2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 25 - PUBLIC HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT (§§ 25-1-101 — 25-59-106) › ADMINISTRATION (§§ 25-1-101 — 25-1.5-701) › Article 1 - ADMINISTRATION (§§ 25-1-101 — 25-1-1511) › Part 1 - DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT (§§ 25-1-101 — 25-1-138) › Section 25-1-134 - Environmental justice - ombudsperson - advisory board - grant program - definitions - repeal

(1)
Environmental justice ombudsperson.
(a)
There is hereby created in the department the position of an environmental justice ombudsperson. The ombudsperson reports to the executive director of the department. The department shall provide administrative support for the ombudsperson. The ombudsperson otherwise functions independently in exercising its powers.
(b)
The governor shall appoint the ombudsperson as soon as practicable but no later than February 1, 2022, and as necessary thereafter to fill a vacancy. Prior to an appointment, the governor or the governor's designee shall consult with, and may receive recommendations from, the advisory board, the general assembly, representatives of disproportionately impacted communities, and other relevant stakeholders regarding the selection of the ombudsperson.
(c)
The ombudsperson must be qualified by training or experience in environmental justice, and should have been a resident of one or more disproportionately impacted communities or have worked to advance environmental justice within disproportionately impacted communities.
(d)
The ombudsperson shall:
(I)
Collaborate with the advisory board for the purpose of promoting environmental justice for the people of Colorado;
(II)
Serve as an advocate for disproportionately impacted communities and as a liaison between disproportionately impacted communities and the department, including with respect to communications regarding the grant program to fund environmental mitigation projects;
(III)
Work to improve the relationships and interactions between disproportionately impacted communities and the department;
(IV)
Increase the flow of information between the department and disproportionately impacted communities concerning the environment and departmental programs using methods of outreach that include, at a minimum:
(A)
Disseminating information through local schools, social media, local social and activity clubs, libraries, or other local services; and
(B)
Prioritizing in-person meetings in communities with populations that are predominantly Black, Indigenous, Latino, or Asian American that have a median income below the state's average, or that are in rural locations;
(V)
Identify ways to enable meaningful participation by disproportionately impacted communities in the decision-making processes of the department;
(VI)
Coordinate with the office of health equity, created in section
25-4-2204
;
(VII)
Maintain a telephone number, website, e-mail address, and mailing address for the receipt of complaints and inquiries for matters pertaining to environmental justice;
(VIII)
Establish procedures to address complaints pertaining to environmental justice to the extent practicable;
(IX)
Consult with the division of administration in reporting to the air quality control commission, created in section
25-7-104
, on equitable progress toward the state's greenhouse gas reduction goals;
(X)
Serve in an advisory capacity, as requested, to other state agencies conducting outreach to and engagement of disproportionately impacted communities in light of a proposed agency action; and
(XI)
Advocate for and liaise with mobile home residents in matters of water quality and work with residents on solutions and funding to improve water quality in accordance with part 10 of article
8
of title
25
.
(2)
Environmental justice advisory board.
(a)
There is hereby created in the department the environmental justice advisory board.
(b)
Except as otherwise provided in this subsection (2), the members of the advisory board are appointed by the governor. The governor shall make the initial appointments as soon as practicable, but no later than four months after July 2, 2021. An appointing authority may remove a member of the advisory board for malfeasance in office, failure to regularly attend meetings, or any cause that renders the member unable or unfit to discharge the member's duties.
(c)
The advisory board consists of the following twelve members who, to the extent practicable, must reside in different geographic areas of the state, reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the state, and have experience with a range of environmental issues, including air pollution, water contamination, and public health impacts:
(I)
Four voting members appointed by the governor, who must be or have been residents of a disproportionately impacted community;
(II)
Three voting members appointed by the governor, one of whom must be from a nongovernmental organization that represents statewide interests to advance racial justice, one of whom must be from a nongovernmental organization that represents statewide interests to advance environmental justice, and one of whom must represent worker interests in disproportionately impacted communities;
(III)
The executive director of the department, or the executive director's designee, as a nonvoting member; and
(IV)
Four voting members appointed by the executive director of the department, at least one of whom must be a midwife who is practicing in a freestanding birth center, in a rural area, or as a home birth provider.
(d)
(I)
Except as provided in subsection (2)(d)(II) of this section, each member's term of appointment is four years. Voting members may serve no more than two terms. The governor shall fill any vacancies on the advisory board, including for the remainder of any unexpired term. A member appointed to fill a vacancy may serve the remainder of the unexpired term of the member whose vacancy is being filled, and this remainder counts as one term for that appointee.
(II)
In order to ensure staggered terms of office, the initial term of two members appointed by the governor pursuant to subsection (2)(c)(I) of this section, as specified by the governor, and two members appointed pursuant to subsection (2)(c)(IV) of this section, as specified by the executive director of the department, is two years.
