Determination of Management and Operating Agencies (DMOAs)

The designation of management and operating agencies in the Larimer- Weld Region has a long and complex history, and it has been affected by various statutes, regulations, and policies of the federal and state governments and our regional areawide planning agency. A brief summary and listing of citations for that history follow.

• The Federal Clean Water Act, originally passed in 1972 and last amended in 1987, in Section 208 (c) (1) and (2), (copy attached) authorizes and describes the process for the designation of waste treatment management agencies. The Act does not use the term "operating agency".
• The Colorado Water Quality Control Commission Policy #98-2, "Guide to Colorado Programs for Water Quality Management and Safe Drinking Water" approved in August 2013, makes reference to management and operating agencies. The document describes the two types of agencies and their responsibilities and indicates that general local purpose governments are preferable as management agencies because coordinating point source, nonpoint source, and planning decisions can be vested in one entity.
• The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Regulation No. 22, Regulations for the Site Application Process on page 3 defines for its purposes a "Management Agency" and a "Municipality". The key phrase, in the definition of "Management Agency" is "...appropriately designated by the governor, in accordance with Section 208...". Also, the regulation provides for the opportunity to review and comment on any site application for a new modified, or expanded treatment works by the Management Agency.
• The Larimer - Weld Regional C.O.G. adopted in 1984 a comprehensive update of its 208 Plan which designated responsible management and operating agencies in Chapter III. Pages III-1 thru III-4 discussed the history of the designations in the original 1978 208 Plan and the definitions of and distinctions between management and operating agencies. Page III-7 and page III-10 further described the roles and responsibilities of the two types of agencies, and pages III-11 and III-12 listed the designated agencies of each type.