CWA Section 401 – Turbidity – Wetland

Enforcement Actions

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

This page contains information on the enforcement actions that the Water Quality Division may undertake, as well as a record of enforcement actions that have been undertaken by WQD.

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

Electronic Documents Submittal

Electronic document submittal is available for WQD permit applications, reports, and other communications.
Visit:  WDEQ Water Quality Division Downloads

You do NOT need to follow up the electronic submission with a hard copy submission unless you are specifically contacted by a WQD staff person with a request to do so.

Need to report a spill or complaint? Please visit https://deqspills.wyo.gov/home

Submitting a public comment? WQD is unable to accept public notice comments through this system. Refer to the public notice document for instructions on how to submit comments or visit https://wq.wyomingdeq.commentinput.com/comment/search.

NOTICE: All applications for water distribution systems and/or sewage collection systems that are within the Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities (BOPU) district shall be submitted to the BOPU for approval. Contact Frank Strong or Bryce Dorr at (307) 637-6460, ENGreview@cheyennebopu.org, or http://cheyennebopu.org for additional information.

Recent General Permit Authorizations

The DEQ Water Quality Division accepts comments on all permits authorized under a general permit for a period of 30 days, as provided for in W.S. 35-11-801(d).

Interested persons may mail or fax comments to the main Cheyenne office. The ‘Date’ column in the table below indicates the date the authorization was posted to the website. Comments must be received before 5:00 pm on the 30th day after the authorization was posted to the website. For example, comments for an authorization posted on 10/1/18 must be received by 5:00 p.m. on 10/31/18. DEQ does not accept emailed comments.

You may sort the table by posting date or search for the type of general permit, the county where the permit was issued, the permit number, or the name of the person or company to whom the permit was issued.

If you wish to review the general permit documents, please go to the web page for each permitting program:

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

Proposed Rules and Regulations

Water Quality Rules Chapter 12

The Wyoming Environmental Quality Council will consider proposed revisions to the
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Water Quality Rules Chapter 12, Design and Construction Standards for Public Water Supplies, Docket 22-3103, at a hearing to be held on November 15, 2022 in the Capitol Extension Public Meeting Room 5, Herschler Building, 122 W. 25th Street, Cheyenne, WY, 82002, starting at 9:00 a.m. (MST). The revisions include new requirements for public water supplies that propose well acidization, updates to water treatment technologies, and the incorporation by reference of the Recommended Standards for Water Works, 2018 Edition. More information is available at: https://eqc.wyo.gov/Public/Pleadings.aspx?DocketId=4336

Water Quality Rules Chapter 3

The Department of Environmental Quality has revised Water Quality Rules, Chapter 3, Regulations for Permit to Construct, Install or Modify Public Water Supplies,
Wastewater Facilities, Disposal Systems, Biosolids Management Facilities, Treated
Wastewater Reuse Systems and Other Facilities Capable of Causing or Contributing to Pollution.

The Environmental Quality Council adopted the revised rules at a public hearing located at the Capitol Extension Public Meeting Room 5, Herschler Building, 122 W. 25th Street, Cheyenne, Wyoming on June 14, 2022. The final rule was filed with the Wyoming Secretary of State on August 19, 2022.

Electronic copies of the rule are available from the Secretary of State at rules.wyo.gov , under “Current Rules,” “Environmental Quality, Dept of (020),” “Water Quality,” “Chapter 3.”

Water Quality Rules Chapter 29

The Department of Environmental Quality has created a new rule: Water Quality Rules Chapter 29, Geologic Sequestration Special Revenue Account Requirements.

The Environmental Quality Council adopted the new rule at a public hearing located at the Capitol Extension Public Meeting Room 5, Herschler Building, 122 W. 25th Street, Cheyenne, Wyoming on June 14, 2022. The final rule was filed with the Wyoming Secretary of State on August 19, 2022.

Electronic copies of the rule are available from the Secretary of State at rules.wyo.gov, under “Current Rules,” “Environmental Quality, Dept of (020),” “Water Quality,” “Chapter 29.”

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.

CWA Section 401-Turbidity-Wetland

Our team works to ensure the accuracy and quality of water data used by the agency, the federal government and by industry, businesses and individuals in Wyoming.

