Reimbursement Program

Public entities, political subdivisions of the state, or units of local government may claim reimbursement of costs related to the response to a hazardous substance incident.  The Hazardous Material Section of the Colorado State Patrol has developed specific guidelines in order to meet the law and assure that the best documentation for a claim is sent to insurance companies.  It is essential that you read all of the documents on this page.  You will be given an opportunity to download all of the documents on this page in one packet.

The first criteria that must be met is whether or not your agency/company qualifies to submit a request for reimbursement through the Designated Emergency Response Authority (DERA).  Then, you must determine who the DERA is for your response in a jurisdiction.

• Colorado Revised Statutes 29-22-102- Designated Emergency Response Authority (DERA)

  • ​For instance, if your agency assisted the CSP who is the DERA, then you may request reimbursement through the CSP using the "Assisting Agency Guidelines" document below. 

  • Otherwise, utilizing these statutes and regulations, the DERA for your jurisdiction may request reimbursement directly from the responsible party's insurance company.  Because of the thoroughness of the "Guidelines for Jurisdiction Designated DERA by Ordinance or Resolution" document, please consider using it as a template for your direct request.  

  • If you have questions about DERA, please contact Captain John Hahn, john.hahn@state.co.us

Once you determine that you can make a request and through whom, there are abundant details which must be reported in your request for reimbursement.  For complete program details please reference the following links: 

• Colorado Revised Statutes 29-22-104 - Right to claim reimbursement - rules

• Colorado Revised Statutes 29-22-105 - Additional reimbursement for costs of assistance -subrogation of rights -recovery of reimbursements by attorney general

• Code of Colorado Regulations - 8 CCR 1507-22: Rules and Regulations Concerning Claims for Reimbursement for the Costs of Handling Hazardous Substance Incidents

• Allowable Costs have been established by FEMA and can be found in their federal regulation:  44 CFR 206.228.   

  • Annually, FEMA publishes a schedule of rates that can be used to be in compliance with their regulation:  FEMA Schedule of Equipment Rates ,

Reimbursement Program Guidelines have been developed to mirror the statutes and regulations in order to assure completeness in your request for reimbursement whether you are submitting it through the Colorado State Patrol or directly to the insurance company through your jurisdiction's DERA. In addition to the Guidelines, your packet will include all of statutes and regulations mentioned on this page.

Because these guidance packets closely reflect the state statues and regulations, we don't anticipate that you will have questions. However, you are most welcome to contact our staff:

• Martha Wamsley, martha.wamsley@state.co.us or 303-273-1900. 

In addition to confirming with you that you have followed everything on this page, our staff can share with you the lessons learned in this important and underutilized program. There is no way to determine the increasing effectiveness of this program when DERA jurisdictions seek direct reimbursement. But, we can tell you that first time submission approvals of the requests through our agency as the DERA keep increasing!

Additional Resources for local governments is available through the EPA Local Governments Reimbursement Program

In the event of a release (or threatened release) of hazardous substances, EPA may reimburse local governments for expenses related to the release and associated emergency response measures. The Local Governments Reimbursement (LGR) Program provides a "safety net" of up to $25,000 per incident to local governments that do not have funds available to pay for response actions.

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