Colorado Revised Statutes Title 29. Government Local § 29-22-101. Definitions

(2)(a) “Hazardous substance incident” means any emergency circumstance involving the sudden discharge of a hazardous substance which threatens immediate and irreparable harm to the environment or the health and safety of any individual other than individuals exposed to the risks associated with hazardous substances in the normal course of their employment. “Hazardous substance incident” includes those incidents of spilling, dumping, or abandonment of a hazardous substance, whether or not such spilling, dumping, or abandonment is found to threaten immediate and irreparable harm, but such term does not include any discharge of a hazardous substance authorized pursuant to any federal, state, or local law or regulation. “Hazardous substance incident” includes those incidents which occur during transportation of a hazardous substance, in which a spill does not occur during the incident but is threatened prior to or during the cleanup period.

(b) As used in this section, “abandonment” means the act of leaving a thing with the intent not to retain possession of or assert ownership or control over it. The intent need not coincide with the act of leaving.