Colorado Statewide Rule
Colorado Floodplain Designation Law (C.R.S. 37-60-106)
Key Facts
- Statute
- C.R.S. 37-60-106(1)(c)
- Agency
- Colorado Water Conservation Board
- Standard
- 100-year regulatory flood
- Rules
- 2 CCR 408-1 floodplain rules
- Permit
- Local floodplain development permit
Summary
Colorado's Water Conservation Board is the state authority that designates and approves storm and floodwater runoff channels and basins under C.R.S. 37-60-106(1)(c), then hands those maps to cities, towns, and counties that set floodplain zoning and permit rules.
(c) To devise and formulate methods, means, and plans for bringing about the greater utilization of the waters of the state and the prevention of flood damages therefrom, and to designate and approve storm or floodwater runoff channels or basins, and to make such designations available to legislative bodies of cities and incorporated towns, to county planning commissions, and to boards of adjustment of cities, incorporated towns, and counties of this state;
Full Breakdown
The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB), within the Department of Natural Resources, carries a statutory duty under C.R.S. 37-60-106(1)(c) to designate and approve floodwater runoff channels or basins and make those designations available to municipal and county governing bodies. Colorado uses the 100-year (intermediate regional) flood as its regulatory standard, and the CWCB's Rules and Regulations for Regulatory Floodplains (2 CCR 408-1) set the technical criteria local governments must meet. A city or county cannot adopt floodplain zoning along a runoff channel until the CWCB has designated and approved it. Once designated, building in the mapped floodplain requires a local floodplain development permit.
Violations & Penalties
Building or filling in a CWCB-designated floodplain without the required local floodplain development permit exposes owners to stop-work orders, removal of noncompliant structures, and loss of federal flood insurance eligibility under the community's NFIP participation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who designates floodplains in Colorado?
Do I need a permit to build near a Colorado floodplain?
Sources
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