Colorado § 34-60-104.5 - Director of commission - duties.

§ 34-60-104.5. Director of commission - duties.

(1) Pursuant to section 13 of article XII of the state constitution, the executive director of the department of natural resources shall appoint a director of the commission who must possess such qualifications as may be established by the executive director, the commission, and the state personnel board. The director of the commission is a type 1 entity, as defined in section 24-1-105.

(2) The director of the commission shall:

(a) Administer the provisions of this article;

(b) Enforce the rules and regulations adopted by the commission;

(c) Implement and administer orders issued by the commission;

(d) (I) Appoint, pursuant to section 13 of article XII of the state constitution, such clerical and professional staff and consultants as may be necessary for the efficient and effective operation of the commission, including one or two deputy directors;

(II) Exercise general supervisory control over the staff; and

(III) Appoint at least two community liaisons to serve as dedicated resources for disproportionately impacted communities regarding commission regulation. The community liaisons shall perform duties including:

(A) Serving as an advocate for disproportionately impacted communities in a nonlegal capacity and, while taking into consideration the engagement practices described in section 24-4-109 (3)(b), acting as a liaison between disproportionately impacted community members and the commission, including with respect to communications regarding the permitting process;

(B) Providing community members with relevant information regarding third-party resources such as legal assistance to assist community members in presenting their views to the commission;

(C) Working to improve the relationships and interactions between disproportionately impacted communities and the commission;

(D) Acting as a resource for sharing information between the commission and disproportionately impacted communities;

(E) Engaging in outreach to disproportionately impacted communities; and

(F) Organizing and attending in-person meetings within disproportionately impacted communities.

(e) Perform such other functions as may be assigned to him by the commission, including that of appointment as a hearing officer in accordance with section 34-60-106.

(3) (a) Upon receipt of request for technical review filed pursuant to section 29-20-104 (3)(a), the director of the commission shall appoint technical review board members. The membership of the technical review board must include subject matter experts in local land use planning and oil and gas exploration and production and may include subject matter experts in environmental sciences, public health sciences, or other disciplines relevant to the disputed issues, as determined by the director. The technical review board shall conduct a technical review of the preliminary or final siting determination pursuant to the criteria specified in subsection (3)(b) of this section and, at its discretion, may meet to confer informally with the parties. The technical review must be completed by issuance of a report within sixty days after the director appoints the experts.

(b) A technical review:

(I) Must address the issues in dispute as identified by the operator and the local government, which may include impacts to the recovery of the resource by the preliminary or final siting determination of the local government; whether the local government's determination would require technologies that are not available or are impracticable given the context of the permit application; and whether the operator is proposing to use best management practices; and

(II) Must not address the economic effects of the preliminary or final determination and must result in the issuance of a report.

Source: L. 84: Entire section added, p. 934, § 1, effective March 26. L. 94: (2)(d) amended, p. 1980, § 5, effective June 2. L. 2019: (2)(d) amended and (3) added, (SB 19-181), ch. 120, p. 510, § 10, effective April 16. L. 2022: (1) amended, (SB 22-162), ch. 469, p. 3410, § 166, effective August 10. L. 2024: (2)(d)(I) amended and (2)(d)(III) added, (SB 24-229), ch. 183, p. 992, § 9, effective May 16.

Cross references: (1) For the legislative declaration contained in the 1994 act amending subsection (2)(d), see section 1 of chapter 317, Session Laws of Colorado 1994. For the legislative declaration in SB 24-229, see section 1 of chapter 183, Session Laws of Colorado 2024.

(2) For the short title (the "Debbie Haskins 'Administrative Organization Act of 1968' Modernization Act") in SB 22-162, see section 1 of chapter 469, Session Laws of Colorado 2022.