Senate Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources, & Energy (04/16/2015)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NATURAL RESOURCES, & ENERGY

Date:	04/16/2015	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:34 PM to 08:14 PM	Baumgardner	X
		Cooke	X
Place:	SCR 353	Donovan	X
		Garcia	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Hodge	X
	Senator Sonnenberg	Jones	X
		Scott	X
This Report was prepared by		Roberts	X
	David Beaujon	Sonnenberg	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB15-1277 SB15-254 HB15-1284 HB15-1016 HB15-1259 SB15-253 SB15-212		Referred to Appropriations Referred to the Committee of the Whole - Consent Calendar Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to Appropriations Amended, Laid Over Referred to Appropriations Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only

01:34 PM -- HB 15-1277

Senator Sonnenberg, sponsor, described the provisions of House Bill 15-1277 concerning the Species Conservation Trust Fund. Current law transfers up to $5 million from the Operational Fund of the Severance Tax Trust Fund to the Species Conservation Trust Fund (SCTF) on July 1, 2015. This bill authorizes $5 million from the SCTF to fund programs submitted by the Executive Director of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) designed to conserve native species that have been listed as threatened or endangered under state or federal law, or are likely to become candidate species as determined by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Funds become available in FY 2015-16 and remain available for the designated purposes until they are fully expended.

There was no testimony.


BILL:	HB15-1277
TIME:	01:35:35 PM
MOVED:	Sonnenberg
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 15-1277 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	Yes
	Cooke	Yes
	Donovan	Yes
	Garcia	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
	Jones	Yes
	Scott	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes

Final YES: 9 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:36 PM -- SB 15-254

Senator Grantham, sponsor, described the provisions of Senate Bill 15-254 concerning the renewable energy standard for new solar. Under current law, for both cooperative electric associations (CEAs) and municipally owned utilities (MOUs), a 3-times multiplier applies to each kilowatt-hour of electricity generated from solar electric generation technologies that begin producing electricity on or before July 1, 2015, for purposes of meeting Colorado's renewable energy standard. The bill extends this deadline to December 31, 2016, for MOUs but not for CEAs.

The following persons testified on the bill:

01:38 PM -- Chris Worley, Colorado Energy Office, spoke in support of the bill.

01:39 PM -- Dan Hodges, Colorado Association of Municipal Utilities, spoke in support of the bill.

01:39 PM

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


BILL:	SB15-254
TIME:	01:40:25 PM
MOVED:	Roberts
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 15-254 to the Committee of the Whole with a recommendation that it be placed on the consent calendar. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	Yes
	Cooke	Yes
	Donovan	Yes
	Garcia	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
	Jones	Yes
	Scott	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes

Final YES: 9 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:41 PM -- HB 15-1284

Senator Grantham and Senator Hodge, co-prime sponsors, described the provisions of House Bill 15-1284 concerning shared photovoltaic facilities. Under Colorado's renewable energy standard, retail customers whose property is not well suited for on-site generation may buy output from a centrally located distributed generation facility with other subscribers. These facilities are known as community solar gardens (CSG's). Current law requires subscribers to live in the same county as the CSG with one exception. If the subscriber's county has less than 20,000 residents, the CSG may be in an adjacent county as long as that county also has less than 20,000 residents. This bill, as amended by the House Transportation & Energy Committee, eliminates these population requirements.

The following persons testified on the bill:

01:44 PM -- David Amster, SunShare, spoke in support of the bill and discussed the CSGs that his company has built. He also distributed letters of support for the bill from Clean Energy Collective (Attachment A), the Town of Breckenridge (Attachment B), and Bella Energy, Inc. (Attachment C).

150416 AttachA.pdf

150416 AttachB.pdf

150416 AttachC.pdf

01:52 PM -- William Crimmins, University of Colorado Boulder Economics Department, spoke in support of the bill.

01:55 PM -- Di Graski, Colorado Springs City Council, spoke in support of the bill and discussed the CSG of which she is a customer. She also distributed a letter of support for the bill from the Chair of the Colorado Springs City Council (Attachment D).

150416 AttachD.pdf

01:58 PM -- Karsey Christ-Tamer, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill and discussed the CSG of which she is a customer.

02:01 PM -- Richard Orf, Colorado Mining Association, Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado, spoke in opposition to the bill.

02:04 PM -- Dan O'Connell, Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, spoke in opposition to the bill and responded to questions from the committee about the cost of CSGs to other customers under current law.

02:09 PM -- Alice Jackson, Xcel Energy, spoke in opposition to the bill. She also discussed the cost of CSGs on nonparticipating utility customers and explained that CSGs are not regulated by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

02:15 PM

Mr. Amster responded to questions from the committee about the regulation of CSGs by the PUC and the cost of CSGs on nonparticipating utility customers.

