2023 Colorado Water Conservation Board Water Projects Appropriations
SB23-177
LAST ACTION: Sent to the Governor 05/9/2023
Concerning the funding of Colorado water conservation board projects, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.
SESSION:
2023 Regular Session
SUBJECT: Water
BILL SUMMARY
The bill appropriates the following amounts for the 2023-24 state fiscal year from the Colorado water conservation board (CWCB) construction fund to the CWCB or the division of water resources in the department of natural resources for the following projects:
Continuation of the satellite monitoring system, $380,000 ( section 1 of the bill);
Continuation of the floodplain map modernization program, $500,000 ( section 2 );
Continuation of the weather modification permitting program, $500,000 ( section 3 );
Continuation of the watershed restoration program, $500,000 ( section 6 );
Continuation of the Colorado Mesonet project, $150,000 ( section 7 );
Continuation of the weather forecasting partnership project, $1,000,000 ( section 8 );
Support for the division of water resources mobile field data collection application project, $800,000 ( section 9 );
Continuation of the reservoir enlargement assessment comprehensive dam safety evaluation project, $1,000,000 ( section 11 );
Support for the central Colorado water conservancy district augmentation efficiency project, $3,000,000 ( section 15 ); and
Support for the state water plan action advancement project, $2,000,000 ( section 16 ).
The bill directs the state treasurer to transfer the following amounts on July 1, 2023, from the severance tax perpetual base fund to the CWCB construction fund, and appropriates those amounts from the CWCB construction fund to the CWCB for the following projects:
Continuation of the Platte river recovery implementation program, $19,000,000 ( section 12 );
Support for the upper Colorado river endangered fish recovery program and the San Juan river basin recovery implementation program, $15,000,000 ( section 13 ); and
Additional and continued support for the Frying Pan - Arkansas project, $20,000,000 ( section 14 ).
The bill directs the state treasurer to transfer the following amounts from the CWCB construction fund on July 1, 2023:
$2,000,000 to restore the fish and wildlife resources fund ( section 4 );
Up to $2,000,000 to the CWCB litigation fund ( section 5 ); and
$2,000,000 to the water plan implementation cash fund for continuation of the water plan implementation grant program ( section 10 ).
Section 17 appropriates $10,600,000 $23,200,000 of sports betting revenues from the water plan implementation cash fund and $2,000,000 from the CWCB construction water plan implementation cash fund to the CWCB to fund grants that will help implement the state water plan.Section 18 appropriates $8,000,000 from the wildlife cash fund to the division of parks and wildlife to purchase up to 924 acre-feet of orphan shares from the CWCB as part of the Chatfield reservoir reallocation project.
(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)
(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)