BOARD00786

• Board Meeting Date: 1/22/2003
• Description: CF Section - New Loans - Town of Paonia - Purchase of Water Rights/Water Taps
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF COLORADO
Ken Salazar

January 8, 2003

Colorado Water Conservation Board
1313 Sherman.8treet, Room 721
Denver, CO 80203

RE: Town ofPaonia Loan Application

Dear Board Members:

At the November 2002 CWCB meeting, some board members questioned whether the
CWCB's gov~rning statute authorizes the CWCB to loan money to the Town ofPaonia to
finance the rei1urchase and retirement of issued but unused water taps as part of a program to
more closely align the Town's projected available water supply with its projected water demand.
Based upon a review of the applicable law, this office has concluded that the CWCB has the
authority to make such a loan. ..

The General Assembly cre.ated the CWCB to aid in the protection and development of the
waters of the State of Colorado. One. of the CWCB's primary duties is to secure the maximum
utilization of waters of the State, including Colorado's compact entitlements. 9 37-60-106(1),
C.R.S. (2002). Section 37-60-119 (1), C.R.S. (2002) authorizes the CWCB to loan money to
enable the construction, rehabilitation, enlargement or improvement of water supply facilities,
excluding domestic water treatment and distribution systems, together with related recreational
facilities, that, in the CWCB's opinion, will conserve, effect more efficient use of, develop, or
protect the water resources and supplies of the State of Colorado. The stated purpose of such
loans is "to promote the general welfare and safety of the citizens of this state and to protect the
allocation of interstate waters to the state. . . ." 9 37-60-119(1), C.R.S. (2002). This section also
authorizes loans for flood control and hydroelectric energy facilities.

In considering loan applications, the CWCB exercises its discretion to determine whether
a proposed project will conserve, effect more efficient use of, develop, or protect Colorado's
water resources. If the CWCB finds that the proposed loan to the Town ofPaonia will promote
the general welfare of the citizens benefited by the retired water taps by reducing demand and
making the Town's water supply more reliable, the CWCB may lawfully approve the loan..

Courts generally defer to the intelpretation of a statute by the administrative agency or
board charged with administering that statute. Tivolino Teller House v. Fagan, Inc., 926 P.2d
1208, 1215 (Colo. 1996). lfthe board's intelpretation of a statutory requirement is consistent

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