Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK, & NATURAL RESOURCES

Date:02/11/2013
ATTENDANCE
Time:01:31 PM to 06:13 PM
Buck
X
Coram
X
Place:HCR 0107
Garcia
X
Lebsock
X
This Meeting was called to order by
McLachlan
X
Representative Fischer
McNulty
X
Mitsch Bush
X
This Report was prepared by
Rankin
X
Brooke Maddaford
Rosenthal
X
Saine
*
Sonnenberg
X
Vigil
X
Fischer
X
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
HB13-1130
HB13-1096
HB13-1191		Laid Over - Committee Discussion/Witness Testimony
Postponed Indefinitely
Referred to Appropriations


01:32 PM -- House Bill 13-1130

Staff handed out L.001 (Attachment A) to the committee. Representative Fischer explained that the committee would not be taking action on this bill since L.001 is a multi-page amendment that was not distributed to the committee 24 hours in advance, pursuant to committee rules.

130211 AttachA.pdf130211 AttachA.pdf

Representative Sonnenberg, sponsor, presented House Bill 13-1130. Current law allows the state engineer to approve the operation of an interruptible water supply agreement (IWSA) for three years out of a single 10-year period. The bill allows the state engineer to reapprove an IWSA agreement up to two additional times by following the same process used for the original agreement. Representative Sonnenberg mentioned that he does not agree with all parts of L.001. Representative Fischer, co-prime sponsor, explained why he decided to co-sponsor this bill.


The following persons testified on the bill:

01:38 PM -- Alan Curtis, City of Sterling, spoke in opposition to the bill. He talked about some concerns about the bill including the use of the word "temporary" and other language changes that the city would like to see made in the bill. Additionally, Mr. Curtis talked about wanting bylaws included in the bill. He also spoke about needing appropriate notice added to the bill to allow for a full vetting of the issues, as well as language that would allow for various mitigation strategies. He continued to talk about additional changes that the city has proposed to the language of the bill. Mr. Curtis answered questions from the committee regarding the timeline that would be enacted if the aforementioned proposed changes to the bill were to be made, the balancing of risks in emergency situations versus longer-term situations, and return flows. Representative Fischer clarified that Mr. Curtis's testimony is more closely related to desired changes regarding the current interruptible water supply agreement statute, rather than HB13-1130.

01:58 PM -- John Hendrick, Centennial Water and Sanitation District, spoke in opposition to the bill. He discussed his concerns regarding the longevity of repeated temporary IWSAs. He answered questions from the committee regarding what Highlands Ranch is doing to curb their water usage and the source of their live water supply.

02:09 PM

Committee discussion ensued regarding current water law in Colorado.

02:11 PM -- Don Higbee, Lower Arkansas Water Management Association (LAWMA) and District 67 Ditch Association, spoke in opposition to the bill. He briefly explained the organizations that he represents and stated that LAWMA is opposed to any legislation that would change the current water law process which is managed through water court. Mr. Higbee discussed the three main reason why he opposes the bill and answered questions from the committee regarding his concerns about the provisions of the bill, the resources available to the state engineer, and the workload of the state engineer.

02:19 PM -- Colin Thompson, Amity Canal Company, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Thompson spoke about the extreme drought that the Amity Canal has experienced this year and said that the bill offers a good concept but that there are problems with how logistics would be executed in practicality. He spoke about some of the challenges that farmers face with return flows and the potential consequences of enacting legislation that will be in place for 30 years. Mr. Thompson answered questions from the committee regarding potential fraud regarding water rights and the cost and processes associated with enforcing water rights through water court versus through the state engineer.

02:35 PM

Committee discussion ensued regarding water court and how the burden of proof relates to a change of use.
02:37 PM -- Chris Kraft, Water Rights Association of the South Platte, spoke in opposition to the bill. He talked about how he'd like to see applications managed through water court and his reasoning behind this. Staff distributed a document from the Water Rights Association of the South Platte(Attachment B) to the committee.

