8 CCR 1206-4 Part 13 - STATEMENTS OF BASIS, SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORITY AND PURPOSE

13.01. Adopted March 31, 1989 - Effective July 1, 1989

Pursuant to the provisions and requirements of the Chemigation Act to regulate the application of fertilizers or pesticides to land or crop through irrigation systems, Title 35, Article 11, CRS, the following rules and regulations are hereby promulgated.

The purpose of these rules and regulations is to comply with the provisions of the associated statute and to provide specific guidelines for the safe and effective application of fertilizers and pesticides to land or crops though irrigation systems.

The regulations are designed to:

Set standards for the installation and maintenance of antisyphoning devices within irrigation systems employing Chemigation that will prevent the contamination of ground waters in the event of a power or equipment malfunction;

Establish inspection procedures;

Establish procedures and policies for entering into agreements with ground water management districts for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of Article 11 within the boundaries of the district;

Set procedures for monitoring the activities of ground water management districts that have entered into agreements with the Department; and

Determine permit and inspection fees.

13.02. Adopted September 4, 1992 - Effective January 1, 1993

The following rules are hereby promulgated under the authority of the Colorado Chemigation Act, pursuant to Sections 35-11-104(1) (c), C.R.S. (1991 Supp.). They deal with the raising of permit fees.

It has become necessary to raise permit fees in order to help provide the revenue needed to cover all costs of operating the chemigation inspection program. Raising of permit fees has been made possible by amendments in Senate Bill 92-28, which removes the caps on permit and inspection fees in section 35-11-106(3) and (4) of the Chemigation Act. The chemigation inspection program is totally self-funded and no startup moneys were provided by the legislature when the enabling legislation was passed. It was necessary to borrow money from the state treasurer in order to initiate the program prior to the receiving of any revenues from permit and inspection fees. An increase in revenue is needed to pay back the loan and maintain the program at the current level.

All permit fees are raised to forty-five dollars both inside and outside Groundwater Management Districts that have contracted with the Department of Agriculture to perform inspections under the authority of the Chemigation Act. The cost to the Department of permitting and providing follow-up legal action inside the contracting districts is equally as great as the cost outside the contracting districts.

13.03. Adopted February 20, 2002 - Effective March 30, 2002

These amendments pertain to Section 1 Terms Defined and Construed, Section 2 Affidavit of Non-Chemigation, Section 3 Chemigation Permits, Section 6 Equipment, Standards and Installation, Section 8 Exemptions and the furtherance and enforcement of the provisions of the Colorado Chemigation Act, C.R.S. § § 35-11-101 through 117.

13.04. Adopted November 13, 2006 - Effective January 1, 2007

Statutory Authority

This amendment to the rules is adopted by the Commissioner of Agriculture pursuant to his authority under the Colorado Chemigation Act, § 35-11-104(1)(c), C.R.S. (2006).

Purpose

The purpose of these amendments to the rules is to:

(1) reduce the annual permit fee from $45.00 to $35.00 for permits issued to permit holders outside of Ground Water Management Districts that have contracted with the Department for the enforcement of § 35-11-113 of the Chemigation Act;

(2) reduce the annual permit fee from $45.00 to $35.00 for permit holders within Ground Water Management Districts that have contracted with the Department for enforcement of § 35-11-113 of the Chemigation Act; and

(3) to include a section for Statements of Basis, Specific Statutory Authority and Purpose for this rule.

Factual and Policy Issues

The factual and policy issues encountered in the proposal of these amendments to the rules are as follows:

Pursuant to the Colorado Chemigation Act § 35-11-106(3), the fee for a chemigation permit and the annual renewal fee shall be established by the Commissioner through rules and regulations. Such fees shall reflect all direct and indirect costs of the Department for the administration of this article. A $35.00 annual permit is adequate to cover all direct and indirect costs.

13.05. Adopted April 12, 2011 - Effective May 30, 2011

Statutory Authority

This amendment to the rules is adopted by the commissioner of Agriculture pursuant to his authority under the Colorado Chemigation Act, § 35-11-104(1) (b), C.R.S.

