Opinion ID: 2621332
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: State ex rel. Danielson v. Vickroy

Text: The first major case in which we dealt with the potential interaction of designated ground water and waters subject to the 1969 Act within a designated basin was State ex rel. Danielson v. Vickroy, 627 P.2d 752 (Colo. 1981). Vickroy owned a direct-flow water right with a point of diversion on Kiowa Creek, a tributary to the South Platte River. Vickroy, 627 P.2d at 755. Vickroy filed an application with the water court for a change in the point of diversion to a new well located within the boundaries of a designated ground water basin. Id. As a result the North Kiowa-Bijou Management District (District) filed a statement of opposition to the application, claiming the water court lacked jurisdiction over the application. Id. The District and the State of Colorado ex rel. the State Engineer also filed a lawsuit against Vickroy in the Adams County District Court, averring that Vickroy's well was within the boundaries of the designated ground water basin and was pumping designated ground water without a permit. Id. The plaintiffs sought an injunction preventing Vickroy from pumping the designated ground water. Id. at 756. In his motion to dismiss, Vickroy argued that the water court had exclusive jurisdiction over his application for a change in his point of diversion and therefore the district court had no jurisdiction over the complaint. Id. On appeal, we found that the jurisdictional issue hinged on the factual question of whether the ground water Vickroy sought to pump was designated ground water or ground water subject to the 1969 Act. Vickroy, 627 P.2d at 758-59. We stated that designation of a basin does not conclusively establish that all the ground water within the basin is designated ground water, id. at 759, but that the burden for proving certain ground water within the [designated] basin is not designated ground water lies with the proponent of that proposition. Id. We further held that any request to divert ground water located within a designated basin must first be brought in front of the Commission. Id. at 760. Jurisdiction switches to the water court only if it is demonstrated that the ground water at issue is subject to the 1969 Act. Id.