As used in this article 92, unless the context otherwise requires:
(I) The purported appropriator of record does not have either a legally vested interest or a reasonable expectation of procuring such interest in the lands or facilities to be served by such appropriation, unless such appropriator is a governmental agency or an agent in fact for the persons proposed to be benefited by such appropriation.
(II) The purported appropriator of record does not have a specific plan and intent to divert, store, or otherwise capture, possess, and control a specific quantity of water for specific beneficial uses.
(5.5) "Coal bed methane well" means a well permitted by the Colorado oil and gas conservation commission or a well authorized by a federal or tribal entity and constructed for the primary purpose of producing methane gas from a coal bed.
(6.3) "Control structure" means a structure consisting of durable synthetic or natural materials that has been placed with the intent to divert, capture, possess, and control water in its natural course for an appropriator's intended and specified recreational in-channel diversion. The control structure and its efficiency shall be designed by a professional engineer, as that term is defined in section 12-120-202 (7), or under the direct supervision of a professional engineer, and constructed so that it will operate efficiently and without waste to produce the intended and specified reasonable recreation experience. Concentration of river flow by a control structure constitutes control of water for a recreational in-channel diversion.
(6.7) "County" means any county and any city and county established under Colorado law.
(10.1) "Reasonable recreation experience" means the use of a recreational in-channel diversion for, and limited to, nonmotorized boating. Other recreational activities may occur but may not serve as evidence of a reasonable recreation experience.
(10.3) "Recreational in-channel diversion" means the minimum amount of stream flow as it is diverted, captured, controlled, and placed to beneficial use between specific points defined by control structures pursuant to an application filed by a county, municipality, city and county, water district, water and sanitation district, water conservation district, or water conservancy district for a reasonable recreation experience in and on the water from April 1 to Labor Day of each year unless the applicant can demonstrate that there will be demand for the reasonable recreation experience on additional days. The recreational in-channel diversion shall be limited to one specified flow rate for each time period claimed by the applicant. Individual time periods shall not be shorter than fourteen days unless the applicant can demonstrate a need for a shorter time period. There shall be a presumption that there will not be material injury to a recreational in-channel diversion water right from subsequent appropriations or changes of water rights if the effect on the recreational in-channel diversion caused by such appropriations or changes does not exceed one-tenth of one percent of the lowest decreed rate of flow for the recreational in-channel diversion as measured at the recreational in-channel diversion and the cumulative effects on the recreational in-channel diversion caused by such appropriations or changes do not exceed two percent of the lowest decreed rate of flow for the recreational in-channel diversion measured at the recreational in-channel diversion. The owner of a water right for a recreational in-channel diversion may not call for water that has been lawfully stored by another appropriator.
(10.4) "Removal of water" means a change in the type and place of use of an absolute decreed agricultural water right from irrigated agricultural use in one county to a use not primarily related to agriculture in another county.
(10.5) "Revegetation" means the establishment of a ground cover of plant life demonstrated to be, without irrigation, reasonably capable of sustaining itself under the climatic conditions, soils, precipitation, and terrain prevailing for the lands from which irrigation water is removed. Grasses or other plants used for the purpose of revegetation shall not be noxious as such plants are defined under the provisions of the "Colorado Noxious Weed Act", article 5.5 of title 35, C.R.S.
(10.6) "Rotational crop management contract" means a written contract in which the owner or groups of owners of irrigation water rights agree to implement a change of the rights to a new use by foregoing irrigation of a portion of the lands historically irrigated and that provides that the water rights owner or groups of owners may rotate the lands that will not be irrigated as long as there is no injurious effect as specified in section 37-92-305 (3). The contract shall also provide that in the change of water right proceeding the water rights owner or groups of owners shall seek water court approval to rotate the lands that will not be irrigated as long as there is no injurious effect as specified in section 37-92-305 (3).
(10.7) "Significant water development activity" means any removal of water that results in the transfer of more than one thousand acre-feet of consumptive use of water per year by a single applicant or an applicant's agents.
(10.8) "Storage" or "store" means the impoundment, possession, and control of water by means of a dam. Waters in underground aquifers are not in storage or stored except to the extent waters in such aquifers are placed there by other than natural means with water to which the person placing such water in the underground aquifer has a conditional or decreed right.
Source: L. 69: 1201, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 148-21-3. L. 73: p. 1521, § 1. L. 75: (9) amended, p. 1397, § 1, effective June 20. L. 79: (3) amended and (10.5) added, p. 1368, § 5, effective June 22. L. 86: (2) amended, p. 1097, § 1, effective April 24. L. 92: (10.4) added, p. 2289, § 1, effective April 16. L. 95: (14) added, p. 141, § 4, effective April 7. L. 96: (9) amended, p. 125, § 1, effective March 25. L. 2001: (4) and (7) amended and (10.3) added, p. 1188 § 2, effective June 5. L. 2003: (14)(a) amended, p. 1453, § 3, effective April 30; (10.4) and (10.5) amended and (6.7), (10.6), and (10.7) added, p. 880, § 1, effective August 6. L. 2005: (2) amended, p. 232, § 1, effective April 14. L. 2006: (6.3) and (10.1) added and (7) and (10.3) amended, p. 907, § 2, effective May 11; (10.6) and (10.7) amended and (10.8) added, p. 999, § 1, effective May 25. L. 2007: (2)(b)(V) added, p. 48, § 2, effective August 3. L. 2008: IP(2)(b) amended and (2)(b)(VI) added, p. 589, § 2, effective August 5. L. 2009: (5.5) added, (HB 09-1303), ch. 390, p. 2110, § 5, effective June 2. L. 2013: (4) amended, (SB 13-041), ch. 111, p. 382, § 2, effective August 7. L. 2014: (5) amended, (HB 14-1005), ch. 198, p. 726, § 2, effective May 15. L. 2017: IP and (5) amended, (HB 17-1291), ch. 338, p. 1805, § 2, effective August 9. L. 2019: (6.3) amended, (HB 19-1172), ch. 136, p. 1722, § 228, effective October 1.
Editor's note: Section 3 of chapter 2 (HB 14-1005), Session Laws of Colorado 2014, provides that changes to this section by the act apply to changes in points of diversion made before, on, or after May 15, 2014.
Cross references: For the legislative declaration in the 2013 act amending subsection (4), see section 1 of chapter 111, Session Laws of Colorado 2013.