Bill Summary for Bill Number HB15-1259

Date: 04/16/2015

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB15-1259

SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NATURAL RESOURCES, & ENERGY

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Adopt amendment L.005. The motion passed without o Adopt amendment L.006. No action was taken on this	Pass Without Objection

02:41 PM -- HB 15-1259

Senator Merrifield, sponsor, described the provisions of House Bill 15-1259 concerning residential precipitation collection rain barrels and distributed a fact sheet on the bill (Attachment F). This bill allows the collection of precipitation from the roof of a home in up to two rain barrels with a combined storage capacity of 120 gallons or less if the following conditions are met: the building is a single-family residence or a multi-family residence with up to four units; the precipitation collected is used for outdoor purposes on the residential property where the precipitation is collected, including irrigation of lawns and gardens; and the precipitation must not be used for drinking water or indoor household purposes. The State Engineer in the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is required to provide information on its website on the permitted use of rain barrels for collecting precipitation from rooftops to the extent practicable within existing resources. The Department of Public Health and Environment (DPHE) is required to develop best practices for nonpotable usage of collected precipitation and vector control (disease prevention) to the extent practicable within existing resources. The DPHE will post the best practices on its website and the State Engineer will either post the best practices on its website or include a link to the best practices. The bill requires homeowner's associations to allow the use of rain barrels for collection of residential rooftop precipitation.

150416 AttachF.pdf

The following persons testified on the bill:

02:48 PM -- Jim Yahn, Water Rights Association of the South Platte, spoke in opposition to the bill and distributed a map of the South Platte Basin (Attachment G) and a report, "Holistic Approach to Sustainable Water Management in Northwest Douglas County that was commissioned by the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Douglas County, and several other entities (Attachment H). He also expressed concern about the potential impact of certain rain water harvesting on senior water rights and proposed amendments to protect these rights. He also distributed rainwater harvesting calculators prepared by Southern Arizona Rain Gutters, Inc., (Attachment I), the University of Nebraska (Attachment J), and the Wyoming WMEAC (Attachment K). He also distributed a graph of the stream gauge on the Cherry Creek in Denver (Attachment L) and responded to questions from the committee about his concerns with the bill.

150416 AttachL.pdf

03:27 PM -- Donna Brosemer, City of Greeley Water Department, spoke in opposition to the bill.

03:30 PM -- Chris Kraft, representing himself, Water Rights Association of the South Platte, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about the potential impact of certain rain water harvesting on senior water rights and downstream states. He also responded to questions from the committee about the potential impact of certain rain water harvesting on senior water rights.

03:46 PM -- John Kaufman, Centennial Water and Sanitation District, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about the impact on water providers if they are required to augment stream depletions caused by customers capturing precipitation from their roofs. He also discussed research on precipitation runoff from lands covered by native vegetation and impervious surfaces, such as roof tops.

03:59 PM -- Robert Longenbaugh, representing himself, spoke in opposition to the bill and discussed the hydrology and development of the South Platte basin. He also discussed case law concerning use of water obtained from eradication of phreatophytes.

04:06 PM -- Drew Beckwith, Western Resources Advocates, spoke in support of the bill and distributed a handout that discussed the impact of precipitation collection on downstream water users (Attachment M). He discussed the amount of water that would be available from rain barrels and how this water could be used under the bill. He also identified other entities that support the bill and responded to questions from the committee about the bill and potential impacts of certain rain water harvesting on other water users.

150416 AttachM.pdf

04:25 PM -- Adam Brock, GrowHaus, spoke in support of the bill and explained how use of rain barrels will help educate persons about resources conservation.

04:29 PM -- Lauren Ris, Department of Natural Resources, explained that the CWCB was not the author of the "Holistic Approch to Sustainable Water Management in Northwest Douglas County," though the CWCB did provide funding for the study. Ms. Ris discussed potential injury caused by the use of rain barrels and addressed aspects of the Douglas County study.

04:34 PM -- Kevin Rein, Deputy State Engineer, Division of Water Resources, responded to questions from the committee regarding the amount of precipitation that is consumed by vegetation and the amount that would reach a river.

04:44 PM -- Theresa Conley, Conservation Colorado, spoke in support of the bill.

04:49 PM

Senator Garcia distributed Amendment L.005 (Attachment N).

150416 AttachN.pdf

04:50 PM -- Candyce Cavanagh, Community Association Institute, spoke in support of Amendment L.005.

04:52 PM -- Johsua Ritchey, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill and distributed a handout that identifies evaporation from certain lakes and a swale (Attachment O). He also proposed an amendment to allow use of swales to capture precipitation.

150416 AttachO.pdf

04:59 PM -- Greg Fisher, Denver Water, spoke in support of the bill and responded to questions from the committee about projected residential growth in Colorado and whether the bill will help address future water demand related to that growth. He also responded to prior testimony against the bill.

05:08 PM -- Brett Moore, Colorado Association of Conservation Districts, spoke in opposition to the bill.

05:11 PM -- Henry Schnabel, Prowers County, spoke in opposition to the bill.

05:15 PM -- Terry Fankauser, Colorado Cattlemen's Association, spoke in opposition to the bill and responded to prior testimony in support of the bill.

05:23 PM -- Torrie Jarvis, Northwest Colorado Council of Governments Water Quality and Quantity Committee, spoke in support of the bill and identified other western slope organizations that also support the bill.

05:28 PM -- John Rush, Bijou Irrigation Company, spoke in opposition to the bill.

05:30 PM

The chair closed testimony and Senator Merrifield closed his remarks on the bill.


BILL:	HB15-1259
TIME:	05:33:35 PM
MOVED:	Garcia
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.005. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Baumgardner
	Cooke
	Donovan
	Garcia
	Hodge
	Jones
	Scott
	Roberts
	Sonnenberg

YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

05:35 PM

Senator Sonnenberg distributed Amendment L.006 (Attachment P).

150416 AttachP.pdf

05:37 PM

Kevin Rein responded to questions from the committee about Amendment L.006. The motion passed without objection.


BILL:	HB15-1259
TIME:	05:35:49 PM
MOVED:	Sonnenberg
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.006. No action was taken on this motion.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Baumgardner
	Cooke
	Donovan
	Garcia
	Hodge
	Jones
	Scott
	Roberts
	Sonnenberg

YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION:

05:40 PM

The bill was laid over, as amended, and the committee recessed.