130211 AttachB.pdf130211 AttachB.pdf


02:40 PM -- Richard Maren, LAWMA, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Maren said that he opposes this bill because it would make temporary legislation that is currently in practice permanent. He also said that permanent changes should be considered by the water court and that this legislation would alter that process. In addition, Mr. Maren discussed that this bill will shift the risk of injury from the municipality to farmers. He also said that this bill would benefit the city of Aurora at the expense of farmers. He answered questions from the committee regarding how the cost of the system as proposed by the bill compares to the cost of entering into litigation within water court. Mr. Maren also answered questions regarding potential additional costs that may be incurred to agricultural entities as a result of this bill as well as questions regarding if this bill may potentially shift the risk-burden from municipalities to those with agricultural interests.

02:56 PM

Committee discussion ensued regarding the burden of proof. Mr. Maren answered questions from the committee regarding the protection, or lack thereof, of historic water flows and water rights, and the potential expansion of the duties of the state engineer under the provisions of the bill. He also answered questions regarding proposed amendments to the bill. Representative Sonnenberg said he would be amenable to learning what language Mr. Maren would propose that might make the bill more attractive to him. Committee discussion ensued.

03:05 PM -- Laura Chartrand, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, did not take a position on the bill. She briefly explained the functions of the association, and spoke about concerns regarding the maintenance of return flows. She discussed some changes to the bill that the association would like to see and asked for the committee's support for the proposed amendments. She answered questions from the committee about if there are other situations in Colorado that would be affected by the bill and clarified that her concern is primarily regarding the maintenance of return flows. Ms. Chartrand discussed the differences between how the state engineer versus the water court examines change of use. If the amendments proposed by Aurora were adopted, Ms. Chartrand stated that the association would not oppose the legislation.

03:14 PM -- Mike Groves, Bijou Irrigation and Groves Farms, spoke in opposition of the bill. Mr. Groves talked about his experiences with water rights on his farm and in water court.

03:18 PM -- Steven Jansen, Henrylyn Irrigation District, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Jansen talked about the difficulties that his clients have faced in recent years and said he supports Mr. Curtis's and Mr. Maren's comments. Mr. Jansen also spoke about the high expense of water court and how IWSAs are very rarely used. In addition, Mr. Jansen offered his opinion of the state engineer's responsibilities.

03:24 PM

Committee discussion ensued regarding IWSAs that are currently in statute.

03:32 PM

The committee took a brief recess.

03:39 PM

The committee came back to order.

03:40 PM -- Laura Chartrand, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, returned to the table to clarify that the association does not have a position on the bill. Ms. Chartrand said that if the amendments were adopted tri-state would not oppose the legislation. She also said that the association also has no objection to IWSA as currently in statute.




03:41 PM -- Jerry Knapp, City of Aurora, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Knapp said that he had prepared to discuss the bill with the proposed amendment L.001 (Attachment A); Representative Fischer said this was fine. Mr. Knapp talked about what an IWSA is, the operations of an IWSA, the temporary nature of an IWSA, the conditions under which an IWSA is intended for use, the intent behind the formulation of IWSAs, and the history of IWSAs. He also discussed how return flows are protected under an IWSA.

03:56 PM

Mr. Knapp continued to discuss the bill including anticipated changes as a result of the bill and the adoption of L.001 (Attachment A). He answered questions from the committee regarding the benefits of adding two additional periods, the emergency provision written into IWSAs, the management of longer-term notification processes, and additional challenges faced by farmers regarding their water rights.

04:11 PM -- Kevin Rein, Deputy State Engineer with the Division of Water Resources, did not take a position on the bill. Mr. Rein answered questions from the committee regarding whether he feels his office is capable of making the decisions that would be required per the provisions of the bill. Mr. Rein said that his office has made similar decisions in the past and that he feels they will continue to be capable of this in the future. He referenced the substitute water supply plan statute and explained how it relates to this bill. Mr. Rein answered questions regarding how the state engineer's process compares to the water court's process as related to discovery, variety of testimony, cross-examination and other trial processes. He also answered questions related to how evaluations operate within the IWSA process that is currently in statute.

04:19 PM

Representative Sonnenberg offered his closing comments on the bill and said that he anticipates drafting additional amendments in the near future.

