Opinion ID: 2584073
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: House Bill 98-1151

Text: Even though allocation of nondesignated and designated ground water is based upon the same standard, [25] before passage of House Bill 98-1151, there were different administrative procedures for users, depending upon whether the well was located on land inside or outside the boundaries of a designated basin. To place House Bill 98-1151 in context, we provide an overview of these procedures and then explain the new legislative mandates contained in this bill. [26] Before and after HB 98-1151, to determine the use right for Denver Basin nondesignated ground water, the landowner had a choice: either apply for a permit through the state engineer or seek an adjudication in water court. [27] Adjudication of nondesignated Denver Basin ground water enabled the landowner, or someone acting with her consent, to obtain a decree establishing a use right to withdraw water at a later time for a specific quantity of Denver Basin ground water underneath her land without first obtaining a permit from the state engineer and incurring the expense of drilling a well. See §§ 37-92-203(1), 305(11); § 37-92-302(2)(a)(b). In contrast, a landowner located within a designated basin had to obtain a conditional permit from the Commission before constructing a well. Such a permit entitled the holder to pump a specified amount of water for an intended beneficial use subject to conditions specified by the Commission. To issue a conditional permit, the Commission was required to find that there was unappropriated water, that existing rights would not be unreasonably impaired, and that the intended use would not create unreasonable waste. § 37-90-107(1)-(3),(5). Then, the conditional permit holder had to complete the well within a year of obtaining the conditional permit and file an affidavit of beneficial use within three years to obtain a final permit. [28] See § 37-90-108(1)-(3). During this well application process, much of the actual work of the Commission is performed by the state engineer, who acts as the Commission's executive director carrying out and enforcing the decisions, policies and orders of the Commission. See § 37-90-104(6). Once the conditional permit holder drilled the well and put the ground water to beneficial use, the Commission issued a final permit that contained the priority date of the well and specified the rate and volume of ground water to be pumped. See § 37-90-108(5). Under the modified prior appropriation system, the Commission determined priority of claims based upon the order of appropriation. [29] Final permits granted by the Commission served an analogous function to that of absolute water decrees entered by water courts. Veronica A. Sperling and David M. Brown, Outline of Colorado Ground Water Law, 1 U. Denv. Water L.Rev. 275, 283 (1998). Only upon the issuance of a final permit would the landowner be able to obtain a determination of his use right, at which time the use right will vest. Thompson v. Colorado Ground Water Comm'n, 194 Colo. 489, 498, 575 P.2d 372, 379-80 (1978). Since 1988, with the passage of House Bill 88-1173, now codified at § 37-90-111(5), the allocation rules have been the same for designated and nondesignated Denver Basin ground water: Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the commission shall allocate, upon the basis of ownership of the overlying land, any designated ground water contained in the Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe, or Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers. Permits issued pursuant to this subsection (5) shall allow withdrawals on the basis of an aquifer life of one hundred years. Ch. 258, sec. 1, § 37-90-111, 1988 Colo. Sess. Laws. 1238, 1238. [30] However, before passage of House Bill 98-1151, there existed an anomaly between landowners in designated basins and those located outside of basin boundaries, who wished to obtain a use right determination. Landowners in designated ground water basins had to undertake a two-step permit process while landowners in nondesignated areas could obtain a determination from the water court without first drilling a well. As State Engineer Hal Simpson testified, You have to file for a well permit, construct a well, and get a final permit. That's very cumbersome and you have to invest a lot of money constructing these wells. Hearing on House Bill 98-1151, Before the House Committee on Agriculture, Livestock, and Natural Resources, 61st General Assemb. (hearing tape, February 4, 1988, 3:30 p.m.). The 1998 legislation, ch. 290, sec. 5, § 37-90-107, 1998 Colo. Sess. Laws 1211, 1216-18, corrected this anomaly by vesting the Commission with parallel authority to that of the water court. It added subsection (7) to the statutory section governing the Commission's authority to issue well permits for designated ground water. See § 37-90-107(7). This new subsection (7) applies to Denver Basin designated ground water by vesting the Commission with authority to determine rights to designated ground water in the Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe, or Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers .... § 37-90-107(7)(c)(I). It provides that [a]ny such commission approved determination shall be considered a final determination of the amount of ground water so determined. § 37-90-107(7)(c)(III). Before the Commission issues a conditional permit for designated Denver Basin ground water, the Commission must make a determination of the amount of Denver Basin ground water to be withdrawn. § 37-90-107(7)(d)(II). [31] When the Commission issues a permit for the amount of ground water determined, it retains jurisdiction to adjust this amount to conform to the actual local aquifer characteristics ... obtained from well drilling or test holes. § 37-90-107(7)(c)(III). In addition, part of this new section provides that a final permit is not necessary for a well described in a conditional permit issued on or after July 1, 1991 to withdraw Denver designated ground waters. For these wells and conditional permits issued on or after July 1, 1991, if the well is in compliance with the permit conditions and statutory requirements, then the conditional permit shall be considered a final determination of a well's water right .... § 37-90-108(3)(a)(II). For Denver Basin designated ground water wells described in conditional permits issued after July 1, 1991, the well owner need not file an affidavit of beneficial use three years after the issuance of the conditional permit as must a conditional permit holder in designated basins outside the Denver Basin. See § 37-90-108(2)(a). Instead, the owner must file a notice with the Commission of commencement of beneficial use thirty days after the first beneficial use of any water withdrawn. § 37-90-108(2)(d). The plain wording of House Bill 98-1151 thus provided the Commission with new authority to determine the use right of Denver Basin designated ground water in the same manner that a water court would for nondesignated Denver Basin ground water. In addition, House Bill 98-1151 eliminated the two step Commission permit process, and the landowner need not construct a well to determine her use right. [32] As such, this legislation corrected the inconsistent treatment that existed between future well users in designated and nondesignated areas of the Denver Basin.