Site Characterization

Enforcement Actions

The DEQ undertakes enforcement actions to preserve safe environmental conditions throughout Wyoming. 

This page contains information on the enforcement actions that the Solid and Hazardous Waste Division may undertake, as well as a record of enforcement actions that have been undertaken by SHWD.

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Electronic Document Submittal

In response to the Governor's request to limit contact and the move toward most WDEQ staff working remotely for the near future, the Solid and Hazardous Waste Division (SHWD) have made electronic document submittal available. This includes work plans, reports, general correspondence and Solid Waste permit applications. Electronic submittal forms are now available for SHWD programs. Please choose the appropriate form from the list of links below to upload documents. If submitted electronically, no hardcopy is required to be submitted unless you are contacted by SHWD staff with a request to submit the hard copy. Please note that SHWD is unable to accept comments on documents in public notice via these forms. Please refer to the public notice for instructions on how to submit comments.   

Hazardous Waste, Voluntary Remediation, Orphan Site Programs 
 https://bit.ly/WDEQ-SHWD-HW-VRP-upload  

Solid Waste Permitting & Corrective Action Program                      
 
Proposed Rules and Regulations

This page contains any proposed Rules or Regulations that are currently under development within the Solid and Hazardous Waste Division. 

Hazardous Waste Rules, Chapter 1

The Hazardous Waste Rules, Chapter 1, General Provisions were adopted and filed with the Wyoming Secretary of State on April 7, 2022.  See https://rules.wyo.gov/.

Solid Waste

The Solid Waste Permitting and Corrective Action Program is conducting a public outreach on proposed revisions to the Solid Waste Rules Chapter 3 Industrial Landfills Regulations.

Rules and Regulations

All official Wyoming State Rules and Regulations are kept at the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office. Click here to view all current Rules and Regulations.

Site Characterization

Site characterization is a set of site-specific activities designed to identify and understand contaminants and contaminant sources at a site.  

All sites in the VRP require site characterization, which helps ensure:   

  • Adequate and appropriate information is available to support selection and implementation of remedial actions.
  • The level of detail is commensurate with the complexity of the site and/or release in question.
Performance Criteria and Information Gathering
  • Site characterization involves undertaking the following activities to support identification of a site-specific remedy: 

    • Data and information gathering
    • Development of a Site Conceptual Model
    • Preparation of a Site Characterization Work Plan

    DEQ will evaluate the adequacy of site characterization using performance criteria and good engineering and geological practices. 

    Site characterization performance criteria are drawn from the requirements for preliminary remediation agreements (Factsheet #21 Remedy Selection) and the VRP cleanup standards (see Factsheet #12 Soil Cleanup Levels and Factsheet #13 Groundwater Cleanup Levels).

Site Conceptual Model
  • A site conceptual model is a description of the surface and subsurface of a site and the site environmental setting. This description includes the following: 

    • Containment sources
    • Release mechanisms
    • Migration routes
    • Potential human and ecological receptors
    • Exposure pathways

    A Volunteer should create the site conceptual model early in the process using known information about the site and then update it as site characterization moves forward.

    The Site Conceptual Model organizes site information in a way that highlights data gaps and focuses site characterization activities.

Site Characterization Work Plans

General expectations for site characterization are negotiated in a preliminary remediation agreement. From there, specific activities are developed in a site-specific characterization work plan that is submitted by the Volunteer for DEQ review and approval.  

Site characterization work plans describe the site conceptual model and the specific activities required to complete site characterization, which include:

  • Data quality objectives, such as the specific purpose of any sampling proposed and how the data generated will be used
  • A Volunteer’s plan to ensure data quality
  • Sampling and analytical methods
  • Plans to protect workers and the public from hazards through a site-specific health safety plan
  • A Volunteer’s report to document site characterization activities

For more detailed information, please refer to Factsheet #8 Site Characterization.
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Contact
 
VRP/HWCA Program Manager
Ben Luckey
200 W. 17th Street, 2nd Floor
Cheyenne, WY 82002  
307-777-5617
 
Cindi Martinez
Brownfields and Orphan Sites Remediation Program Supervisor
200 W. 17th Street, 2nd Floor
Cheyenne, WY 82002
307-777-2948
Announcements

Please see the documents below for information on Voluntary Remediation Program activities: 

Additional Information

This tab contains a variety of additional information and resources pertaining to the Voluntary Remediation Program. Click through the links to access this information. 

