07SA293 Advance Sheet Headnote The Water Right Determination and Administration Act of 1969 The Colorado Ground Water management Act beneficial use well appropriation

• Description: Colorado Supreme Court opinion regarding classifying use of water for coalbed methane production as a beneficial use.
• State: CO
• Date: 4/20/2009
• Title: 07SA293 Advance Sheet Headnote The Water Right Determination and Administration Act of 1969 The Colorado Ground Water management Act beneficial use well appropriation
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Court Documents

As the water court noted, the Ranchers' central concern is
the protection of their vested senior water rights. We agree
with the district court that our prior appropriation system
exists to protect water rights holders. Here, the extraction,
storage, and reinjection of water during CBM make the water
inaccessible to other water rights holders such as the Ranchers.
When the water is stored in surface tanks, a small quantity is
lost to evaporation. At a later time, the water is typically
reinjected, via underground injection control wells, into
designated geologic formations that lie deeper than the aquifer
from which the methane is produced. Consequently, "beneficial
use" also means use of water for a designated purpose -- the
result of which is to make the water inaccessible to other water
rights holders. See, e.g., Three Bells, 758 P.2d at 171
(noting, "we believe that when mining operations affect water
rights it is necessary for the operator to achieve compliance
with the Ground Water Management Act and the 1969 Act."
(emphasis added)).
In response to the Ranchers' concern about injury to their
vested senior water rights, the Engineers, joined by BP, argue
18