Jim Hutton Educ. Found., Non-Profit Corp. v. Rein (In re Rein)

Summary

The Colorado Supreme Court affirmed dismissal of the Jim Hutton Educational Foundation’s as-applied constitutional challenge to a statute governing challenges to designated groundwater basin boundaries. The court held that the Colorado Groundwater Commission must first determine whether the water at issue is designated groundwater before jurisdiction can vest in the water court, making the constitutional claim unripe absent that threshold determination.

Holdings

1. When a water dispute involves both designated-groundwater interests and surface-water interests, the Colorado Groundwater Commission must first determine whether the water at issue is designated groundwater; jurisdiction vests in the water court only after the Commission determines that the water is not designated groundwater.
2. The Foundation’s as-applied constitutional challenge was not ripe because the Commission had not determined that the water at issue was not designated groundwater.
3. The water court properly dismissed the Foundation’s second claim for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the water court properly dismissed the Foundation’s as-applied constitutional challenge to Senate Bill 10-52 for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
2. Whether the Foundation was required to obtain an initial determination from the Colorado Groundwater Commission that the water at issue was not designated groundwater before the water court could acquire jurisdiction.

Disposition

affirmed