Committee advances narrow fix to irrigation-efficiency law after public concern

The Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee voted to advance a targeted statutory fix intended to resolve implementation problems with parts of a prior irrigation-efficiency law. Sponsors said the bill does not roll back overall water-efficiency goals but removes provisions that created product-availability and enforcement gaps.

Sponsor Senator Pelton said House Bill "10 34" addresses unintended consequences of HB 23 11 61, noting that a point-of-sale mandate for irrigation controllers and a check-valve requirement lacked clear testing or certification standards and had created confusion, higher costs and gaps in availability. "This bill is not a rollback of water efficiency goals. It is about making the law workable, enforceable, and practical for Colorado," he said.

One constituent, Melissa Coleman of Wheat Ridge, testified in opposition, saying the repeal of environmental standards and removal of check-valve requirements would violate stewardships mandated by Amendment 16 of the Colorado Constitution and "waste millions of gallons of water." "We haven't even given it a chance to even prove itself," she told the committee.

Senator Kipp responded that the provision was carefully considered by the groups that wrote the original law and that experts and regulatory partners supported the targeted correction; he said he would vote yes. Industry witnesses including Andrew Morris of the Irrigation Association, Amber Clark (irrigation designer), John McMahon of the Association of Landscape Contractors of Colorado and Ben Sachs of Hunter Industries testified in favor, saying the bill would preserve efficiency goals while allowing practical, site-appropriate solutions (battery or solar controllers, add-on modules and exceptions for certain spray bodies).

During the amendment phase the committee adopted amendment L002, described as clarifying language to aid CDPHE compliance and enforcement. Senator Hendrickson then moved HB 10 34 as amended to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation; the committee polled and approved the motion unanimously. The bill was placed on the consent calendar.