§ 7-45-106 — Environmental standards and review

(1) (a) Before constructing
and operating a toll road or toll highway or any other element of a toll road or toll
highway project, a toll road or toll highway company shall prepare, at its own
expense, environmental documentation that complies with the environmental
stewardship guide approved by the transportation commission in May 2005. The
documentation shall describe the environmental, social, and economic effects of
the proposed toll road, toll highway, or project, identify feasible measures to avoid
or otherwise mitigate the adverse effects of the project, and estimate the financial
costs to implement mitigation measures that are included in the project or have
been previously recommended in writing by the commenting state agencies or an
affected metropolitan planning organization or regional transportation commission
and comply with federal and state air and water quality standards, approvals, and
permits.

(b) (I) A toll road or toll highway company shall not begin work on
environmental documentation required by paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) until it
has obtained preliminary approval from the executive director of the department of
transportation that the scope of the planned environmental documentation is
consistent with the environmental stewardship guide issued by the department in
May 2005 and all other requirements of paragraph (a) of this subsection (1).

(II) A toll road or toll highway company shall provide a copy of any draft
environmental documentation it prepares as required by paragraph (a) of this
subsection (1) to the commenting state agencies, affected metropolitan planning
organizations and regional planning commissions, and affected local governments.
The toll road or toll highway company shall also make the draft environmental
documentation electronically or otherwise available to the public. The commenting
state agencies may, within sixty days, provide the toll road or toll highway company
and affected metropolitan planning organizations and regional planning
commissions with their analyses of the adequacy of the environmental
documentation and shall make the analyses available to the public.

(III) Each of the commenting agencies may charge a fee to a toll road or toll
highway company to cover the reasonable expenses that it incurred in fulfilling the
requirements of subparagraphs (I) and (II), as applicable, of this paragraph (b).

(IV) A toll road or toll highway company shall prepare final environmental
documentation that addresses comments received from the commenting state
agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, regional planning commissions, and
other interested parties. The final environmental documentation shall be made
available to the department of transportation and the public at least thirty days
prior to publication of any notice of hearing scheduled by the commission pursuant
to subsection (2) of this section.

(2) The transportation commission created in section 43-1-106, C.R.S., shall
not revise the comprehensive statewide transportation plan prepared pursuant to
section 43-1-1103 (5), C.R.S., to include a toll road, toll highway, or toll road or toll
highway project subject to the requirements of this section unless the commission,
after holding a public hearing, determines that:

(a) The requirements of section 7-45-105 and subsection (1) of this section
have been met;

(b) The toll road, toll highway, or project is:

(I) Necessary to meet the transportation needs of the state;

(II) Consistent with section 43-1-1103 (5), C.R.S., and the policies of the
transportation commission;

(III) Consistent with 23 U.S.C. sec. 135; and

(IV) In the public interest;

(c) The toll road, toll highway, or project sponsor has established a reserve
fund, performance bond, or other appropriate mechanism to ensure full payment of
the costs of compliance with federal and state air and water quality standards,
other federal and state environmental requirements, and mitigation measures
included in the toll road, toll highway, or project or required by the transportation
commission, a metropolitan planning organization, or a regional planning
commission; and

(d) The toll road, toll highway, or project sponsor has entered into
enforceable agreements with the department of transportation, or agreements with
affected local governments that are acceptable to the transportation commission,
to ensure that mitigation measures included in the project or required by the
transportation commission, a metropolitan planning organization, or a regional
planning commission will be implemented.

(3) The transportation commission may condition its addition of a toll road or
toll highway or a toll road or toll highway project into the comprehensive statewide
transportation plan upon additional mitigation measures if the commission
determines that the mitigation measures are in the best overall public interest
taking into consideration:

(a) The need for fast, safe, and efficient transportation;

(b) Public services;

(c) The costs of eliminating or minimizing the adverse effects for which the
mitigation measures are proposed;

(d) Environmental, social, and economic values; and

(e) The financial feasibility of the toll road, toll highway, or project.

Legislative History

Source: L. 2006: Entire article R&RE, p. 1764, � 1, effective June 6.