2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 37 - WATER AND IRRIGATION (§§ 37-1-101 — 37-99-103) › WATER RIGHTS AND IRRIGATION (§§ 37-80-101 — 37-93-101) › UNDERGROUND WATER (§§ 37-90-101 — 37-91-113) › Article 90 - UNDERGROUND WATER (§§ 37-90-101 — 37-90-143) › Section 37-90-108 - Final permit - evidence of well construction and beneficial use - limitations

(1)
(a)
After having received a conditional permit to appropriate designated groundwater, the applicant, within one year from the date of the issuance of said permit, shall construct the well or other works necessary to apply the water to a beneficial use.
(b)
The applicant, upon completion of the well, shall furnish information to the commission, in the form prescribed by the commission, as to the depth of the well, the water-bearing formations intercepted by the well, and the maximum sustained pumping rate in gallons per minute.
(c)
If the well described in the conditional permit is not constructed within one year from the date of the issuance of the conditional permit as provided in this subsection (1), the conditional permit shall expire and be of no force or effect; except that, upon a showing of good cause, the commission may grant one extension of time only for a period not to exceed one year. If the well has been constructed timely but the completion information required by this subsection (1) has not been furnished to the commission, the procedures specified in subsection (6) of this section shall apply.
(2)
(a)
If the well or wells described in a conditional permit have been constructed in compliance with subsection (1) of this section, the applicant, within three years after the date of the issuance of said permit, shall furnish by sworn affidavit, in the form prescribed by the commission, evidence that water from such well or wells has been put to beneficial use; except that this paragraph (a) does not apply to a well described in a conditional permit to withdraw designated groundwater from the Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe, or Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers.
(b)
Such affidavit shall be prima facie evidence of the matters contained therein but shall be subject to objection by others, including ground water management districts, claiming to be injured thereby and to such verification and inquiry as the commission shall consider appropriate in each particular case.
(c)
If such required affidavit is not furnished to the commission within the time and as provided in this subsection (2), the conditional permit shall expire and be of no force or effect except as provided in subsection (4) of this section.
(d)
If the well described in a conditional permit issued to withdraw designated groundwater from the Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe, or Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers has been constructed in compliance with subsection (1) of this section, the applicant shall file a notice with the commission of commencement of beneficial use on a form prescribed by the commission within thirty days after the first beneficial use of any water withdrawn from the well.
(3)
(a)
(I)
To the extent that the commission finds that water has been put to a beneficial use and that the other terms of the conditional permit have been complied with and after publication of the information required in the final permit, as provided in section
37-90-112
, the commission shall order the state engineer to issue a final permit to use designated groundwater, containing such limitations and conditions as the commission deems necessary to prevent waste and to protect the rights of other appropriators. In determining the extent of beneficial use for the purpose of issuing final permits, the commission may use the same criteria for determining the amount of water used on each acre that has been irrigated that is used in evaluating the amount of water available for appropriation under section
37-90-107
. This subparagraph (I) does not apply to a well described in a conditional permit issued to withdraw designated groundwater from the Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe, or Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers.
(II)
A final permit is not required to be issued for a well described in a conditional permit to withdraw designated groundwater from the Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe, or Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers. For such a well, a conditional permit, subject to the conditions of issuance of such a permit, shall be considered a final determination of a well's water right if the well is in compliance with all other applicable requirements of this article.
(b)
In determining the extent of beneficial use prior to the issuance of a final permit, the commission may either increase or decrease the quantity of water and the amount of irrigated acreage, if any, according to the evidence presented to the commission, but no increase shall be permitted which will increase the quantity of water beyond that authorized by the original decree, conditional permit, registration statement, or other well permit issued prior to basin designation or which otherwise will unreasonably affect the rights of other appropriators.
(c)
Any owner of an existing valid conditional permit issued before July 1, 1978, may file with the commission an amended statement of beneficial use, in the form prescribed by the commission, on or before December 31, 1979, and not thereafter, if any such change occurred and was approved on or before August 5, 1977.
