Via Kristine from June 28, 2009: In Colorado, the old law created a kind of wink-and-nod shadow economy. Rain equipment could be legally sold, but retailers said they knew better than to ask what the buyer intended to do with the product. “It’s like being able to sell things like smoking paraphernalia even though smoking pot is illegal,” said Laurie E. Dickson, who for years sold barrel-and-hose systems from a shop in downtown Durango. State water officials acknowledged that they rarely enforced the old law. With the new laws, the state created a system of fines for rain catchers without a permit; previously the only option was to shut a collector down. But Kevin Rein, Colorado’s assistant state engineer, said enforcement would focus on people who violated water rules on a large scale. “It’s not going to be a situation where we’re sending out people to look in backyards,” Mr. Rein said. Science has also stepped forward to underline how incorrect the old sweeping legal generalizations were. A study in 2007 proved crucial to convincing Colorado lawmakers that rain catching would not rob water owners of their rights.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Jun 2013 01:25:02 +0000