6C468F312D0BB5EB8725821900764589 Hearing Summary

Senator Baumgardner and Senator Coram, co-prime sponsors, discussed the provisions of Senate Bill 18-041 concerning incidential water use by sand and gravel mines.  They also distributed Amendment L001 [Attachment E].  Under current law, operators of sand and gravel open mines that expose groundwater to the atmosphere are required to obtain a well permit, and either: a replacement plan approved by the Colorado Ground Water Commission in the Department of Natural Resources (DNR); a plan for augmentation approved by the water court; or a substitute water supply plan approved by the State Engineer in the DNR for tributary groundwater.  This bill, recommended by the interim Water Resources Review Committee, allows the designated groundwater replacement plan, or the substitute water supply plan and the well permit, to authorize uses of water incidental to open mining for sand and gravel, including the mitigation of impacts from mining and dewatering, among other uses.

Tracy Kosloff, Division of Water Resources, spoke in support of the bill.