Meridian Service Metropolitan District v. Ground Water Commission

Summary

The Colorado Supreme Court held that the Colorado Ground Water Commission had initial jurisdiction to determine whether storm runoff sought for appropriation constituted designated ground water. The court affirmed the finding that a portion of the runoff was designated ground water subject to Commission administration, rejecting arguments based on jurisdiction, preclusion, stare decisis, public policy, and constitutional challenges.

Holdings

1. When a jurisdictional controversy turns on whether water is designated ground water, the Colorado Ground Water Commission must make the initial determination; jurisdiction shifts to the water court only if the Commission determines that the water is not designated ground water.
2. A portion of the storm runoff generated by Meridian's proposed development was designated ground water because, under natural conditions, it would not be visible on the surface and would contribute to aquifer recharge rather than reach a natural tributary stream.
3. Claim preclusion did not bar the Commission from classifying a portion of Meridian's development-generated runoff as designated ground water because the present claim involved different runoff and could not have been brought in 1968.
4. Public policy did not support allowing Meridian to appropriate the runoff free from the priority system and Commission oversight, and the court did not reach the constitutional challenge because the water was designated ground water rather than unappropriated natural-stream water.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Colorado Ground Water Commission or the water court had initial subject-matter jurisdiction to determine whether the water Meridian sought to appropriate was designated ground water.
2. Whether the storm runoff at issue was designated ground water rather than surface water in or tributary to a natural stream.
3. Whether claim preclusion, issue preclusion, or stare decisis barred the Commission from classifying the runoff as designated ground water despite the 1968 basin-designation order.
4. Whether public policy required allowing Meridian to appropriate the storm runoff under the Water Right Determination and Administration Act of 1969.
5. Whether the Colorado Groundwater Management Act was unconstitutional because it interfered with Meridian's asserted right to divert unappropriated natural-stream water.

Disposition

affirmed