(1) State water plan. The board shall adopt and update, as warranted, a state water
plan. In exercising its authority pursuant to this section, executive order D2013-005,
or any analogous successor order directing the board to adopt or amend a state or
Colorado water plan, the board shall comply with all requirements of this section.
(2) Legislative declaration. Because the constitution vests all legislative
power of the state in the general assembly, the general assembly:
(a) Finds that the primary purpose of a state water plan is to determine state
policy regarding the optimal conservation and development of Colorado's water
resources;
(b) Determines that the general assembly is primarily responsible for guiding
the development of state water policy; and
(c) Declares that enactment of this section is necessary to protect the
interests of the public in the state's water resources and that in enacting this
section, the general assembly intends to engage the people of the state in a public
dialogue regarding optimum state water policy; affirm its delegation of policy-making authority to the board, subject to direction by the general assembly; and not
interfere with, but instead to promote the policies, processes, basin roundtable
plans, and interbasin compact negotiations conducted pursuant to the Colorado
Water for the 21st Century Act, article 75 of this title 37, and the interbasin
compact charter as approved by the general assembly acting by bill as specified in
section 37-75-105 (2).
(3) Development of plan. In exercising its authority pursuant to this section,
the board shall:
(a) Develop the state water plan with the involvement of the public and the
basin roundtables, as created in section 37-75-104 (3)(b), and provide opportunities
for public comment before adopting any final or significantly amended plan; and
(b) Notify the water resources and agriculture review committee created in
section 37-98-102 of any proposed significant amendments to the plan, as
determined by the board, by June 1 of any year in which the amendment is proposed
to be adopted; present the proposed amendment to the committee by August 1 of
that year; and consider the committee's feedback submitted pursuant to section
37-98-103 (6)(c) by November 1 of that year.
(4) Legislation. By November 1 of each year following the submission to the
water resources and agriculture review committee of a state water plan or
amendment pursuant to this section, any member of the general assembly may
make a request in writing to the chairperson of the water resources and agriculture
review committee that the committee hold one or more hearings to review the plan
or amendment as submitted to the water resources and agriculture review
committee. Upon receipt of the request, and notwithstanding the provisions on
meetings set forth in section 37-98-102 (1)(a)(I), the chairperson of the committee
shall promptly schedule a hearing to conduct the review and provide adequate
notice to the public and the board. The committee, after holding a public hearing,
may recommend the introduction of a bill or bills based on the results of the review.
A bill recommended by the committee for consideration under this subsection (4)
does not count against the number of bills to which either the committee or the
members of the general assembly are limited by law or joint rule of the senate and
the house of representatives.
(5) Policy. A state water plan, whether or not the subject of a bill introduced
pursuant to subsection (4) of this section, is only a policy, is not a rule, and does not
have the force or effect of law.
(6) Water plan implementation grant program. The board may approve
grants pursuant to the following requirements:
(a) Eligible applicants are limited to:
(I) Governmental entities, including covered entities, as defined in section
37-60-126 (1)(b), if the covered entity has adopted an approved water conservation
plan; municipalities; districts; enterprises; counties; cities and counties; and state
agencies; and
(II) Private entities, including mutual ditch companies, nonprofit
corporations, and partnerships.
(b) Eligible projects are limited to:
(I) Water storage and supply projects, including projects that facilitate the
development of additional storage, artificial recharge into aquifers, dredging
existing reservoirs to restore the reservoirs' full decreed storage capacity, multi-beneficial use projects, and those projects identified in basin implementation plans
to address the water supply and demand gap;
(II) Conservation and land use projects, including activities that implement
long-term strategies for water conservation, land use, and drought planning;
(III) Engagement and innovation activities, including activities that support
water education, outreach, and innovation efforts;
(IV) Agricultural projects, including projects that provide technical
assistance or improve agricultural water efficiency; and
(V) Environmental and recreation projects, including projects that promote
watershed health, environmental health, and recreation.
(c) The board shall establish criteria that require matching funds of at least
twenty-five percent; except that:
(I) The board may award grants in 2021 and 2022 with reduced matching
fund requirements; and
(II) In the case of a grant to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe or the Southern Ute
Indian Tribe, including all subdivisions or subsidiaries of, and business enterprises
wholly owned by, either tribe, the board shall reduce or waive fund matching
requirements.
(d) The board shall evaluate each eligible project grant application based on
the following criteria:
(I) Conformity with the criteria for state support specified in section 9.4 of
the state water plan, entitled Framework for a More Efficient Permitting Process,
as amended;
(II) Alignment with the applicable basin implementation plan;
(III) The impact of the proposed project, with preference given to projects
that have multiple benefits and multiple purposes and involve multiple
stakeholders; and
(IV) The anticipated project start date.