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Public Participation

The Voluntary Remediation Program establishes two unique avenues for public participation:

  1. Initial Notice Regarding Acceptance into the VRP
    Volunteers must mail a letter to owners of property adjacent to the site notifying the owners of the potential contamination. This letter also must provide instructions for comments and to request a public participation plan (see Fact Sheet #2 for a description of a public participation plan - needs link).

    Volunteers must publish a display ad for four consecutive weeks in a newspaper with general circulation in the county where the site is located.

  2. Notice Regarding the Proposed Adoption of a Remedy Agreement
    Volunteers must mail a second letter to owners of property adjacent to the site notifying the owners of the proposed remedy along with instructions for how to make comments or to request a public hearing.

    Volunteers must also publish a display ad for four consecutive weeks in a newspaper with general circulation in the county where the site is located.

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Site Lists

This tab contains content and information about the Voluntary Remediation Program sites around Wyoming. There are currently over 200 sites in the VRP, and new Volunteers are entering the program and beginning cleanup at their sites.
To see the interactive VRP GIS-based Flex Viewer, click here. An updated static map and a User's Guide for the Flex Viewer will be available soon.

To view a detailed VRP site list that includes locations with Institutional Controls please see the list below. This list provides specific information about each VRP site, including:

  • Volunteer names
  • Site locations
  • Dates that the sites entered the program and finalized a preliminary remediation agreement or remedy agreement

If the download box is not working below, please click here.

Success Stories

The SHWD Voluntary Remediation Program has enabled the successful cleanup and restoration of contaminated lands in a number of communities around Wyoming. The impacts made through the VRP are not only enduring for these communities – they're also achieved through economically feasible practices that encourage the long-term, productive usage of these lands. 

Browse through the following stories to learn more about the program's established successes.

Jackson Hole VRP Site

The Jackson Hole Mountain Resort maintenance shop was a classic brownfield site. A developer was interested in purchasing this property and turning it into a world-class hotel complex. However, potential environmental issues presented an obstacle for obtaining financing for the hotel complex.

The VRP worked diligently with the environmental consultant and the developer to move the site through the independent cleanup process (ICP). Earlier site investigations, combined with soil removals, revealed no remaining environmental concerns; therefore, the VRP was able to provide the environmental liability assurances necessary to secure funding for the purchase of the property and construction of the hotel complex. Today, in the place where a small maintenance shop once stood, a beautiful four-star hotel and condominium complex rest in the shadow of the beautiful Teton Mountains near Jackson Hole.

City of Evanston VRP Site

In 1972, the Union Pacific Railroad gifted the City of Evanston with the historical Roundhouse and Railyard Complex, which is also located in Evanston. The buildings, soils, and groundwater on the site were contaminated with a variety of organic and inorganic contaminants.

The City of Evanston, in an effort to remediate and restore this site, applied and was accepted into the DEQ's VRP on February 4, 2003. VRP staff worked extensively with the City of Evanston to evaluate and identify different options for addressing the contamination that were protective of human health and the environment and were cost effective and economically feasible. In addition, VRP staff worked with the City of Evanston to help identify potential funding sources for remediation and restoration efforts. In 2006, DEQ determined that the Roundhouse and Railyard Complex met the definition of a brownfield and that the City of Evanston was a favorable candidate to receive Brownfields Cleanup Assistance.

The City of Evanston is using a phased approach to remediate and restore the site. The first phase has focused on cleaning up and restoring the historic machine shop, and constructing a paved parking lot and pedestrian plaza. The machine shop and parking lot are completed and the pedestrian plaza is underway. The Brownfields Cleanup Assistance was used for the cleanup of the parking lot area. The next phase (2) will focus on remediation and restoration of the Roundhouse and surrounding area. The City of Evanston is currently pursuing additional funding sources to help with Phase 2.

Once cleaned up and renovated, the Roundhouse and Railyard Complex will provide a tremendous revitalization focus for downtown Evanston and a significant economic benefit for the community.