2017-03-09_REVISION - C1981041 - Laserfiche WebLink

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It is well-established that Colorado's Administrative Procedures Act ("APA") applies to every Colorado agency with statewide territorial jurisdiction, and serves as a gap -filler to supplement each agency's specific governing statutes and related regulations. See C.R.S. §24-4- 107; V Bar Ranch LLC v. Cotton, 233 P.3d 1200, 2015 (Colo. 2010); Well Augmentation Subdist. Of Central Colorado Water Conservancy Dist. v. City of Aurora, 221 P.3d 399, 417 (Colo. 2009). "[I]f the APA is applicable to a particular agency, both the APA and statutes specific to that agency should be read together and harmonized to the extent possible; however, if a provision of the APA and the agency's statute conflict, the agency -specific provision controls." V Bar Ranch, 233 P.3d at 1205. Therefore, even though the regulations regarding technical revision hearings do not expressly reference the APA's hearing procedures found in C.R.S. §24- 4-105, those procedures automatically apply to the extent that they do not conflict with the specific requirements C.R.S. §34-33-116 and Rule 2.08.4(6)(b)(iii). See C.R.S. §24-4-105(2)(a). Conversely, the procedures outlined in Rule 2.07.4 have no application to the hearing on this matter, despite Fontanari's suggestion that they do. Those procedural regulations, promulgated pursuant to C.R.S. §§ 34-33- 118 and 119, by their terms, apply to hearings on proposed decisions by DRMS on applications only for permits, permit revisions, and permit renewals, but not to applications for technical revisions such as the one at issue here. See Rule 2.07.4(1),(2). Moreover, the statutory provisions for permits, permit revisions, and permit renewals all expressly incorporate the provisions of C.R.S. §§ 34-33- 118 and 119. See C.R.S. C.R.S. §§ 34-33-114 and 115. Notably, technical revisions and permit revisions are separately defined concepts under the Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act, such that Rule C!