C.R.S. § 25-8-305: Annual report - repeal.

(1) (a) On or before October 1 of each year, the division through the executive director shall report to the commission on the effectiveness of this article 8 and shall include in such report any recommendations the division may have with respect to any regulatory or legislative changes that may be needed or desired. The report must include the then-current monitoring information that has been obtained pursuant to section 25-8-303.

(b) The executive director shall also submit the report to the house of representatives agriculture, water, and natural resources committee and the senate agriculture and natural resources committee, or their successor committees. Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), this reporting requirement continues indefinitely.

(2) The annual report described in subsection (1) of this section must include information on the division's:

(a) Implementation of the discharge permitting program established in part 5 of this article 8;

(b) Inspections performed;

(c) Enforcement actions under this article 8;

(d) Establishment of any new rules and standards;

(e) Assessment of any emerging trends that the division perceives in issues pertaining to water quality;

(f) Ratio of general fund appropriations to cash fund appropriations that were authorized for the state fiscal year immediately preceding the date of the report;

(g) Revenue and expenditures, including for the division's general administration needs, the division's administration of the clean water and drinking water programs, and the division's allocation of any increased fees established through section 25-8-210 for services that the division provides. The department shall present this information as part of the department's annual "SMART Act" presentation pursuant to section 2-7-203.

(h) Timing in considering and issuing permits, including the number of years administratively continued permits have been pending, categorized by years pending, and a narrative description of the division's plan for processing administratively continued permits that have been administratively continued for longer than five years.

(3) Repealed.

(4) (a) For the report that the division submits in 2025, the report must include:

(I) A description of the fee structure proposed or included in rules that the commission has proposed or adopted pursuant to section 25-8-210 (1)(a);

(II) If the rules proposed or adopted pursuant to section 25-8-210 (1)(a) modify a fee structure set forth in statute, the reasons for the change in the fee structure; and

(III) A summary of options for setting a cap on the amount of fee increases and the department of public health and environment's recommendations on setting a cap based on stakeholder feedback.

(b) The report that the division submits in 2026 must include a detailed discussion of how the division has prioritized reducing the water quality permit backlog, implemented recommendations from permittees for permitting efficiency, and increased the number of safe drinking water program inspections.

(c) This subsection (4) is repealed, effective July 1, 2027.

(5) (a) On or before October 1, 2026, and for each year thereafter, the report described in subsection (1) of this section must provide an overall understanding of the state of implementation of the dredge and fill discharge authorization program described in section 25-8-205.1. For this purpose, the division shall develop a twelve-month reporting period. At a minimum, the report must include:

(I) Program staffing and budget over the twelve-month reporting period;

(II) General authorization program components over the twelve-month reporting period, including:

(A) The total number of preconstruction notifications or coverage verification requests received during the twelve-month reporting period;

(B) The total number of projects authorized to proceed during the twelve-month reporting period;

(C) The total number of projects authorized to proceed during the twelve-month reporting period that included special conditions;

(D) The total number of projects authorized to proceed under section 25-8-205.1 (5)(d) during the twelve-month reporting period;

(E) The total number of projects denied general authorization coverage during the twelve-month reporting period and a summary of the reasons for denials;

(F) The range of time and average time required to process preconstruction notifications and coverage verification requests from receipt to final decision during the twelve-month reporting period; and

(G) The total number of full-time employees tasked with processing preconstruction notifications, coverage verification requests, and technical assistance during the twelve-month reporting period; and

(III) Individual authorization program components, including:

(A) The total number of authorization applications received during the twelve-month reporting period;

(B) The total number of projects authorized to proceed during the twelve-month reporting period;

(C) The total number of projects denied authorization coverage during the twelve-month reporting period and a summary of the reasons for denials;

(D) The total number of applications awaiting action at the end of the twelve-month reporting period;

(E) The range of time and average time required to process individual authorization applications from receipt to final decision during the twelve-month reporting period; and

(F) The total number of full-time employees tasked with processing individual authorizations during the twelve-month reporting period.

(b) On a quarterly basis, the division shall report to the joint budget committee the number of individual dredge and fill authorizations and notices of authorization that the division projects to issue for the fiscal year. The division shall submit these reports so that they coincide with quarterly budget forecasts.