Colorado § 25-8-503 - Permits - when required and when prohibited - variances - definition.

§ 25-8-503. Permits - when required and when prohibited - variances - definition.

(1) (a) The division shall issue a permit in accordance with regulations promulgated under this article when the division has determined that the provisions of this article and the federal act and regulations thereunder have been met with respect to both the application and proposed permit.

(b) When necessary for compliance with the federal act for the achievement of technology-based effluent limitations, the division may exercise best professional judgment in establishing effluent limitations on a case-by-case basis for permits as granted pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection (1). Technology-based effluent limitations based on best professional judgment shall be made only for good cause and in the absence of federally promulgated effluent guidelines or effluent limitation regulations promulgated by the commission and shall be subject to review as provided for in paragraph (c) of this subsection (1). Any effluent limitations established according to this paragraph (b) shall be made after considering the availability of appropriate technology, its economic reasonableness, the age of equipment and facilities involved, the process employed, and any increase in water or energy consumption.

(c) Review by a hearing officer or an administrative law judge of the department of personnel of technology-based effluent limitations based on best professional judgment shall be on request of the permit applicant or permittee or any aggrieved person and shall take place in an adjudicatory hearing to be held pursuant to section 24-4-105, C.R.S. The necessity of effluent limitations based on best professional judgment, as well as the reasonableness of the effluent limitation, considering all factors enumerated in paragraph (b) of this subsection (1), must be supported by substantial evidence. If such hearing is requested, it shall be held as part of a hearing requested to challenge the conditions of the permit.

(d) Repealed.

(2) No permit shall be issued which is inconsistent with any duly promulgated and controlling state, regional, or local land use plan or any portion of an approved regional wastewater management plan which has been adopted as a regulation pursuant to this article, unless all other requirements and conditions of this act have been met or will be met pursuant to a schedule of compliance or a variance specifying treatment requirements as determined by the division.

(3) No permit shall be issued which allows a violation of a control regulation unless the waste discharge permit contains effluent limitations and a schedule of compliance or a variance specifying treatment requirements as determined by the division.

(4) No permit shall be issued which allows a discharge that by itself or in combination with other pollution will result in pollution of the receiving waters in excess of the pollution permitted by an applicable water quality standard unless the permit contains effluent limitations and a schedule of compliance specifying treatment requirements. Effluent limitations designed to meet water quality standards shall be based on application of appropriate physical, chemical, and biological factors reasonably necessary to achieve the levels of protection required by the standards.

(5) Activities such as diversion, carriage, and exchange of water from or into streams, lakes, reservoirs, or conveyance structures, or storage of water in or the release of water from lakes, reservoirs, or conveyance structures, in the exercise of water rights shall not be considered to be point source discharges of pollution under this article. Water quality standards may apply to discharges from such activities only if the commission has adopted appropriate control regulations pursuant to section 25-8-205. Nothing in this article shall supersede the provisions of articles 80 to 93 of title 37, C.R.S.

(6) Nothing in subsection (5) of this section shall exempt any point source discharger which generates wastewater effluent from the requirement of obtaining a permit pursuant to this article. All permits for such discharges shall apply at the point where wastewater effluent is released from the control of the discharger. All permits for discharges into ditches or other man-made conveyance structures shall contain such provisions as are necessary for the protection of agricultural, domestic, industrial, and municipal beneficial uses made of the waters of the ditch or other man-made conveyance structures, which use or uses were decreed and in existence prior to the inception of the discharge.

(7) Repealed.

(8) Where a permit requires treatment to levels necessary to protect water quality standards and beyond levels required by technology-based effluent limitation requirements, the division must determine whether or not any or all of the water-quality-standard-based effluent limitations are reasonably related to the economic, environmental, public health, and energy impact to the public and affected persons, and are in furtherance of the policies set forth in sections 25-8-102 and 25-8-104. The division's determination shall be based upon information available to it including information provided during the public comment period on the draft permit or in response to specific requests for information. Such determinations shall be included as a part of the written record of the issuance of the final permit, whether or not a variance is available under subsection (9) of this section to alter the water quality standard based effluent limitations.

(9) The division may grant a variance from otherwise applicable requirements only to the extent authorized in the federal act or implementing regulations. Variances may be granted for no longer than the duration of the permit. Variances shall be granted or renewed according to the procedure established in section 25-8-401 (5). Any variances granted prior to June 4, 1985, which were validly granted under the provisions then in effect shall be valid according to their original terms.

(10) (a) The division shall consider current debt service on existing local government water infrastructure when developing schedules of compliance for new effluent limits in local government permits.

(b) Any schedule of compliance that the division develops for new effluent limits in local government permits must, consistent with state and federal law, consider the local government's financial capability to repay existing debt on water infrastructure or to fund water infrastructure upgrades before requiring new water infrastructure upgrades. To the extent allowable under federal law, the division may establish compliance schedules in a local government permit for a new effluent limit in excess of twenty years.

(c) As used in this subsection (10), "water infrastructure" includes wastewater treatment infrastructure, drinking water treatment infrastructure, and raw water infrastructure.

Source: L. 81: Entire article R&RE, p. 1331, § 1, effective July 1. L. 83: (1) amended and (7) repealed, pp. 1081, 1080, §§1, 8, effective July 1. L. 85: (1)(b), (1)(c), and (4) amended, (1)(d) repealed, and (8) and (9) added, pp. 909, 911, §§ 12, 15, effective June 4. L. 87: (1)(c) amended, p. 972, § 86, effective March 13. L. 88: (9) amended, p. 1020, § 6, effective July 1. L. 95: (1)(c) amended, p. 663, § 98, effective July 1. 24-1379), ch. 274, p. 1823, § 4, effective May 29. L. 2025: (10) added, (SB 25-305), ch. 429, p. 2477, § 4, effective June 4.

Cross references: (1) For circumstances that will result in the repeal of this section, see § 25-8-507.

(2) For the legislative declaration contained in the 1995 act amending this section, see section 112 of chapter 167, Session Laws of Colorado 1995.

ANNOTATION

Law reviews. For article, "Oil Shale and Water Quality: The Colorado Prospectus Under Federal, State, and International Law", see 58 Den. L.J. 715 (1981). For article, "The Emerging Relationship Between Environmental Regulations and Colorado Water Law", see 53 U. Colo. L. Rev. 597 (1982).