporary jobs during its construction and 30 permanent positions. “We’re excited about the opportunity to pursue this project.” Bart Jones from the power development division of TransCanada testified. “A company like us will only undergo a project like this if we have support.”[...]

Currently, the Public Utilities Commission is required to consider clean energy and energy-efficient technologies when reviewing applications for electricity acquisition. Solar, geothermal, biomass and methane are some of the modes of energy that fall under that umbrella. Under HB1083, hydroelectricity and pumped hydroelectricity would be added to the list. “This goes a long way toward getting the PUC to look at pump storage in a little different manner,” Jones said…

The bill is structured to protect senior water rights downstream from hydro stations. Engineer Jonah Levine testified that ongoing water consumption would not be a concern under a model like the proposed South Slope project. “A facility should be able to do a one-time fill,” Levine testified. He said evaporation and seepage would represent the only water losses.

Groups that tend to eye hydroelectric projects skeptically, like Trout Unlimited and the Audubon Society, support HB1083 because it would allow the PUC to consider the impact on aquatic life by proposed projects.

More HB 11-1083 coverage here. More 2011 Colorado legislation coverage here.

2011 Colorado legislation update

Here’s the legislative update for this week from The Pulse — of the Colorado Farm Bureau (Brent Boydston). From the article:

HB1123 – Rep. Coram’s Bill to prohibit transfers from severance related funds to the general fund passed the House Ag Committee and moves on to the House Committee of the Whole. CFB is in support of this measure.

More 2011 Colorado legislation coverage here.

2011 Colorado legislation: The Colorado Department of Wildlife agrees to look at water projects

From the Summit County Citizen’s Voice (Bob Berwyn):

The five-year program was announced a few weeks after State Rep. Jon Becker (R-Fort Morgan) proposed a bill that would have diverted revenue from hunting and fishing licenses to the Colorado Water Conservation Board. The wildlife agency now says it will work with Becker to explore opportunities that will first and foremost benefit wildlife and wildlife recreation, but will also help other entities and individuals who depend on water resources in the state.

“In the face of budget issues that are creating challenges throughout state government, it is especially challenging to plan for increasing water demand while protecting natural resources over the long term,” Department of Natural Resources director Mike King said. “There is a lot of overlap between healthy wildlife habitat and what sportsmen and agricultural communities need. We welcome the opportunity to combine these goals and find ways to make limited state funding go further.”

“We have several critical water development needs, such as repairing the dam at Beaver Reservoir to allow us to store water again,” said Division of Wildlife Director Tom Remington. ”We also have some great opportunities, such as reaching a storage agreement with Rio Grande Reservoir operators to store Division of Wildlife water critical to our needs in the San Luis Valley.”

More coverage from The Fort Morgan Times (Marianne Goodland):

The bill’s [HB 11-1150] problem, and Becker`s too, was that diverting the money from DOW would have cost the agency $200 million over the next 10 years in federal funds. That money, according to DOW, funds hunter and aquatic education, sportfish and wildlife restoration, and boating access. Lisa Dale of DOW told this reporter that the money represents 25 percent of the division`s annual funding. Losing it “would have touched everything we do,” she said. And that put Becker on the radar for hunters and fishermen and women, and not in a good way, and as a result HB 1150 faced a probable defeat on Monday. Instead, Becker got a little help from Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, and the cooperation of a new Citizen`s Wildlife Advisory Council that Sonnenberg heads. Sonnenberg told this reporter that he made sure the “right people were in the right room at the right time” to hammer out the issues, and eventually, the agreement.

More 2011 Colorado legislation coverage here.

2011 Colorado legislation: State Representative Becker asks the House agriculture committee to bury HB 11-1150

From The Denver Post (Lynn Bartels):

The Fort Morgan Republican [Jon Becker] asked the House agriculture committee to kill his proposal involving water storage and Colorado Division of Wildlife fees, saying it wasn’t needed because the parties involved had reached a compromise…

Becker said he has no regrets running the bill because it got sportsmen, wildlife officials, farmers, water groups and others to the table. He credited Mike King, director of the Department of Natural Resources, for helping pull together a compromise. Becker would kill his bill and the Division of Wildlife would spend $6 million over five years for water projects. “This agreement will help DOW to pay for water projects that not only help wildlife but have a secondary benefit for agriculture, cities and municipalities,” Becker told the committee Monday. “I feel that this agreement is going to be much more beneficial than pursuing legislation that may have pitted groups against each other.”

