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Committee approves bill to streamline Division of Water Resources permitting and abandonment rules
Summary
House Bill 10‑14 aims to streamline permit timelines and administrative procedures within the Colorado Division of Water Resources to reduce paperwork and even out decennial workloads.
House Bill 10‑14 would amend administrative procedures in the Colorado Division of Water Resources (DWR) to reduce paperwork, align permit timelines and stagger the statutory water‑rights abandonment review that occurs every decade.
Sponsor Senator Simpson told the Agricultural Natural Resources Committee the measure is largely technical and intended to "simplify, streamline, and modernize certain processes" administered by the state engineer and DWR. Key provisions described in testimony would:
• Extend the construction/implementation window for large nonexempt well permits to two years (aligning with exempt and small‑capacity well timelines) and remove the requirement to install a pump for a permit to remain valid in certain cases;
• Apply a consistent final‑permit process to designated bedrock aquifers statewide (closing a legislative oversight that had previously treated Denver Basin and non‑Denver Basin bedrock aquifers differently); and
• Split the state’s water‑rights abandonment review into two groups (Divisions 1–3 and Divisions 4–7), five years apart, to avoid a decennial spike in DWR and Attorney General workload.
Sarah Brucker, deputy state engineer with DWR, said the changes will reduce staff time, lower administrative costs for water users (including eliminating a $60 extension filing in some cases) and let agency staff focus on higher‑value tasks. "If a permit is automatically expired due to lack of evidence of well construction… the well owner will now have the ability to request reinstatement if the permit was actually constructed within the permit timeframe," she said, describing the reinstatement pathway in the bill.
Travis Smith of the Colorado Water Congress said the trade group reviewed and supported the bill at its State Affairs committee. Testimony from sponsors and stakeholders emphasized that the bill does not change substantive water‑rights law but rather changes administrative timelines and procedures to improve efficiency.
After testimony, Senator Simpson moved the bill to the Committee on Appropriations. The committee recorded a unanimous vote and referred the bill for fiscal review.
