Draft Consumer Confidence Reports (CCRs) for 2021 have been posted and are now available at the division's consumer confidence rule website. Also, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) would like to announce the creation of the Spanish Consumer Confidence Report Template. (Please note that any additional content added to the template would need to be translated.)
In the interest of public health and to achieve environmental justice, health equity, and climate justice for all communities, CDPHE recommends as a best practice that notifications to consumers are translated into the top two languages spoken in the community. There are multiple potential data sources for making this determination, including:
- One easy-to-use source is the federal government’s Limited English Proficiency map, which makes data on the most frequently spoken languages in a community available by county. Spanish is the second-most frequently spoken language after English in all but one county in Colorado. In Dolores County, the second-most frequently spoken language is Navajo.
- More granular data for areas smaller than the county level can also be downloaded from the American Community Survey.
For systems supplying water to a large portion of Non-English speakers, Colorado’s Primary Drinking Water Regulations (Regulation 11) require that the confidence reports must include either of the following:
- (i) Information in the appropriate language(s) regarding the importance of the consumer confidence report.
- (ii) A telephone number or address where the consumer may contact the supplier to obtain a translated copy of the consumer confidence report or request assistance in the appropriate language.
Currently, CDPHE has not specified a mechanism to determine when notifications must be provided in a language other than English. Historically this determination has been left to the regulated entity to determine the applicability of this requirement. All of the draft CCRs contain a statement in Spanish indicating that the notice contains important information and that the reader, if needed, should seek assistance in having the notice translated.
The recommendation to provide information in the top two spoken languages in a community is not a regulatory requirement of Regulation 11. However, this standard is established in the State of Colorado's Environmental Justice Act - HOUSE BILL 21-1266, for certain types of information that the Air Quality Control Commission makes available to the public (please see C.R.S. 24-4-109(3)(b)(VI)).
CDPHE would also like to make you aware that the Environmental Justice Act created an Environmental Justice Action Task Force that will draft a plan and provide recommendations for environmental justice policies to the General Assembly, Governor’s Office, and CDPHE. You are welcome to provide feedback to the Environmental Justice Action Task Force. The Task Force has created four subcommittees, and the Best Practices for Community Engagement may benefit from your engagement on this topic. More information can be found on the department's environmental justice website, specifically under the EJ Unit newsletter banner and by clicking the “Environmental Justice Action Task Force” tab at the bottom of the page. You can also provide comments to the Task Force via email at any time by emailing "cdphe_ej@state.co.us" with "EJATF Comment" in the subject line of your email.
➽ Jorge Delgado, Drinking Water Compliance Unit Manager
