SB23-267 Summary

• Creates a water quality fee collected from visitors to Chatfield State Park at park admission, with the Division of Parks and Wildlife transferring collected fees to the Chatfield Watershed Authority.

• Commission must promulgate rules by July 1, 2024 establishing a process for the authority to request the fee, criteria for approval, and visitor exemptions (annual or lifetime state park pass holders are exempt from the fee).

• Water quality fee capped at $2 per visitor, rounded to nearest dollar, with collection beginning January 1, 2025 and payments to the authority starting July 1, 2025 on a semi-annual basis.

• Division may retain up to 3.33 percent of collected fees to cover administrative and collection costs, with remaining funds supporting water quality projects including nonpoint source control, monitoring, and urban runoff management within park boundaries.

• Commission must review the fee on January 1, 2030 and every five years thereafter, with authority to eliminate or adjust the fee amount based on inflation calculations using Denver-Aurora-Lakewood consumer price index.