(e)
(I)
Each voting member of the advisory board appointed pursuant to subsection (2)(c) of this section is entitled to receive a per diem of two hundred dollars for attendance at regularly scheduled meetings of the board during the 2021-22 state fiscal year. For each state fiscal year thereafter, the per diem amount shall be annually adjusted for inflation based on the percentage change in the United States department of labor's bureau of labor statistics consumer price index for Denver-Aurora-Lakewood for all items paid by all urban consumers, or its applicable successor index. Voting members of the board are also entitled to receive reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred while performing official duties.
(II)
The nonvoting member of the advisory board may not receive a per diem, but may be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred while performing official duties.
(f)
The advisory board shall elect a chair from among its members every year. The advisory board shall meet at least once every quarter. The chair may schedule all such additional meetings as are necessary for the advisory board to complete its duties.
(g)
The advisory board shall:
(I)
Serve in an advisory capacity to the ombudsperson in the performance of the duties of the ombudsperson;
(II)
Hold a portion of advisory board meetings for the ombudsperson to jointly receive stakeholder input into the activities and priorities of the ombudsperson;
(III)
Develop a public complaint process related to the performance of the ombudsperson;
(IV)
Develop recommendations to address any other matters relating to adverse environmental effects on disproportionately impacted communities as referred to the advisory board by the governor or the executive director of the department;
(V)
Develop policies as are necessary for the conduct of its affairs and its meetings, and post all policies on its website, including a conflict of interest policy for its members, which must require the disclosure of any potential financial interest of any member or relative of any member in a proposed environmental mitigation project. A board member who has a personal or financial interest in an environmental mitigation project under consideration shall recuse the board member from any vote on that project.
(VI)
Advise the department on matters to enable the department to interact with disproportionately impacted communities in the best manner possible;
(VII)
Support the implementation of a grant program to fund environmental mitigation projects from the community impact cash fund created in section
25-7-129
in accordance with this subsection (2)(g)(VII) by performing the following duties:
(A)
The advisory board shall develop guidelines for a grant program to fund environmental mitigation projects, with input from the department. The guidelines must include: Procedures for applicants to submit applications to the board, and for selection of environmental mitigation projects to fund; provisions to ensure that the applications are concise, straightforward, objective, inclusive, and accessible to all interested parties; a requirement that the applicant disclose any conflict of interest, such as a personal or financial relationship with any member of the advisory board; and identification of any information necessary to be included in an application to ensure the advisory board can prepare the report required by subsection (2)(g)(VII)(C) of this section.
(B)
The advisory board shall review each application that it receives and may award grants, subject to appropriations and available funding, to applicants to fund environmental mitigation projects in disproportionately impacted communities.
(C)
The advisory board shall compile an annual report that details information about the environmental mitigation projects that are awarded grants, including: Details about the disproportionately impacted community in which the project will take place, including information about pollution levels, health disparities, and demographics; the relationship between the community, the project, and any violations that gave rise to penalties paid into the community impact cash fund created in section
25-7-129
; the status of the project, the engagement between the project and the community, and the reaction of the disproportionately impacted community to the project; and other details as the advisory board deems appropriate. The annual report shall be made publicly accessible, including on the advisory board's website.
(h)
This subsection (2) is repealed, effective September 1, 2027. Before the repeal, the advisory board and its functions are scheduled for review in accordance with section
2-3-1203
.
(3)
Records and meetings.
The advisory board and the ombudsperson are subject to all the applicable requirements of the "Colorado Open Records Act", part 2 of article
72
of title
24
, and the open meetings law contained in part 4 of article
6
of title
24
.
(4)
Definitions.
As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a)
"Advisory board" means the environmental justice advisory board created in subsection (2) of this section.
(b)
"Environmental mitigation project" means any project that avoids, minimizes, measures, or mitigates adverse environmental impacts in a disproportionately impacted community, including, without limitation, health effects, health disparities, and other environmental impacts or that promotes equitable participation in a rule-making proceeding that may affect a disproportionately impacted community.
(c)
"Ombudsperson" means the environmental justice ombudsperson appointed pursuant to subsection (1) of this section.
Amended by 2024 Ch. 393,§ 4, eff. 6/4/2024.
Amended by 2023 Ch. 376,§ 5, eff. 6/5/2023.
Added by 2021 Ch. 411, § 12, eff. 7/2/2021.
Section 24 of chapter 411 (HB 21-1266), Session Laws of Colorado 2021, provides that the act adding this section applies to conduct occurring on or after July 2, 2021.
For the short title ("Environmental Justice Act") and the legislative declaration in HB 21-1266, see sections 1 and 2 of chapter 411, Session Laws of Colorado 2021.