(4)
The procedural requirement that a statement of beneficial use shall be filed shall apply to all permits wherein the water was put to beneficial use since May 17, 1965. If information pertaining to completion of the well as required in subsection (1) of this section has been received but evidence that water has been placed to beneficial use has not been received as of three years after the date of issuance of the conditional permit, the commission shall so notify the applicant by certified mail. The notice shall give the applicant the opportunity to submit proof that the water was put to beneficial use prior to three years after the date of issuance of the conditional permit. The proof must be received by the commission within twenty days after receipt of the notice by the applicant, and, if the conditional permit was issued on or after July 14, 1975, the proof must be accompanied by a filing fee of thirty dollars. If the commission finds the proof to be satisfactory, the conditional permit shall remain in force and effect. The commission shall consider any records of the commission and any evidence provided to the commission and all other matters set forth in this section in determining whether the conditional permit should remain in force and effect.
(5)
(a)
All final permits must set forth the following information as a minimum:
(I)
The priority date;
(II)
The name of the claimant;
(III)
The quarter-quarter in which the well is located;
(IV)
The maximum annual volume of the appropriation in acre-feet per year;
(V)
The maximum pumping rate in gallons per minute; and
(VI)
The maximum number of acres that have been irrigated, if used for irrigation.
(b)
Notwithstanding any rule of law to the contrary other than a change of use case under section
37-90-111(1)(g)
, once the state engineer issues a final permit for the withdrawal of designated groundwater pursuant to this section, a reduction in the amount of water used pursuant to the permit due to the conservation of water is not grounds to reduce:
(I)
The maximum annual volume of the appropriation in acre-feet per year;
(II)
The maximum pumping rate in gallons per minute; or
(III)
The maximum number of acres that have been irrigated, if used for irrigation.
(6)
The procedural requirement that the well completion information required by subsection (1) of this section be furnished to the commission shall apply to all permits issued after May 17, 1965. If the well has been constructed within twenty-four months after the date of issuance of the permit where the permit was issued before June 7, 1979, or within twelve months after the date of issuance of the permit where the permit was issued on or after June 7, 1979, or by the expiration date of the permit, including any extension, but the completion information has not been furnished to the commission within six months after said allowable time for the well completion, the commission shall so notify the applicant by certified mail. The notice shall give the applicant the opportunity to submit proof that the well was completed within the time specified above or by the expiration date of the permit and to submit the information required by subsection (1) of this section and a showing that, due to excusable neglect, inadvertence, or mistake, the applicant failed to submit the evidence and information on time. The proof and information must be received by the commission within twenty days after receipt of the notice by the applicant and must be accompanied by a filing fee of thirty dollars. If the commission finds the proof to be satisfactory, the permit shall remain in force and effect. The commission shall consider any records of the commission and any evidence provided to the commission and all other matters set forth in this section in determining whether the permit should remain in force and effect.
(7)
Notwithstanding the amount specified for any fee in this section, the commission by rule or as otherwise provided by law may reduce the amount of one or more of the fees if necessary pursuant to section
24-75-402(3)
, C.R.S., to reduce the uncommitted reserves of the fund to which all or any portion of one or more of the fees is credited. After the uncommitted reserves of the fund are sufficiently reduced, the commission by rule or as otherwise provided by law may increase the amount of one or more of the fees as provided in section
24-75-402(4)
, C.R.S.
Amended by 2013 Ch. 35,§ 1, eff. 8/7/2013.
Amended by 2013 Ch. 30,§ 1, eff. 8/7/2013.
L. 65: R&RE, p. 1251, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 148-18-7. L. 71: p. 1314, § 6. L. 75: (3) amended and (4) added, p. 1394, § 1, effective July 14. L. 79: (1) to (3) R&RE, p. 1371, § 2, effective June 7. L. 85: (1)(c), (3)(a), (3)(b), and (4) amended and (5) and (6) added, p. 1172, § 2, effective May 31. L. 86: (6) amended, p. 1221, § 34, effective May 30. L. 92: (4), (5)(c), and (6) amended, p. 2298, § 3, effective March 19. L. 94: (1)(c) and (2)(a) amended and (2)(d) added, p. 1746, § 1, effective July 1. L. 98: (7) added, p. 1344, § 72, effective June 1; (2)(a), (2)(d), (3)(a), (4), and (6) amended, p. 1218, § 7, effective August 5. L. 2013: (2)(a), (2)(d), and (3)(a) amended, (SB 13-072), ch. 30, p. 73, § 1, effective August 7; (5) amended, (SB 13-075), ch. 35, p. 101, § 1, effective August 7.
Section 2 of chapter 30, Session Laws of Colorado 2013, provides that the act amending subsections (2)(a), (2)(d), and (3)(a) applies to permits issued for designated groundwater from the Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe, or Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers before, on, or after August 7, 2013.