More 2011 Colorado legislation coverage here.

2011 Colorado legislation: Colorado Farm Bureau legislative update

From The Pulse-of Colorado Farm Bureau:

HB 1068 – Rep. Fischer’s “State Engineer to approve Ag water transfers” bill was killed in the House Ag Committee by the Sponsor’s request as the controversy around how this would be handled has increased and there was an agreement for a task force to further look into and study the options for doing long term transfers via administrative approval. – CFB supportive

More 2011 Colorado legislation here.

2011 Colorado legislation: HB 11-1150 sponsor agrees to pull bill if new Department of Natural Resources agreement to fund water projects is adopted

From the Sterling Journal Advocate (Marianne Goodland):

DOW announced Thursday that it would put at least $6 million into a five-year plan for water storage projects that will primarily benefit wildlife purposes. The water projects under the agreement target 17 dams statewide that need repairs and improvements, including Two Buttes, in southeastern Colorado; and Beaver Park Reservoir in Boulder County. DNR spokesman Todd Hartman said Thursday that three dams need millions of dollars in restoration work; five others require funding of at least $500,000 each, and the last nine will need about $300,000 each. The five-year plan will be submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for review, according to DNR officials. Water projects can be pursued by the division “so long as they have the primary purpose of protecting wildlife,” the division said in a Thursday statement, but those projects can have other benefits, such as water supply for irrigation and other agricultural needs. “I believe any water project that saves or increases our water storage is good for all of Colorado,” Becker said Thursday. It’s not the first time DOW has put money into water projects; the division has spent about $2 million on fish and wildlife water projects in the last five years, and owns 104 dams. But under the agreement, water projects will become a higher priority for the division, according to Sonnenberg.

DNR Executive Director Mike King and Becker unveiled the agreement Thursday morning to a gathering of sports and wildlife enthusiasts who were at the capitol for “Sportsmen’s Day,” and the announcement got a positive reception from the group. Becker said he was happy to get the water projects funded through agreement rather than through legislation. It’s an agreement that will be “beneficial to everyone,” he said, one that will keep everyone at the table talking.

That’s also one of the purposes of the Citizen’s Wildlife Advisory Council, which Sonnenberg said was started to resolve the often-adversarial relationship between the sportsmen community and landowners. The 23-member group includes Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Adams County, who chairs the legislative sportsmen’s caucus at the capitol.

More HB 11-1150 coverage here. More 2011 Colorado legislation coverage here.

2011 Colorado legislation: HB 11-1150 sponsor agrees to pull bill if new Department of Natural Resources agreement to fund water projects is adopted

From The Fort Morgan Times:

The agreement came from discussions with DNR and the newly formed Citizen’s Wildlife Advisory Council, a broad-based group of stakeholders that work on wildlife issues. CWAC was formed to open a dialogue to address the adversarial relationship between the sportsmen community and landowners. The group is bi-partisan and has worked to find common ground between various stakeholders.

The CWAC voted to support [Representative Jon Becker (R-Fort Morgan)] in his plan to pull the bill if the agreement with DNR is finalized citing that the compromise is of benefit to both sides. The major concern of the group was whether Federal Dingell-Johnson/Pitman-Robertson funds would still be available. Becker and DNR agreed that those dollars would still be utilized by the DOW and these water projects would benefit sportsmen as well as all the citizens of Colorado.

Here’s the release from the Colorado Division of Wildlife (Todd Hartman):

The Colorado Division of Wildlife is announcing a five-year goal to prioritize investments in water projects that benefit wildlife and wildlife recreation. The Division owns 104 dams and has a program to maintain existing facilities for safety, storage, and release. The Division has identified 17 dams and associated infrastructure in need of repairs and improvements and is seeking storage agreements, exchange-of-use agreements and other water projects with water providers and water users for this purpose.