Above, you will find a variety of applications, Guidance procedures, Turbidity waiver, and documents containing Wetland Banking guidelines

Contact
NAME/EMAIL ADDRESSPROGRAMPHONE
David Waterstreet, Program ManagerWatershed Program307-777-6709
Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 Certification and Turbidity Waivers  
Eric Hargett (Cheyenne)CWA Section 401 Certification, Turbidity Waivers307-777-6701
Data Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC)  
Jillian Scott (Cheyenne)Data QA/QC307-777-6372
Nonpoint Source Pollution Program  
Alexandria Jeffers (Cheyenne)Nonpoint Source Program307-777-6733
Surface Water Monitoring Program  
Jeremy Zumberge, Program Supervisor (Sheridan)Surface Water Monitoring Program307-675-5638
Tavis Eddy (Lander)Surface Water Monitoring Program307-335-6957
Eric Hargett (Cheyenne)Surface Water Monitoring Program307-777-6701
Jason Martineau (Sheridan)Surface Water Monitoring Program307-675-5632
Triston Rice (Cheyenne)Surface Water Monitoring Program307-777-6353
Chad Rieger (Sheridan)Surface Water Monitoring Program307-675-5637
Michael Wachtendonk (Lander)Surface Water Monitoring Program307-335-6751
Surface Water Quality Standards  
Lindsay Patterson, Program Supervisor (Cheyenne)Surface Water Quality Standards307-777-7079
Kelsee Hurschman (Cheyenne)Surface Water Quality Standards, Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms307-777-2073
Madeleine Hamel (Cheyenne)Surface Water Quality Standards, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)307-777-7050
Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Program  
Ron Steg, Program Lead (Lander)Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)307-335-6980
Bret Callaway (Cheyenne)Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)307-777-5802
Water Quality Lab  
Steve Vien, Lab Supervisor (Cheyenne)Water Quality Lab307-777-7654
Alexandra Cook (Cheyenne)Water Quality Lab307-777-7151
Marisa Latady (Cheyenne)Water Quality Lab307-777-6783
Vacant (Cheyenne)Water Quality Lab307-777-3770
Applications

This page contains downloadable application forms pertaining to Turbidity – Wetland. 

Guidance

This page contains a variety of Guidance documents that explain procedures for Turbidity and Wetland Banking. 

Turbidity

Temporary Turbidity Waiver. Wyoming’s Water Quality Rules and Regulations, Chapter 1, Wyoming Surface Water Quality Standards, include turbidity criteria for waters designated as fisheries and/or drinking water supplies. Any type of construction activity within these streams is likely to result in exceedances of these criteria.  In accordance with Section 23(c)(ii) of Chapter 1, the administrator of the WQD may authorize temporary increases in turbidity above the numeric criteria in Section 23(a) in response to an individual application for a specific activity. In circumstances where a project has the potential to exceed the turbidity criteria, a waiver is recommended. An application must be submitted and a waiver approved by the administrator before work begins. This process generally takes about 30 days. Please contact Eric Hargett (307-777-6701) for more information.

Turbidity is an important test for water quality that falls under the Watershed Protection Program’s jurisdiction. See above for Applications for the Turbidity Waiver Application; and Guidance  for instructions on how to fill out the application.

Wetland Banking

In 1991, the Wyoming Legislature passed the Wyoming Wetlands Act. The Act was further amended and refined in 1994. The purpose of the statute is to establish a statewide wetland mitigation bank to improve the administration of wetland protection, permitting and restoration programs in the state.

This includes the operation of the statewide wetland bank and the procedures for establishing accounts and depositing and withdrawing wetland credits.

State Wetland Bank 

The state wetland bank provides essentially the same services as any other bank. The currency of the bank, however, is "wetland credits" rather than money. Any person who has earned a credit can deposit it in the bank until it is needed to pay off a wetland debt (mitigation).

One notable exception is that loans from the bank are not possible. Withdrawals are available only to credit holders and are limited to the actual amount and type of credit recorded.

Criteria

The options made possible by the wetland bank are available to both public and private entities. Any individual landowner, organization or public agency can earn credits for wetland creation, restoration or enhancement.

Once the credits are recorded in the bank, they can be withdrawn by the owner or transferred to another party to meet mitigation requirements. The State of Wyoming, through DEQ, will maintain all bank records and produce periodic reports concerning wetland gains and losses and credit and debit transactions for each account.

Additional Resources

Please review our guidelines describing the operation of the statewide bank, the procedures for establishing accounts and depositing and withdrawing wetland credits. If you would like to submit an application, please follow the instructions attached with the form.