§ 25-1.5-202 — Water - minimum general sanitary standards

Colorado § 25-1.5-202

• Jurisdiction: Colorado
• Title 25: Public
• Art.: Powers and Duties of the Department

Text

(1) Repealed.

(2) Minimum general sanitary standards for the quality of water supplied to
the public shall be no more stringent than the drinking water standards
promulgated pursuant to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, if such standards
exist. If no standards have been promulgated pursuant to the federal Safe
Drinking Water Act regarding the permissible concentration of any contaminant or
any substance in drinking water, the department may recommend to the water
quality control commission for promulgation minimum general sanitary standards
regarding such contaminant or substance.

(3) (a) The department shall annually establish and revise a priority list of
contaminants or substances for which standards may be considered and shall
submit said list to the water quality control commission for review and approval.

(b) The priority list of contaminants or substances, together with the
department's evaluation of the considerations listed in this paragraph (b), shall be
submitted to the water quality control commission for review and approval. The
priority list shall be prepared according to a ranking process that incorporates the
following considerations:

(I) The actual presence of a contaminant or substance in a drinking water
supply system or the relative imminence of threat of contamination of a drinking
water supply source;

(II) The identifiability of a potential pathway or continued pathway of
contamination;

(III) The availability of analytical techniques for measuring and identifying
the contaminant or substance in a reasonable manner;

(IV) Sufficient available information concerning the contaminant or
substance to allow an appropriate standard to be developed, including information
on the health effects of the contaminant or substance as well as available
treatment technology;

(V) The magnitude of potential health risks of the contaminant or substance
at reasonably anticipated exposure levels, utilizing the same exposure
considerations, criteria for health risk, and criteria for data availability which are
used by the criteria and standards division of the office of drinking water, United
States environmental protection agency, in establishing the federal drinking water
priority list;

(VI) The fact that the contaminant or substance will be the subject of a
national primary drinking water regulation in the near future;

(VII) An analysis of the environmental fate and transport mechanisms within
relevant environmental media;

(VIII) Identification, characterization, and analysis of the populations and
drinking water supplies at risk; and

(IX) The level of effort and scope of work that will be necessary to develop
sufficient data for the purpose of supporting an appropriate standard.

(4) (a) Following the department's submission of recommended standards to
the water quality control commission, the commission may promulgate standards
for contaminants or substances that are not the subject of a standard set pursuant
to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

(b) In the promulgation of such standards, the water quality control
commission shall find that the standards are necessary to protect public health and
have a demonstrated medical, technological, and scientific basis and that:

(I) Based on credible medical and toxicological evidence that has been
subjected to peer review, there exists a substantial risk to the public health;

(II) The analytical techniques for measuring and identifying the contaminant
or substance are reasonably available;

(III) The adverse health effects posed by the contaminant or substance are
known to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty; and

(IV) Compliance with such standard is feasible utilizing the best technology
or methodology which is generally available.

(5) All acts, orders, and rules adopted by the state board of health under the
authority of this part 2 prior to July 1, 2006, that were valid prior to said date and not
otherwise subject to judicial review shall, to the extent that they are not
inconsistent with said provisions, be deemed and held to be legal and valid in all
respects, as though issued by the water quality control commission under the
authority of this part 2. No provision of this part 2 shall be construed to validate any
actions, orders, or rules that were not valid when adopted by the board of health
prior to such date.

Legislative History

Source: L. 2003: Entire article added with relocations, p. 687, � 2, effective July 1. L. 2006: (2), (3)(a), IP(3)(b), (4)(a), and IP(4)(b) amended and (5) added, p. 1127, � 2, effective July 1. L. 2025: (1) repealed, (SB 25-275), ch. 377, p. 2109, � 336, effective August 6.