The House Energy & Environment Committee advanced HB 26-1112, which grants Colorado statutory authority to seek primacy over underground injection control well classes 1, 3, 4, and 5, passing the bill as amended to the Finance Committee 9-3 over objections from agricultural, water district, and environmental justice witnesses who argued the bill lacks sufficient statutory guardrails and that ECMC faces unresolved data integrity problems.
Bill Wambacher argued the bill 'is devoid of any details or any detailed direction to ECMC to guide the creation of this entirely new program,' stating no one in the room could identify permit requirements, costs, or timing. Gabe Rax (Colorado Water Congress) stated the amendments before the committee 'do not fully address the concerns that we've raised' and that the bill lacks statutory requirements to implement efficiency goals. Clint Carter stated 'there is nothing in the pending bill that ensures that we will end up with a better program.' Aaron Ray (DNR) countered that the intent is 'not to reinvent the wheel' and that the program would be 'certainly not more stringent' and 'similar to what it is now or faster in some cases.'
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“There's not a single person in this room that can tell you what this program will require to get a permit, the cost to comply, the timing of the process, or any information about how the program will work. Because the bill is devoid of any details or any detailed direction to ECMC to guide the creation of this entirely new program.”
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Sign in to subscribeAnd the committee Energy and Environment. We're starting and we have the sponsors of our main bill today. Representative Pasco, Representative Smith and we're going to start with roll call. So please Ms. Falco Representative Barone. Excused. DeGraff. Excused. Austin. Here. Jackson. Excused. Joseph Excused. Pascal. Here. Root. No. Excused. Saw. Excused. Smith. Here. Go for it. Definitely here. Excused. Glasgow. Here. And Mr. Chair is excused. And Representative Smith or Pasco? Who wants to go first? Representative Pasco please go ahead. Thank you Madam Chair. And thank you the folks that showed up on the Energy Environment Committee. Woo. Okay, here we go. I am happy to introduce House Bill 1112 alongside my colleague Rep. Smith regarding the regulation of underground injection control or UIC wells. This important legislation grants Colorado the authority to seek full primacy over UIC wells encompassing all six classes of injection wells currently regulated by the epa. So for all the folks on the committee you should have a handout that is in full living color and there are extras if you don't have one. If you flip it over on the back you can see all the classes of injection wells and what…
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