02:23 PM

The chair closed testimony and Senator Grantham and Senator Hodge closed their remarks on the bill.


BILL:	HB15-1284
TIME:	02:25:54 PM
MOVED:	Hodge
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 15-1284 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 7-2.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	No
	Cooke	Yes
	Donovan	Yes
	Garcia	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
	Jones	Yes
	Scott	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Sonnenberg	No

Final YES: 7 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:27 PM -- HB 15-1016

Senator Sonnenberg, sponsor, described the provisions of House Bill 15-1016 concerning precipitation harvesting pilot projects and distributed Amendment L.009 (Attachment E). House Bill 09-1129 established a 10-year pilot program for the collection of precipitation from rooftops for nonpotable uses. The program can include up to 10 new residential or mixed-use developments. This bill, recommended by the Water Resources Review Committee, changes the requirements for the program to encourage more applicants. The changes include: making redevelopment projects eligible for the program; directing the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) to update the criteria and guidelines for projects; reducing the amount of water needed for a project's temporary substitute water supply plan and permanent augmentation plan; and specifying that a project's temporary retention of storm water is not subject to the order of the state or division engineers if its in compliance with CWCB criteria, guidelines, and state water quality laws.

150416 AttachE.pdf

02:29 PM

Tom Morris, Office of Legislative Legal Services, explained the provisions of Amendment L.009 that fixes a drafting error in the reengrossed bill.

The following persons testified on the bill:

02:33 PM -- Donna Brosemer, City of Greeley Water Department, spoke in support of the bill.

02:34 PM -- Jim Yahn, Water Rights Association of the South Platte, spoke in support of the bill.

02:35 PM -- Kevin Rein, Deputy State Engineer, Division of Water Resources, spoke in support of the bill.

02:36 PM

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


BILL:	HB15-1016
TIME:	02:37:39 PM
MOVED:	Sonnenberg
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.009. 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


BILL:	HB15-1016
TIME:	02:37:54 PM
MOVED:	Sonnenberg
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 15-1016, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	Yes
	Cooke	Yes
	Donovan	Yes
	Garcia	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
	Jones	Yes
	Scott	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes

Final YES: 9 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:38 PM

The committee recessed.

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 Approach 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 -- Heny 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.

05:53 PM -- SB 15-253

Senator Sonnenberg, sponsor, described the provisions of Senate Bill 15-253 concerning the Colorado Water Conservation Board Construction Fund. The bill appropriates $5,580,000 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) Construction Fund for specific water-related projects in FY 2015-16. The bill also authorizes: five cash fund transfers totaling up to $3,400,000 in FY 2015-16; extending the Stream Restoration Grant Account until July 1, 2017; and accounting for variation in the amount of money loaned for the Chatfield Reallocation Project.

The following persons testified on the bill:

05:54 PM -- Tim Feehan, CWCB, spoke in support of the bill and identified studies and projects that would be funded by the bill.

05:59 PM -- Diana Orf, Colorado Water Congress, spoke in support of the bill.

06:00 PM -- Margaret Griffin, representing herself, expressed concern about a stormwater facility sponsored by the Boxelder Basin Regional Stormwater Authority that received a loan from CWCB for a stormwater detention facility. The authority also acquired lands owned by her family for the stormwater facility.

06:05 PM -- Joan Day, representing herself, expressed concern about the Boxelder Basin Regional Stormwater Authority stormwater detention facility that received a loan from CWCB. The authority also acquired lands owned by her family for the stormwater detention facility.

06:15 PM -- Eric Sutherland, representing himself, expressed concern about the Boxelder Basin Regional Stormwater Authority stormwater detention facility and the ability of the authority to repay its loan from CWCB.

06:18 PM -- Mr. Feehan returned to respond to prior testimony about the CWCB's loan to the Boxelder Basin Regional Stormwater Authority for the stormwater detention facility.

Rick McLoud, Centennial Water and Sanitation District, submitted written testimony in support of the bill (Attachment Q).

150416 AttachQ.pdf

06:19 PM

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


BILL:	SB15-253
TIME:	06:19:39 PM
MOVED:	Sonnenberg
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 15-253 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	Yes
	Cooke	Yes
	Donovan	Yes
	Garcia	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
	Jones	Yes
	Scott	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes

Final YES: 9 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

06:20 PM -- SB 15-212

Senator Sonnenberg, sponsor, described the provisions of Senate Bill 15-212 concerning storm water facilities. He also distributed Amendment L.001 (Attachment R) and Amendment L.002 (Attachment S). This bill specifies that storm water detention and infiltration facilities, and post-wildland fire facilities that detain water for environmental and public safety purposes, do not injure vested water rights. Water detained by these facilities cannot be applied to any beneficial use or used to form the basis for any claim to or for the water. A storm water detention and infiltration facility is owned or operated by a governmental entity or an operator that is subject to government oversight. The facility operates passively and is designed to continuously release or infiltrate all of the water from rainfall events greater than a 5-year storm as quickly as practicable, but in no event over 120 hours. For rainfall events equal to or less than a 5-year storm, water must be released or infiltrated within 72 hours.