“We have several critical water development needs, such as repairing the dam at Beaver Reservoir to allow us to store water again,” said Division of Wildlife Director Tom Remington. “We also have some great opportunities, such as reaching a storage agreement with Rio Grande Reservoir operators to store Division of Wildlife water critical to our needs in the San Luis Valley.”

In cooperation with Representative Jon Becker (R-Fort Morgan), the Division is exploring other opportunities that will first and foremost benefit wildlife and wildlife recreation, but will also help other entities and individuals who depend on water resources in the state. The Division intends to allocate at least $6 million for these types of projects over the next five years.

“I am glad to see the Division of Wildlife seeking additional opportunities for water development that will benefit both wildlife and sportsmen,” Rep. Becker said. “At the same time, the ancillary benefit to agricultural and other interests across the state is a win-win for all involved.”

“In the face of budget issues that are creating challenges throughout state government, it is especially challenging to plan for increasing water demand while protecting natural resources over the long term,” Department of Natural Resources Executive Director Mike King explained. “There is a lot of overlap between healthy wildlife habitat and what sportsmen and agricultural communities need. We welcome the opportunity to combine these goals and find ways to make limited state funding go further.”

More coverage from KRDO.com:

The division provided the following information on its new initiative: The division owns 104 dams and has a program to maintain existing facilities for safety, storage and release. The Division has identified 17 dams and associated infrastructure in need of repairs and improvements and is seeking storage agreements, exchange-of-use agreements and other water projects with water providers and water users for this purpose.

“We have several critical water development needs, such as repairing the dam at Beaver Reservoir to allow us to store water again,” said Division of Wildlife Director Tom Remington. “We also have some great opportunities, such as reaching a storage agreement with Rio Grande Reservoir operators to store Division of Wildlife water critical to our needs in the San Luis Valley.”

More HB 11-1150 coverage here. More 2011 Colorado legislation coverage here.

2011 Colorado legislation: HB 11-1083 (Hydroelectricity & Pumped Hydro) passes in state House of Representatives

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Patrick Malone):

The Colorado House on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill that would authorize the Public Utilities Commission to consider hydroelectric operations a renewable energy source. Sponsored by state Rep. Keith Swerdfeger, R-Pueblo West, HB1083 could open the door for a hydroelectric plant near Penrose. TransCanada’s proposed South Slope project would create up to 300 construction jobs and up to 30 permanent positions…

Also according to testimony, [pumped] hydro projects are an economical energy storage option that fits well with the emergence of wind and solar energy sources. That’s because hydro projects can fill gaps in wind and solar productivity. More than 120 hydro projects exist nationally. The barrier to more is the high up-front cost.

More 2011 Colorado legislation coverage here.

2011 Colorado legislation: HB 11-1066 — Due Process Prior To Gov Taking

Here’s a recap of a recent meeting where state Representative Wes McKinley discussed his bill, HB 11-1066, from Patrick Malone writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

McKinley, D-Walsh, has introduced HB1066, which seeks to stop the government from taking property without due process. It seeks to buffer citizens’ livelihood from encroachment by government agencies and specifically targets infringement on airspace, water rights and livestock. Real-life problems facing residents of Southern Colorado inspired the bill, McKinley said. Noisy military flyovers, the seizure of livestock and state rule changes in how farmers can irrigate motivated McKinley’s proposal. About 25 people with firsthand experience in those areas — most of them from Southeastern Colorado — attended an informal meeting McKinley held Wednesday to talk about what has been taken from them.

Marvin Greenloh of Lamar said the state is taking his water rights through a shift in its interpretation of seep irrigation, which reuses water that seeps through the soil…

Greenloh said the state’s demand that he stop using seep water could be catastrophic to his and neighbors’ livelihoods. “Basically, it would be the end of our farm because we won’t have the water to carry on,” he said…

In Greenloh’s estimation, more populous parts of the state have forgotten where their food originates and put their own needs ahead of farmers’ with the state’s backing. “What I think it is, they’re trying to keep enough water on the Front Range and don’t care if it’s hurting farmers,” he said.

More 2011 Colorado legislation coverage here.