From The Colorado Independent (Marianne Goodland):
Good news for urban farmers. Colorado may soon lose its dubious distinction as the only state in the country to outlaw collecting rooftop runoff in rain barrels.
Today, the Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy Committee voted 6 to 3 to authorize rainwater collection.
House Bill 16-1005 would allow Coloradans to use up to two 55-gallon rain barrels to collect stormwater that rolls off of roofs. That rainwater can only be used to water lawns or gardens, under the bill.
The sticking point that killed the bill last year and held it up for the last week in the Senate: the impact such collection would have on the state’s water supply.
A study from Colorado State University, cited by the bill’s backers, said that rainwater collection wouldn’t impact water supply or long-held water rights.
The concern is centered around the backbone of Colorado water law, a doctrine called prior appropriation, which gives priority water rights to the first person to [apply a diversion to beneficial use].
In the House, the bill’s Democratic sponsors added amendments stating rainwater collection was not intended to interfere with prior appropriation.
When the bill was reviewed by the Senate Ag Committee last week, deputy state engineer Kevin Rein said if people claimed their water rights were being harmed, the state engineer would look first at junior water rights holders and not to rain barrel users.
Rein clarified those views today, pointing out the bill has no mechanism for tracking rain barrel use.
Under the measure, the state engineer would have the authority to curtail rain barrel use, but only if someone can point out which rain barrel is violating prior appropriation.
The bill drew “yes” votes from the committee’s four Democrats and from two Republicans: Sens. Ellen Roberts of Durango and John Cooke of Greeley.
Roberts has long been considered the swing vote on the committee in favor of the rainbarrel bill. She told The Colorado Independent after the vote, rainwater collection will likely have little more than minimal impact on water rights, the issue that halted the bill’s progress last year.
She doubts a flood of Coloradans will rush to buy rain barrels, which aren’t cheap. On the plus side, she said collecting rainwater will be beneficial as an educational tool for conservation.
One of the bill’s biggest backers, Pete Maysmith of the environmental group Conservation Colorado, said today in a statement the bill showed “just how bipartisan conservation issues can be. Both sides came together to craft language that recognizes prior appropriation but also acknowledges the shifting dynamics of water policy in the American West and the need to empower citizens to make change.”
Maysmith also thanked the committee’s chair, Republican Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg of Sterling, for his “thoughtful consideration” and for allowing the bill to come to a vote.
Last year, Sonnenberg held up a committee vote on the 2015 version until the next-to-last day of the session, killing its chances of reaching a full Senate vote.
Sonnenberg was still a “no” vote Wednesday. He told the bill’s sponsor, Democratic Sen. Mike Merrifield of Manitou Springs,that he is still concerned that junior water rights holders will be shortchanged by rain barrel enthusiasts.
The bill’s House sponsors, Reps. Jessie Danielson of Wheat Ridge and Daneya Esgar of Pueblo, both Democrats, hugged when they heard the bill passed, according to a Tweet from KUNC reporter Bente Berkeland.
The bill now goes to the full Senate for debate and a possible final vote.
From The Denver Post (Joey Bunch):
[Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg] allowed a vote Wednesday, and the legislation passed by a 6-3 vote, according to the committee’s legislative council.
Sonnenberg was one of the “no” votes, along with Republican Sens. Randy Baumgardner of Hot Sulphur Springs and Ray Scott of Grand Junction.
“I think we have in front of us a product of good collaboration and open-mindedness,” said Sen. Michael Merrifield, a Colorado Springs Democrat and the bill’s main sponsor in the Senate, before the vote…
The Democrats’ bill now moves to the full Senate, where Republicans hold a one-seat majority.
The bill passed the state House with broad bipartisan support after the compromises, which prompted organizations that formally opposed it, such as the Colorado Farm Bureau, to become supporters.
Gov. John Hickenlooper on Tuesday said he is optimistic he will see a rain-barrel bill on his desk for him to sign into law this year.
“Sometimes Colorado functions like the way Great Britain says the United States did leading up to World War II,” he said. “Prime Minister Churchill said the United States could always be counted on to do the right thing, but only after they’ve exhausted the other possibilities.”
From The Colorado Springs Gazette (Megan Schrader):
After two years of wrangling, a bill legalizing the use of rain barrels passed it’s biggest hurdle Wednesday and seems likely to become Colorado law…
Sen. Michael Merrifield, D-Colorado Springs, is among the bill’s advocates.
“I think we’re going to actually get it done this year,” Merrifield said. “A lot of people were not aware they were breaking the law. A lot of people were collecting rain water off of their roofs.”
Sonnenberg was concerned about the impact the urban rain barrels might have on the amount of water flowing downstream to farmers and ranchers with water rights dependent on high-flows during large rain storms.
Merrifield said he worked to alleviate those concerns, including amending the bill so the state engineer will investigate and report any potential impacts from the increased use of rain barrels.
“In a state that is so desperate for water as Colorado, I think it’s valuable that people understand water law and the scarcity of water and how water can be used efficiently, how to conserve,” Merrifield said. “The more we know about it, the better I think it is for farmers who really were those who had the biggest objections to this bill.”
The Farm Bureau supports the bill this year.
Single-family units or multi-family structures with four or fewer units would be permitted to collect up to 110 gallons of precipitation from the rooftop of the building. Collected water must be used for outdoor purposes, like watering the lawn or garden.
From The Durango Herald (Peter Marcus) via the Cortez Journal:
The political clouds in Colorado have parted in favor of allowing Coloradans to collect rain falling from their roofs.
Once a storm of controversy, the now-famous rain-barrel legislation cleared a Senate committee on Wednesday with bipartisan support. It heads to the full Senate, where the bill likely has the votes to finally pass after two years…
“We have a product of good collaboration and open-mindedness,” said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Mike Merrifield, D-Colorado Springs…
One amendment would require the Division of Water Resources to curtail the use of rain barrels based on a determination of injury to water rights.
Other amendments include stating that using a rain barrel is not a water right and requiring the state engineer to evaluate if the use of rain barrels impacts water rights across the state…
…a study by Colorado State University found that allowing 110 gallons of rainwater storage per household would not decrease surface runoff by any detectable amount.
Here is a secret we should let the Legislature in on. Many people in Colorado already use rain barrels and they have done this “illegally” for years. This gets to the point that all the legalities they are going though are unenforceable so they might as well pass this and move on to something important!