04:20 PM

Representative Fischer laid the bill over to a future undecided date.

04:21 PM -- House Bill 13-1096

Representative Coram, sponsor, presented House Bill 13-1096. This bill expands the types of recipients who are eligible to receive reimbursements and grants for using waste tires. Specifically, it allows mobile processors to receive partial reimbursement from the Waste Tire Cleanup Fund, and clarifies the definition of "beneficial use" for purposes of allocating money from the Processors and End User Fund. Under the bill, a beneficial use includes agricultural purposes, commercial or industrial purposes, improvements to land, and the sale of a tire-derived product to an end user. Two-thirds of the Waste Tire Cleanup Fund is used to provide funding to municipalities for grants, as well as for partial reimbursements to waste tire processors and end users. The remaining third of the fund is used for providing incentives for waste tire use in public projects.

Representative Coram gave numerous examples of how waste tires could be used and answered questions from the committee regarding how other states are using waste tires. He answered additional questions from the committee about the bill. Staff distributed Amendment L.001 (Attachment C) to the committee.

130211 AttachC.pdf130211 AttachC.pdf


The following persons testified on the bill:

04:39 PM -- Charles Johnson, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Johnson talked about the ongoing stakeholder group that examines beneficial use of waste tires in Colorado on agricultural property and expressed concerns about the broad definition of beneficial use under the bill. Mr. Johnson spoke about the nature of waste tires as a commodity and discussed how the passing of this bill may affect the current stakeholder group process. Mr. Johnson answered questions regarding if the CDPHE disagrees with the bill in concept or because of their stakeholder group process. He also answered questions regarding the stakeholder group process and meetings.

04:53 PM -- Andy Karsian, Colorado Counties Incorporated (CCI), spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Karsian stated that the CCI primarily takes issue with the broad definition of beneficial use as outlined in the bill. Representative Coram answered questions from the committee regarding erosion control processes involving waste tires that have been used in Ouray County for many years. Mr. Karsian discussed the negotiations that are currently taking place in Ouray County regarding the placement of waste tires for conservation purposes.

05:04 PM

Mr. Johnson returned to the table to elaborate on an incident in Ouray County and how it relates to the bill. Mr. Johnson described that the incident involved a significant rain event that washed over 1,000 waste tires onto a resident's property. Mr. Johnson expressed concern that hazardous events may occur if waste tires are allowed to be used beneficially at will.

05:08 PM -- Teresa Immel, Colorado Tire Recycling LLC, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Immel discussed the many applications that might be considered beneficial use of waste tires and talked about her experiences at the aforementioned stakeholder group process meetings as well as her experiences running a tire recycling business. Ms. Immel answered questions from the committee about mobile processing.

05:21 PM -- Patty Frederick, counsel for Teresa Immel, did not take a position on the bill. Ms. Frederick offered clarification regarding the advantages of mobile processing and the costs associated with various types of tire processing.

05:25 PM

Mr. Johnson returned to the table to answer questions from the committee regarding the deadlines in place for the stakeholder process group to decide next steps for waste tire use and how payments could be expedited for waste tire processors.

05:30 PM

Representative Fischer closed the witness testimony phase. Representative Coram wrapped up his presentation of the bill and requested to lay the bill over unamended.

05:34 PM

The committee took a brief recess.


05:34 PM

The committee came back to order.
BILL:HB13-1096
TIME: 05:36:51 PM
MOVED:Coram
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.001 The motion failed on a vote of 5-7 with one excused.
SECONDED:Sonnenberg
VOTE
Buck
Yes
Coram
Yes
Garcia
No
Lebsock
No
McLachlan
No
McNulty
Yes
Mitsch Bush
No
Rankin
Yes
Rosenthal
No
Saine
Excused
Sonnenberg
Yes
Vigil
No
Fischer
No
YES: 5 NO: 7 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL
BILL:HB13-1096
TIME: 05:40:37 PM
MOVED:Mitsch Bush
MOTION:Adopt an amendment on page 2 to strike lines 7 through 13. The motion was withdrawn.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Buck
Coram
Garcia
Lebsock
McLachlan
McNulty
Mitsch Bush
Rankin
Rosenthal
Saine
Sonnenberg
Vigil
Fischer
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION:


