March 2019 - Colorado Legislative Update

By Ken Baker - Board Consultant

The Colorado General Assembly is in session and the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District is closely monitoring water-related legislation. In our March legislative update I have highlighted some of the issues we are closely following.

Change in Republican River District Boundaries 
HB19-1029 will require a larger number of water users to pay for well pumping in the newly enlarged district. 

Water Loans for Stream Use 
HB19-1218 will amend the existing statute that grants authority to the Colorado Water Conservation Board for loaning water for in-stream purposes. Provisions state that the loaned water is to be used for preserving the natural environment of a stream reach that is subject to a decreed in-stream flow right and preserving or improving the natural environment to a reasonable degree for a stream reach for which the Colorado Water Conservation Board does not hold a decreed in-stream right. The bill would increase the number of years of the loan from three years to five years of a ten-year period. ​

Study of Blockchain Technology in Water Uses 
This bill, SB19-184, is in response to the rapidly emerging technology of blockchain. Governor Polis has announced a major long-term commitment by his administration to make Colorado a hub for the technology of blockchain. Blockchain technology most often associates with crypto-currency, but it has a vast array of uses with respect to asset management, inventory control, product safety, and other applications where security of interchanges is a high priority. SB19-184 authorizes the Colorado Water Institute to study potential uses of blockchain technology in various water applications such as recording and monitoring water rights, developing market exchanges of water, the creation and operation of water banks, aquifer storage retrieval and other applications. When the Institute has completed the study, it will report back to the General Assembly. 

Restructuring of State Regulations of Oil and Gas Exploration and Extraction 
HB19-181 proposes major restructuring of the regulatory treatment of the oil and natural gas exploration and extraction industry. 
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​Concerning the Expansion of Agricultural Chemical Management Plans to Protect Surface Water 
SB19-186 is a plan that CSU has worked on with the Department of Agriculture. The word groundwater has been replaced with the term “state waters”.