Opinion ID: 1161635
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Allocation of Designated Ground Water

Text: The legislature authorized the Commission to create designated ground water basins for the purpose of (1) allocating water for economic development that is essentially unavailable to fill decreed surface rights, [10] (2) restricting depletions of this ground water to reasonable conservation levels, and (3) establishing priorities through operation of completed permitted wells to the extent of actual beneficial use. See Peterson v. Ground Water Comm'n, 195 Colo. 508, 513, 579 P.2d 629, 632-33 (1978); Thompson v. Colorado Ground Water Comm'n, 194 Colo. 489, 494, 499, 575 P.2d 372, 376, 380 (1978). The General Assembly chose a modified system of prior appropriation for the establishment and administration of rights to use designated ground water. See § 37-90-102(1), 10 C.R.S. (1999). It intended this modified appropriation system to: (1) permit full economic development of designated ground water resources, (2) protect prior appropriations of designated ground water, and (3) protect and maintain reasonable ground water pumping levels, but not to require the maintenance of historical water levels. See id. [11] In contrast to the constitutional doctrine of prior appropriation, whereby the appropriators of the waters of the natural stream themselves allocate the available supply by making beneficial use of unappropriated water, the Commission allocates the waters of designated ground water basins by permit, pursuant to the 1965 Act, and, in particular, sections 37-90-107 and 37-90-108, 10 C.R.S. (1999). See Larrick v. District Court, 177 Colo. 237, 239-40, 493 P.2d 647, 648 (1972). The General Assembly has defined designated ground water as: [G]round water which in its natural course would not be available to and required for the fulfillment of decreed surface rights, or ground water in areas not adjacent to a continuously flowing natural stream wherein ground water withdrawals have constituted the principal water usage for at least fifteen years preceding the date of the first hearing on the proposed designation of the basin, and which in both cases is within the geographic boundaries of a designated ground water basin. Designated ground water shall not include any ground water within the Dawson-Arkose, Denver, Arapahoe, or Laramie-Fox Hills formation located outside the boundaries of any designated ground water basin that was in existence on January 1, 1983. § 37-90-103(6)(2). The Commission determines in the first instance whether disputed ground water is designated ground water within a designated ground water basin or tributary ground water that is subject to adjudication under the 1969 Act. See Pioneer Irrigation Dist. v. Danielson, 658 P.2d 842, 844-45 (Colo.1983); Ground Water Comm'n v. Shanks, 658 P.2d 847, 848 (Colo.1983). Within a designated ground water basin, citizens may establish ground water management districts through a petition and election procedure when the Commission has approved the proposed creation of the management district and its boundaries. See § 37-90-118, 10 C.R.S. (1999). The Commission has established eight designated basins and has promulgated appropriation rules for each. These eight basins are: Northern High Plains, Southern High Plains, Kiowa-Bijou, Lost Creek, Upper Black Squirrel, Upper Big Sandy, Camp Creek, and Upper Crow Creek. See generally Rules and Regulations for Management and Control of Designated Ground Water, 2 C.C.R. 410-1 (1997); Sperling & Brown, supra, at 281-82. The modified system of prior appropriation governing these designated ground water basins allows appropriation only to the point of reasonable depletion, as determined by the Commission. See Colorado Ground Water Comm'n v. Dreiling, 198 Colo. 560, 565, 606 P.2d 836, 839 (1979). Intent to appropriate for beneficial use is a necessary factor in the Commission's decision whether to grant a well permit application: Colorado's anti-speculation doctrine applies. See Jaeger v. Colorado Ground Water Comm'n, 746 P.2d 515, 521 (Colo.1987). If the Commission determines that there is water available for appropriation, it instructs the State Engineer to issue a permit in accordance with the Act, and applicable regulations, conservation measures and control measures. See Kuiper v. Warren, 195 Colo. 541, 545, 580 P.2d 32, 35-36 (1978). [12] In order to grant a conditional permit, the Commission must find that the appropriation: (1) will not unreasonably impair existing water rights from the same source; and (2) will not create unreasonable waste. See § 37-90-107(3). In ascertaining whether a proposed use will create unreasonable waste or unreasonably affect the rights of other appropriators, the Commission: shall take into consideration the area and geologic conditions, the average annual yield and recharge rate of the appropriate water supply, the priority and quantity of existing claims of all persons to use the water, the proposed method of use, and all other matters appropriate to such questions. § 37-90-107(5). The statute prescribes a one-year period in which to construct the conditionally permitted well. See § 37-90-108(1)(a). For good cause shown, the Commission may grant an additional year for construction of the well. See § 37-90-108(1)(c). Within three years of filing the conditional well permit application, the applicant must supply to the Commission a sworn affidavit evidencing beneficial use of the water. The Commission, in turn, determines the existence and extent of the appropriation through the mechanism of the final permit. See § 37-90-108(2)(a); Berens v. Ground Water Comm'n, 200 Colo. 170, 174, 614 P.2d 352, 355-56 (1980); Thompson, 194 Colo. at 499, 575 P.2d at 380. In Larrick v. North Kiowa Bijou Management District, 181 Colo. 395, 404, 510 P.2d 323, 328 (1973), we held that the General Assembly's action in vesting the Commission with authority to establish designated ground water appropriation priorities in this fashion does not violate the appropriation of water, separation of powers, or delegation of judicial power provisions of the Colorado Constitution. [13]