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<br />I-" <br />-..J <br />W <br />c..;, <br /> <br />Local health departments have important environmental health <br />responsibilities. Most apparent are the activities of seven local <br />departments in air pollution control, which have contracts with the <br />State Health Department's Air Pollution Control Division. These <br />local air pollution control programs, which cover the Front Range <br />urban corridor from Fort Collins to Pueblo and the Grand Junction <br />Area, are an important extension of the State's air quality control <br />program. Equally important are local health department activities in <br />protecting public drinking water supplies, controlling sewage septic <br />systems, responding to environmental emergencies, and identifying and <br />controlling environmental diseases. Indeed, in the areas they serve, <br />the local health departments function as the first line of defense in <br />environmental health protection. <br /> <br />e. <br /> <br />Councils of Governments <br /> <br />Colorado is organized into 13 "planning and management regions" for <br />State administrative and planning purposes. This system was <br />established by executive order of the Governor in 1970, and <br />recognizes the various regienal "communities-of-interest" which exist <br />due to geographic, social and economic relationships. Serving these <br />13 planning and management regions are 16 councils of governments <br />("COG's") or regional planning commissions, which are made up of the <br />local governments - counties and municipalities - in their areas. <br />(Two of the regions are served by several sUb-regional COG's or <br />commissions.) These COG's and regional planning commissions provide <br />very important mechanisms for intergovernmental coordination and <br />cooperation. The larger COG's, especially in the Front Range urban <br />corridor, also serve as regional planning bodies for a number of <br />important functions, including transportation, land use, economic <br />development, social services, and environmental control. <br /> <br />In the area of environmental control, the COG's have played important <br />roles in both air quality planning and water quality management <br />planning activities. Five COG's worked with the Colorado Air Quality <br />Control Commission and the Health Department's Air Pollution Control <br />Division to prepare the State Implementation Plan (SIP) for Air <br />Quali'ty, and have cont inuing responsibilities for the implementation <br />and updating of the SIP in their respective areas. Ten COG's and <br />regional planning commissions played lead roles in preparing the <br />water quality management ("208") plans for their areas, all of which <br />ultimately received the approval of the Colorado Water Quality <br />Control Commission. The involvement of the COG's in water quality <br />management activities will continue to be an important aspect of <br />their ongoing responsibilities, especially for those COG's serving <br />the urban Front Range corridor and major mountain recreation areas. <br />The State and the COG's are currently in the process of redefining <br />their respective roles in the area of water quality planning. <br />Several COG's have also played important roles in regional solid <br />waste management planning s,ctivities. <br /> <br />-18- <br />