COLORADO - CWPMA - COMMENTS ON PROPOSED RCG GUIDELINES AND RELATED CONSIDERATIONS

Please  accept these comments on behalf of CWPMA relative to the proposed RCG adjustments  currently in front of the committee and slated for voting  at the June 21st meeting.

While we recognize the current proposal has an adjusted increase per the presentation here: 2024 Reasonable Cost Guidelines Proposed Rate Changes - we urge the committee to consider a more substantial increase across rates up to and not to exceed a 10% adjustment.  The health and fiduciary obligation to fund solvency should be top of mind for everyone involved in the program.   That said,  recent legislative actions as well as related policy proposals have demonstrated that  it may be appropriate to enhance rates initially above a flat inflationary adjustment.  

 CWPMA was pleased to support the recent authority for Development Fund  Transfers as well as the allowance for eligibility under the $10,000 deductible after collaboration with the Department.  Further, We hope this summer to work with the Transportation  Legislative Review Committee on a proposal to update the State Fuel Testing Lab facilities.  This was an effort we attempted at the end of the session but was stalled due to politics. These recent program enhancements were based on the decades long work that owners,  responsible parties, the department and the consultants have done in reducing the frequency and severity of releases.  To that end, we also as part of this discussion, are requesting that the Department  commit to host a follow up REP meeting. The association will attend  in order to make sure that the REP program continues to to be an effective "best practices based program" which allows for increased flexibility for the people  performing the important environmental work as well as an opportunity to explore how better to improve processes and communication along with accountability. Regular REP meetings would also allow the the industry to highlight market changes in a more timely fashion than an annual RCG review.   

It may be time to put in place a clear and concrete annual inflationary adjustment with a static minimum where rates are adjusted to the index as a matter of policy.  The Association agrees that in some years of negligible  index that the reprogramming  work associated is not worth the benefit but at the minimum in any year that the index shows at least a 2.0%  increase (as an initial proposal) rates should be adjusted.  In years below 2%  consecutive years could be combined to keep up with industry standards.

CWPMA members have also raised the issue of application preparation fees with the Association and I wanted to thank the Department for engaging with us on that discussion.  At the core we want our members to be transparently paid for the work they do on behalf of the environment, the state and the operators who pay for the surcharge.  As everyone that reviews these comments knows sites can take years to fully remediate and we want to make sure that proper applicant reimbursement submittals for ongoing work are part of the equation as a reimbursable expense  outside the initial application to the fund and initial work plan approvals.  

CWPMA remains steadfast in our support of what we deem as one of the best tank programs in the country. We have a great story to tell the last 25 years which is due to the committee, the Department and the consultant community working  together for the betterment of the state.  

Thank you .

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