150416 AttachR.pdf

150416 AttachS.pdf

A post-wildland fire facility mitigates the impact of wildland fires, is not permanent, and must be removed or rendered inoperable after the emergency conditions created by the wildfire are no longer present. It is designed and operated to minimize the quantity of water detained and the duration of the water detention to the levels necessitated by public safety and welfare. Under current law, a water right holder can claim injury against the owner or operator of a water detention facility covered by this bill. With this bill, if a facility meets the requirements of the bill, it does not legally cause injury to vested water rights.

The following persons testified on the bill:

06:22 PM -- Kelly Sloan, Mesa County, spoke in support of the bill.

06:25 PM -- Donald McBee, representing himself, spoke in opposition to the bill and distributed a letter of opposition to the bill from Jackie McClaskey, Secretary of Agriculture, Kansas Department of Agriculture (Attachment T).

150416 AttachT.pdf

06:29 PM -- Glenn Wilson, Amity Mutual Irrigation Company, spoke in opposition to the bill.

06:31 PM -- Keith Goodwin, Otero County, spoke in opposition to the bill.

06:37 PM -- Burt Heckman, representing himself, spoke in opposition to the bill.

06:39 PM -- Dale Mauch, Fort Lyon Canal Company, spoke in opposition to the bill.

06:45 PM -- Josh Weimer, Fort Lyon Canal Company, spoke in opposition to the bill.

06:47 PM -- Nick Koch, Town of Cheraw, spoke in opposition to the bill.

06:51 PM -- Dony Hansen, Holbrook Mutual Irrigation Company, spoke in opposition to the bill (Attachment U).

150416 AttachU.pdf

06:54 PM -- Henry Schnabel, Prowers County, spoke in opposition to the bill and discussed the importance of stormwater runoff from Fountain Creek to irrigators in the Arkansas River Basin.

07:02 PM -- Colin Thompson, District 67 Irrigating Canals Association, spoke in opposition to the bill and spoke in support of Amendment L.001 and Amendment L.002.

07:11 PM -- John Schweizer, Catlin Canal Company, spoke in opposition to the bill.

07:13 PM -- George Allen Frantz, Catlin Canal Company, spoke in opposition to the bill.

07:15 PM -- Dennis Caldwell, Otero and Highline Canal Company, spoke in opposition to the bill.

07:17 PM -- Bob Longenbaugh, representing Dan Farmer, spoke in opposition to the bill and proposed amendments to the bill. He also responded to questions from the committee about potential amendments to the bill related to wildfires and the concerns of the State of Kansas.

07:24 PM -- Mark Arnusch, Colorado Farm Bureau, spoke in support of the bill if Amendment L.001 and Amendment L.002 are adopted. He also responded to questions from the committee about the bill and the amendments.

07:29 PM -- Sallie Clark, El Paso County, Colorado Counties, Inc., spoke in support of the bill and discussed the threat of flood runoff from lands affected by wildland fires in El Paso County. She also distributed a letter of support for the bill from the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments (Attachment V).

150416 AttachV.pdf

07:36 PM -- Ken MacKenzie, Urban Drainage Flood Control District, spoke in support of the bill and distributed handouts that identifies runoff from various landscapes (Attachment W). He also explained how stormwater detention basins are designed to hold flood events and distributed a list of local governments in Colorado that support the bill (Attachment X).

150416 AttachW.pdf

150416 AttachX.pdf

07:48 PM -- Bennet Raley, Urban Drainage Flood Control District, spoke in support of the bill and Amendment L.001 and Amendment L.002.

08:00 PM -- Kevin Bommer, Colorado Municipal League, spoke in support of the bill.

08:01 PM -- Doug Kemper, Colorado Water Congress, spoke in support of the bill.

08:03 PM -- Richard Orf, Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado, spoke in support of the bill and distributed a letter of support from the AGNC for the bill (Attachment Y).

150416 AttachY.pdf

08:05 PM -- Kevin Rein, Deputy State Engineer, Division of Water Resources, spoke in support of the bill and explained how the division administers stormwater detention facilities. He also spoke in support of the bill and Amendment L.001 and Amendment L.002.

Robert Nickelson, President, District 67 Irrigating Canals Association, submitted a letter that expressed concern about the bill and requested several amendments to the bill (Attachment Z).

150416 AttachZ.pdf

08:10 PM

The chair closed testimony. Senator Sonnenberg closed his remarks on the bill and requested that it be laid over.

08:14 PM

The committee adjourned.