§ 37-90-101. Short Title
This article shall be known and may be cited as the “Colorado Groundwater Management Act”. Source: L. 65: R&RE, p. 1268, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 148-18-38.
§ 37-90-102. Legislative Declaration
It is declared that the traditional policy of the state of Colorado, requiring the water resources of this state to be devoted to beneficial use in reasonable amounts through appropriation, is affirmed with respect to the designated groundwaters of this state, as said waters are defined in section 37-90-103 (6). While the doctrine of prior […]
§ 37-90-103. Definitions – Repeal
As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires: “Alternate point of diversion well” means any well drilled and used, in addition to an original well or other diversion, for the purpose of obtaining the present appropriation of that original well, from more than one point of diversion. “Aquifer” means a formation, group of […]
§ 37-90-104. Commission – Organization – Expenses
There is created a ground water commission to consist of twelve members, nine of whom shall be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate. The appointed members of the commission holding office as of July 1, 1971, shall continue in office for the term of their appointment and until their successors are appointed. […]
§ 37-90-105. Small Capacity Wells
The state engineer has the authority to approve permits for the following types of wells and to allow the following types of rooftop precipitation collection systems in designated groundwater basins without regard to any other provisions of this article: Wells not exceeding fifty gallons per minute and used for no more than three single-family dwellings, […]
§ 37-90-106. Determination of Designated Groundwater Basins – Exception – Legislative Declaration – Repeal
The commission shall, from time to time as adequate factual data become available, determine designated groundwater basins and subdivisions thereof by geographic description. If factual data obtained after the designation of a groundwater basin justify, the commission may alter the boundaries or description of that designated groundwater basin by adding lands to the basin. After […]
§ 37-90-107. Application for Use of Groundwater – Publication of Notice – Conditional Permit – Hearing on Objections – Well Permits
Any person desiring to appropriate groundwater for a beneficial use in a designated groundwater basin shall make application to the commission in a form to be prescribed by the commission. The applicant shall specify the particular designated groundwater basin or subdivision thereof from which water is proposed to be appropriated, the beneficial use to which […]
§ 37-90-107.5. Replacement Plans
Any person desiring to obtain an approval of a replacement plan within the boundaries of a designated groundwater basin pursuant to the provisions of this article shall make an application to the commission in a form prescribed by the commission. The applicant shall also submit a summary of the application to the commission for publication. […]
§ 37-90-107.6. Aquifer Storage-and-Recovery Plans – Publication – Objection – Hearing – Rules
If a person seeks to obtain an approval of an aquifer storage-and-recovery plan within the boundaries of a designated groundwater basin, the person must apply to the commission in a form and manner determined by the commission by rule. When submitting the application to the commission, the applicant must also submit a summary of the […]
§ 37-90-108. Final Permit – Evidence of Well Construction and Beneficial Use – Limitations
After having received a conditional permit to appropriate designated groundwater, the applicant, within one year from the date of the issuance of said permit, shall construct the well or other works necessary to apply the water to a beneficial use. The applicant, upon completion of the well, shall furnish information to the commission, in the […]
§ 37-90-109. Priority – Discontinuance Orders – Grounds
Priority of claims for the appropriation of designated groundwater shall be determined by the doctrine of prior appropriation. All claims based on actual taking of designated groundwater for beneficial use prior to May 17, 1965, shall be determined by the doctrine of prior appropriation and shall relate back to the date of placing designated groundwater […]
§ 37-90-110. Powers of the State Engineer
In the administration and enforcement of this article and in the effectuation of the policy of this state to conserve its groundwater resources and for the protection of vested rights, the state engineer, either in the state engineer’s own capacity or as the executive director of the commission, is empowered: To require all flowing wells […]
§ 37-90-111. Powers of the Ground Water Commission – Limitations
In the administration and enforcement of this article and in the effectuation of the policy of this state to conserve its designated groundwater resources and for the protection of vested rights and except to the extent that similar authority is vested in ground water management districts pursuant to section 37-90-130 (2), the ground water commission […]
§ 37-90-111.5. Well Enforcement – Injunction – Fines
If an order of the ground water management district, commission, or state engineer issued pursuant to section 37-90-105, 37-90-107, 37-90-108, 37-90-110, or 37-90-130 (4) in relation to designated groundwater or pursuant to section 37-90-111 is not complied with, a ground water management district in its own name or the commission or state engineer in the […]
§ 37-90-112. Notice – Publication
When any notice is required to be published under any section of this article, including notice of elections, it shall be deemed to mean a publication in a newspaper of general circulation in each of the counties concerned. Publication of all notices shall be once each week for two successive weeks. The notice shall state […]
§ 37-90-113. Hearings
Hearings on all matters to be heard by the commission shall be held within the boundaries of the designated groundwater basin and within the ground water management district, if one exists, in which the water rights directly involved are situated or at such other place as may be designated by the commission for the convenience […]
§ 37-90-114. Other Administrative Hearings
Any person claiming to be injured within the boundaries of a designated groundwater basin by any act of the state engineer or commission under the provisions of this article, or the failure of the state engineer or commission to take any action under the provisions of this article, except as provided for the small capacity […]
§ 37-90-115. Judicial Review of Actions of the Ground Water Commission or the State Engineer
Any party, including a ground water management district, adversely affected or aggrieved by any decision or act of the ground water commission, except for the adoption of rules, under the provisions of this article or by a decision or act of the state engineer under section 37-90-110 may take an appeal to the district court […]
§ 37-90-116. Fees
The state engineer or the commission shall collect the following fees: Repealed. Effective July 1, 2006, with an application for the use of groundwater, one hundred dollars, which sum shall not be refunded. Repealed. Repealed. Effective July 1, 2006, for issuing a permit to modify or replace an existing well, one hundred dollars. For making […]
§ 37-90-117. Water Conservation Board – Duties
The Colorado water conservation board has the power, and it is its duty, to investigate and determine the nature and extent of the groundwater resources of the state of Colorado. It is also the duty of said board to study and determine the effect, if any, of the withdrawal of groundwater upon aquifer supply and […]