State Plumbing Board adopts proposal as interim solution
Denver (July 17, 2024): The Colorado State Plumbing Board convened an emergency meeting today in response to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s request to prioritize public health by delaying disciplinary actions against certified technicians who inspect, test, and repair backflow prevention devices but do not have a plumber’s license. Backflow prevention devices prevent contaminated water from flowing backward into clean water supplies and are essential for ensuring that drinking water remains safe from pollutants and contaminants.
Among other updates to the Plumbing Practice Act, HB24-1344 – Sunset Plumbing Board – included a change that will require licensed plumbers to inspect, test, and repair backflow prevention devices, tasks that certified cross-connection control technicians previously performed.
“Without technicians on the ground doing inspections, tests, and repairs, we run the risk of a backlog that could endanger public health,” said Jill Hunsaker Ryan, CDPHE executive director. “I am grateful that the State Plumbing Board was able to use its enforcement discretion to give us time to work with the General Assembly on a long-term solution. Certified cross-connection control technicians play a vital role in safeguarding the health and safety of Coloradans by protecting our water systems and preventing contaminants from compromising our clean drinking water. We must allow them to continue their important work to avoid a service backlog.”
During today’s meeting, the State Plumbing Board agreed that certified cross-connection control technicians would not be subject to discipline for inspecting, testing, and repairing backflow prevention devices through April 1, 2025. The Board made this decision by exercising its enforcement discretion during the implementation period of this statutory change.
This timing also allows the General Assembly the ability to hear from all stakeholders and reconsider this issue and its implications for public health during the 2025 legislative session. The state will support additional work with stakeholders toward an agreement that allows certified cross-connection control technicians to do the critical work they were doing prior to the passage of HB24-1344.
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