Purpose

The purpose of these amendments to the rules is to:

(1) In Section 6.03 , eliminate the reference to the criteria in Section 7.01;

(2) Repeal Section 6.04 requiring all models of pipeline check valves and chemical injection line check valves be tested after July 1, 1989 by the Colorado Water Resource Research Institute, Colorado State University;

(3) Repeal Section 6.12 eliminating the minimum opening (cracking) pressure of 20 psi when the chemical injection pump is shut down;

(4) Repeal Section 7, Laboratory Test Criteria.

Factual and Policy Issues

The factual and policy issues encountered in the proposal of these amendments to the rules are as follows:

1. Pursuant to the Colorado Chemigation Act, § 35-11-107(1), C.R.S., an irrigation system utilizing chemigation on and after January 1, 1990, or an irrigation system which has been issued a provisional chemigation permit shall have, as component parts thereof, a properly installed and functioning:

(a) Backflow prevention check valve and vacuum relief valve between the main check valve and the irrigation pump;

(b) Inspection port to check the performance of the check valve on the irrigation pipeline;

(c) Automatic low-pressure drain placed between the main check valve and the irrigation pump so that a chemical will drain away from the source of water supply;

(d) Check valve in the chemical injection line; and

(e) Simultaneous interlock device between the power system of the chemical injection unit and the irrigation pumping plant to protect the water supply from contamination in the event such pumping plant ceases to operate.

2. Currently, permitted irrigation systems are inspected to verify that all the back flow prevention devices listed above are properly installed and performing their intended purpose to prevent the reverse flow of a water chemical mixture back to the water source. Backflow prevention check valves are visually observed while under water pressure to ensure the valve is holding water and are also manually checked to ensure no bubbles or blisters are forming on the lining of the valve. Check valves in the chemical injection line are also observed under water pressure to verify that water is not allowed to flow back to the chemical holding tank. These valves are essentially inspected under field conditions in which they are expected to perform.

3. Chemical injection check valves are inspected during the field inspection; however, there is no way to determine if the valve has a minimum opening (cracking) pressure of 20 psi. Also, gravity flow of chemical from the chemical supply tank in to the irrigation pipeline does not occur due to the chemical injection pump stopping the flow when the irrigation system is shut down.

4. The testing of one valve for each model and size a manufacturer produces does not necessarily ensure that all the valves manufactured in that model and size will perform as well as the one tested. A field inspection of these valves provides a better indication that they are performing as designed.

5. Most manufacturers of irrigation line check valves place a sticker on the valve identifying who manufactured the valve. Often times these stickers fall off due to weather or time and it is difficult to identify who the manufacturer is thereby making it more difficult to determine if that model of valve was tested.

13.06. Adopted November 7, 2018 - Effective December 30, 2018

Statutory Authority

These amendments to the Rules are adopted by the Commissioner of Agriculture pursuant to his authority at, § 35-11-104, C.R.S.

Purpose

The purpose of this rulemaking is to recodify the Rules from the Plant Industry Division to the Conservation Services Division and increase permit and inspection fees in and outside of Groundwater Management Districts. Other changes as a result of a regulatory review include clean-up of language to make the Rules easier to understand and renumber to make this Rule consistant with other Department Rules.

Factual and Policy Issues

The factual and policy issues encountered in the proposal of these amendments to the rules are as follows:

1. Pursuant to the Colorado Chemigation Act § 35-11-104(1)(c), the Commissioner shall promulgate Rules. to: Establish fees for the direct and indirect costs of administering the provisions of the Colorado Chemigation Act.

2. The annual average revenue to the Department for chemigation permits is $165,000. The average revenue to the Department from inspections is $40,000 for a total of $205,000. The annual average expense to administer the program is $246,000 for an annual loss of $41,000.

3. The Chemigation Program has utilized fund reserves for previous years in which expenses exceeded revenue. Since fund reserves will be fully expended in FY 2018-19, a fee increase is necessary to continue program operations.

4. By raising the permit fees to $45.00 each and the inspection fee to $50.00, the program will generate an additional $50,000 per year. This will cover the $41,000 shortfall and allow the Department to replenish the fund balance to $40,000 (16% of annual expenses) over the course of four to five years.

Notes

8 CCR 1206-4 Part 13

41 CR 23, December 10, 2018, effective 12/30/2018