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Senate committee advances confirmations for coal mine, mine reclamation and water-quality boards
Summary
The Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee held confirmation hearings Monday for appointees to the Colorado Coal Mine Board of Examiners, the Mine Land Reclamation Board and the Water Quality Control Commission and recommended the nominees to the full Senate, placing the appointments on the consent calendar.
The Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee voted unanimously Monday to recommend several gubernatorial appointees to boards that regulate mining safety, mine reclamation and water quality and placed the confirmations on the committee’s consent calendar.
The nominees included a reappointment to the Colorado Coal Mine Board of Examiners, two reappointments to the Mine Land Reclamation Board and four appointees — including three reappointments — to the Water Quality Control Commission.
The reappointment recommended for the Colorado Coal Mine Board of Examiners was Nick Armando, introduced to the committee by Michael Cunningham, director of the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety. Cunningham told the committee the board “provides critical safety training to coal miners,” and said Armando, who manages technical services at the 20 Mile Mine and previously served a four‑year term, had helped modernize exam drawings and review the electrical exam. The committee moved Armando’s reappointment to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation and placed the nomination on the consent calendar.
The committee also recommended reappointments to the Mine Land Reclamation Board for Jill Nelson and Doug Orin. Director Cunningham told senators the Mine Land Reclamation Board, created by the Colorado General Assembly in 1976, sets regulations, standards and policies for mine reclamation and includes members with experience in agriculture, conservation and mining. Nelson and Orin introduced themselves to the committee and described their industry and conservation backgrounds. The committee sent their nominations to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation and placed them on the consent calendar.
Finally, the committee endorsed four nominations to the Water Quality Control Commission, introduced by Jojo Law, director of Colorado’s environmental boards and commissions. Nominees included Kathy Chandler Henry (formerly an Eagle County commissioner), Jenny Arndt and Julie Zahringer (reappointments) and Christine Johnston (joining remotely). Each nominee described water-quality and permitting experience; Chandler Henry emphasized protecting water for agriculture and communities, while Johnston noted her permitting and compliance work with discharge permits. The committee moved the four appointees to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation and placed the appointments on the consent calendar.
All four confirmation items were advanced without recorded dissent and will appear on the consent calendar for consideration by the full Senate.
The committee’s action sends the named nominees to the full Senate for final confirmation. The committee record shows each appointment placed on the consent calendar, a common step when nominations are unopposed and broadly supported.
