Opinion ID: 2543798
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Water Quality Control Act

Text: Current statutory law delegates most authority over water quality issues to the WQCC. The general assembly enacted the WQCA, §§ 25-8-101 to -703, 8 C.R.S. (2001), in response to the federal Clean Water Act. The purpose of the WQCA is to prevent injury to beneficial uses made of state waters, to maximize the beneficial uses of water, and to develop water to which Colorado and its citizens are entitled, and, within this context, to achieve the maximum practical degree of water quality in the waters of the state consistent with the welfare of the state. § 25-8-103, 8 C.R.S. (2001). Thus, the Act sought to provide the maximum protection for water quality possible without threatening the prior appropriation system and the state's policy of maximum beneficial use of the water. The general assembly also sought to conserve state waters and to protect, maintain, and improve, where necessary and reasonable, the quality [of state waters] for public water supplies, for protection and propagation of wildlife and aquatic life, for domestic, agricultural, industrial, and recreational uses, and for other beneficial uses, taking into consideration the requirements of such uses; to provide that no pollutant be released into any state waters without first receiving the treatment or other corrective action necessary to reasonably protect the legitimate and beneficial uses of such waters; [and] to provide for the prevention, abatement, and control of new or existing water pollution. Id. Thus, the WQCA expresses an intent to prevent water pollution and specifically refers to the need to protect the beneficial use of water in a variety of different contexts. The state's purpose of protecting water quality is served by a nine-member WQCC authorized by the WQCA to develop and maintain a comprehensive program for the prevention, control, and abatement of water pollution, and water quality protection. §§ 25-8-201-, -202; Vranesh's, supra at 476. Although the WQCA gives the WQCC general authority over water quality issues, the WQCA is not intended to interfere with the water court's role in adjudicating water rights administered by the State Engineer. Section 25-8-104(1) of the WQCA explicitly provides that: No provision of this article shall be interpreted so as to supercede, abrogate, or impair rights to divert water and to apply water to beneficial uses in accordance with sections 5 and 6 of article XVI of the constitution of the state of Colorado, compacts entered into by the state of Colorado, or the provisions of articles 80 to 93 of title 37, C.R.S., or Colorado court determinations with respect to the determination and administration of water rights. § 25-8-104(1) (emphasis added). [5] We read these provisions of the WCQA to allow the WCQA to work within the context of the prior appropriation system. See City of Thornton v. Bijou Irr. Co., 926 P.2d 1, 66 (Colo.1996) (holding that the legislature clearly intended that authority over water quality not be exercised in a manner that significantly compromises the appropriative rights of present or future water users). Because the WQCA explicitly provides that it is not to interfere with the water court's role in adjudicating water rights, we conclude that the general assembly did not intend the WQCA to interfere with the water court's ability to protect senior water appropriators as set forth in sections 37-92-304(6) and 37-92-305(5). The WQCA explicitly preserves the water court's authority over the question of injury to senior appropriators and the appropriate remedies for such injuries. Section 25-8-104 also provides: Nothing in this article shall be construed, enforced, or applied so as to cause or result in material injury to water rights. The general assembly recognizes that this article may lead to dischargers choosing consumptive types of treatment techniques in order to meet water quality control requirements. Under such circumstances, the discharger must comply with all of the applicable provisions of articles 80 to 93 of title 37, C.R.S., and shall be obligated to remedy any material injury to water rights to the extent required under the provisions of articles 80 to 93 of title 37, C.R.S. The question of whether such material injury to water rights exists and the remedy therefor shall be determined by the water court. § 25-8-104(1) (emphasis added). We conclude from this provision that the water court's role in assessing injury and preserving appropriators' water rights in augmentation plan proceedings remains intact despite the WQCC's role in protecting the quality of the state's waters.