CO Code § 37-48-126 (2021)
2021 Colorado Code|Title 37 - Water and Irrigation|Article 48 - Rio Grande Water Conservation District|§ 37-48-126. Official Plan for Subdistrict

  Upon organization of such subdistrict, the board of directors of said district, acting as the board of directors of said subdistrict, is authorized and required to prepare and adopt as the official plans for said subdistrict a comprehensive detailed plan, setting forth any plan of water management for the subdistrict, any improvements or works, including all canals, reservoirs, and ditches whether within or without the district to be constructed or used for the subdistrict, and the manner of utilization of the same in any plan of augmentation or plan of water management, together with the estimated cost of each principal part of said plan or plans, system, or works and the estimated cost of maintenance and operation thereof.    Where a board of managers for the subdistrict is authorized by the petition and decree establishing the subdistrict, the preparation of the official plans for the subdistrict shall be carried out by the board of managers. Such official plans shall be submitted to and approved by the board of directors of the district before the holding of the public hearing thereon required by subsection (3) of this section. If the official plan approved by the board of directors includes a groundwater management plan within the meaning of section 37-92-501 (4)(c), the board of directors shall obtain the state engineer's approval of the groundwater management plan in accordance with section 37-92-501 (4)(c) before holding the public hearing required by subsection (3) of this section.      Upon the completion of such official plan, the board of directors shall cause notice thereof to be given by publication in each county in which said district may be located, in whole or in part, and shall permit the inspection thereof at the office of the district by all persons interested. Said notice shall fix the time and place for the hearing of all objections to said plan not less than twenty days or more than thirty days after the last publication of said notice. All objections to said plan shall be in writing and filed with the manager or secretary of the district at its office prior to the date established for the hearing. After said hearing before the board of directors, the board shall consult with the board of managers, if any, and shall adopt the plan as the official plan of the said subdistrict; adopt the plan with changes in which the board of managers, if any, concurs; or disapprove the plan, in which case the board of managers, if any, shall proceed as set forth in this section to prepare another plan.    If any person objects to the official plan adopted pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection (3), such person may, within ten days after the adoption of said official plan, file in the office of the clerk of the court in the original case establishing the district his or her objections in writing, specifying the features of the plan to which objection is made, and, thereupon, the court shall fix a day for the hearing thereof before the court, at which time the court shall hear said objections and adopt, reject, or refer back the plan to the board of directors. If the official plan includes a groundwater management plan, the court may consolidate the hearing on objections to the official plan with any hearing on the groundwater management plan required by section 37-92-501 (4)(c).    If the official plan includes a plan for augmentation, all issues concerning the adequacy of such plan under the applicable provisions of article 92 of this title shall be adjudicated pursuant to the procedures specified in said article.       If the court should reject the plan, the board or the board of managers, as the case may be, shall proceed as in the first instance under this section to prepare another plan. If the court should refer the plan back to the board for amendment, the court shall continue the hearing to a day certain without publication of notice. If the court approves the plan as the official plan of the district, a certified copy of the order of the court approving the plan shall be filed with the secretary of the district and incorporated into the records of the district. The official plan may be altered in detail as necessary from time to time but may not be altered in substance without notice and hearing as required in subsection (3) of this section, nor may the plan be altered in substance after the sale of bonds or warrants to finance the construction and development of the plan without notice to the holders of the bonds or warrants and opportunity for them to be heard, and in no event shall the plan be altered, except within the objects and purposes of the subdistrict as set forth in the petition to organize the same.      History. Source: L. 75: Entire section added, p. 1376, § 7, effective July 18. L. 2007: Entire section amended, p. 1274, § 7, effective May 25.    ANNOTATION   Because adoption of an official water management plan is a quasi-legislative action, the most appropriate standard of review for the trial court is ”reasonableness“. When an official plan includes a groundwater management plan, greater scrutiny is required; thus, the state engineer must approve the plan subject to the water court's review, followed by the water court's retained jurisdiction. San Antonio v. Special Improv. Dist. No. 1, 270 P.3d 927 (Colo. 2011).