BILL:HB13-1096
TIME: 05:44:32 PM
MOVED:Coram
MOTION:Refer House Bill 13-1096 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion failed on a vote of 5-7 with one excused.
SECONDED:Sonnenberg
VOTE
Buck
Yes
Coram
Yes
Garcia
No
Lebsock
No
McLachlan
No
McNulty
Yes
Mitsch Bush
No
Rankin
Yes
Rosenthal
No
Saine
Excused
Sonnenberg
Yes
Vigil
No
Fischer
No
YES: 5 NO: 7 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL
BILL:HB13-1096
TIME: 05:45:45 PM
MOVED:Vigil
MOTION:Postpone House Bill 13-1096 indefinitely. The motion passed on a vote of 7-5 with one excused.
SECONDED:Lebsock
VOTE
Buck
No
Coram
No
Garcia
Yes
Lebsock
Yes
McLachlan
Yes
McNulty
No
Mitsch Bush
Yes
Rankin
No
Rosenthal
Yes
Saine
Excused
Sonnenberg
No
Vigil
Yes
Fischer
Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 5 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS




05:47 PM -- House Bill 13-1191

Representative Fischer, sponsor, presented House Bill 13-1191. This bill, recommended by the Capital Development Committee, establishes the Nutrients Grant Fund, to be administered by the CDPHE. The CDPHE will make grants from the fund to assist local governments that operate wastewater treatment facilities with planning, design, construction, and other improvements necessary for compliance with recently-adopted nutrient management control regulations. Up to five percent of the fund may be expended on the CDPHE's costs to administer these grants. The Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC) must adopt rules to administer the fund, including a means of prioritizing grants to local governments least financially capable of complying with nutrient regulations. The fund is repealed September 1, 2016.

The following persons testified on the bill:

05:49 PM -- Representative Vigil announced that Evan Goulding, Special District Association, was not able to stay to testify on the bill but asked that the record show that he supports the bill.

05:49 PM -- Donna Davis, Water Quality Control Division, spoke in support of the bill. She said that if this bill was passed the Water Quality Control Division would work with stakeholders to develop the criteria that would be used to distribute the funds, and stated that an emphasis would be placed on the communities with the highest financial need. Ms. Davis also talked about the rule-making process and answered questions from the committee regarding the scope of the cost of the new nutrient standards and the funding of grants.

05:53 PM

Committee discussion regarding the capitol construction fund ensued.

05:55 PM -- Dianna Orf, Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado (AGNC), spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Orf discussed the financial difficulties that the counties in the AGNC have meeting compliance requirements. She answered questions from the committee regarding the related cost-benefit analysis that was done by a third party.

06:01 PM

Representative Fischer explained some of the history of water quality control and why the grant program under question is important. Ms. Orf answered questions from the committee regarding the sewer plant that was recently built in Fruita. Representative Fischer responded to questions from the committee regarding the funding mechanisms available to small municipalities for water treatment.

06:06 PM -- Kevin Bommer, Colorado Municipal League, spoke in support of the bill. He discussed the short- and long-term costs of the nutrient standards that were adopted recently. Mr. Bowmer also briefly talked about Executive Order 5 and how it relates to this bill.


06:11 PM

Representative Fischer wrapped up his discussion of the bill and asked for a favorable vote.
BILL:HB13-1191
TIME: 06:11:51 PM
MOVED:Fischer
MOTION:Refer House Bill 13-1191 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 9-3 with one excused.
SECONDED:McLachlan
VOTE
Buck
No
Coram
Yes
Garcia
Yes
Lebsock
Yes
McLachlan
Yes
McNulty
No
Mitsch Bush
Yes
Rankin
Yes
Rosenthal
Yes
Saine
Excused
Sonnenberg
No
Vigil
Yes
Fischer
Yes
Final YES: 9 NO: 3 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

06:13 PM

The committee adjourned.