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The Colorado State Plumbing Board met today, July 10, 2024, to consider recent changes in statute related to House Bill 24-1344 (HB24-1344), including the Plumbing Practice Act and the Water Quality Control Commission's Regulation 11.
House Bill 24-1344 made a number of updates to the Plumbing Practice Act. Most significantly, amendments added to HB24-1344 during the legislative process now permit only licensed plumbers to install, inspect, test, repair, and remove backflow prevention devices. This change was not included in the recommendations in the sunset report prepared by the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA). The purpose of the emergency meeting was to consider to what extent backflow devices are subject to Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) regulations and are not subject to the Plumbing Practice Act. Additionally, DORA and CDPHE have received general inquiries from the public and industry about the technical aspects of the policy change and the timing and process of implementation.
During the emergency meeting, the Colorado State Plumbing Board passed the following policy (Policy 1.3):
Pursuant to sections 12-155-103(8)(b) and 12-155-118(6), C.R.S., installations, extensions, improvements, remodeling, additions, and alterations in water and sewer systems that might otherwise fall into the definition of plumbing are explicitly exempted from regulation by the Board if they are either (1) owned or acquired by counties, cities, towns, or water and sewer districts or (2) performed by contractors employed by counties, cities, towns, or water and sewer districts that connect to the plumbing system within a property line, but outside of the five-foot from the foundation threshold to the property line established in section 12-155-103(8)(a), C.R.S.
Therefore, the Board finds that the installation, removal, inspecting, testing, and repairing of backflow prevention devices in these circumstances do not fall within the definition of plumbing, are not regulated by the Board, and do not require a license as set forth in section 12-155-118(4), C.R.S.
As part of implementation of this bill, the Board will engage in rulemaking. Rulemaking works to clarify the law. All rulemaking includes a stakeholder process where members of the public will be able to provide comments. That implementation process will take place in the coming months and the law will not fully be implemented until early 2025. To sign up to receive notifications of rulemaking and stakeholder input opportunities, please fill out this form.
The Colorado State Plumbing Board will hold an additional emergency meeting in the coming days. During this meeting, the Board will consider additional actions related to this law including CDPHE’s request for the Board’s discretion related to enforcement until the implementation process is complete.
For questions related to the Plumbing Practice Act, please contact: dora_plumbingboard@state.co.us.
For questions on backflow prevention, please contact: cdphe_wqcd_fss_questions@state.co.us.
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