Committee advances bill to streamline water-quality permitting after testimony from utilities and industry

The Senate Committee on Appropriations unanimously advanced Senate Bill 305 after a series of stakeholder witnesses described permit backlogs for domestic wastewater and water-quality permits and urged the committee to approve measures to accelerate permitting.

Witnesses who testified in favor included Mark Marlowe (Castle Rock Water), Nicole Rowan (director of the Water Quality Control Division, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment), Diana Orf (Colorado Mining Association) and Mike Smith (attorney representing Parker Water and Sanitation District). Testimony said many municipal permits have been administratively extended for years and that delays can impede infrastructure investment and harm water quality.

Mark Marlowe told the committee the Town of Castle Rock invested over $30 million in an expansion at the Plum Creek Water Reclamation Authority but that the permit for that capacity had been administratively extended since 2017. He said up-to-date permits protect watersheds, drinking water, wildlife and economic prosperity.

Nicole Rowan said the Water Quality Control Division had used a recent general-fund investment and fee increases to reduce the permit backlog by about 25%, but that more work remained. The bill’s concepts, she said, would “help streamline the permitting process ensuring timely delivery for regulatory entities.”

Industry witnesses acknowledged the bill’s positive aims but urged clarifications. Diana Orf of the Colorado Mining Association requested more detail in required annual reporting and cautioned against a provision that could require permittees to pay for outside contractors who assist the division in defending permit decisions; she said that could create unfair cost-shifting. Mike Smith and Diana Orf suggested narrow edits to prevent permittees from being required to pay for both sides of an appeal.

Senator Kirk Meyer, sponsor of SB 305, thanked the department and stakeholders for their work and said the bill was intended to reduce long-running administrative extensions and bring permits up to date. The committee adopted J001 and passed SB 305 as amended; the bill was placed on the consent calendar.

Notes: Testimony described backlog and recommended provisions for timelines, independent contractors to assist agency permitting work, and adjustments to compliance-schedule rules; witnesses requested clarifications to prevent perverse cost-shifting in appeals.