Increasing Efficiency Division of Water Resources

The division of water resources in the department of natural resources (division) is responsible for administering water rights and issuing water well permits, among other duties.

Under current law, after having received a permit to appropriate designated groundwater or construct a well outside the boundaries of a designated groundwater basin, a permit holder is required to construct the well within one year after the date of issuance of the permit. If the well is not constructed within one year, the permit expires; except that the ground water commission (commission) in the division or the state engineer, as applicable, may grant a single one-year extension.

The bill extends the time frame for construction of a well to 2 years, eliminating the need for the commission or the state engineer to approve a one-year extension to the initial one-year construction time frame, except for permits issued for federally authorized water projects. The bill also removes the requirement that the commission or state engineer must mail a certified letter to the permit holder before a permit can be formally expired. The bill allows the commission or state engineer to reinstate an expired permit if the applicant for reinstatement of the permit can show that the well was completed in a timely manner and submits a $30 fee.

Under current law, the division engineer of each water division is required to decennially present to the water court a list of water rights that meet the criteria for abandonment. The bill splits this decennial abandonment process into 2 batches, grouped by water division and spaced 5 years apart, beginning with 2030 and 2035. The bill maintains the requirement that the abandonment process be performed every 10 years in each water division.

The bill extends certain time frames relating to the well permitting process. Lastly, the bill eliminates final permitting requirements for non-Denver Basin bedrock aquifer wells in the designated basins.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)