EPA agrees with DEQ analysis and approves aquifer exemption

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.

Trade Secret Confidentiality Requests

Entities requesting permits from the DEQ are required to provide detailed descriptions of the activities or processes involved, so the DEQ may evaluate compliance with standards to protect public health and the natural resources of the state. These descriptions often include information that is considered "trade secrets" or proprietary by the entity. The DEQ must balance the obligation to keep confidential any trade secrets or proprietary information disclosed during the permitting process with the obligation to comply with the Wyoming Public Records Act (W.S. 16-4-203(d)) and Wyoming Environmental Quality Act (W.S. 35-11-1101(a)).

The following checklist has been developed for submitting requests to keep documents containing "trade secrets" confidential. The checklist summarizes the trade secret confidentiality issue in the State of Wyoming and refers to three documents that provide guidance for such requests:

  1. seminal August 29, 2011 letter from former DEQ Director John Corra to a member of industry describing the components of a trade secret confidentiality request and the extent to which the DEQ will be able to keep this information confidential. These concepts are reiterated and refined in the checklist
  2. An excerpt from the Wyoming Supreme Court’s March 2014 decision in Powder River Basin Res. Council v. Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Comm’n., 320 P.3d 222 (Wyo. 2014), adopting the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) definition of “trade secrets.” 
  3. 40 C.F.R. § 2.208 lists additional criteria that must be met in order for information to be considered a “trade secret.”

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This week, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that they have approved WDEQ’s aquifer exemption request associated with Linc Energy’s coal gasification pilot project in Campbell County.

“The request meets the regulatory requirements,” said EPA in a recent statement.


“I’m pleased that EPA’s scientists arrived at the same conclusions that we did,” said Kevin Frederick, Water Quality Administrator.  “Namely, that the portion of the Wyodak aquifer associated with the project met the federal requirements for exemption because it doesn’t serve as a source of drinking water and the coal is expected to be commercially producible.”


After an extensive analysis, the DEQ Land Quality Division approved a Research and Development License for Linc’s coal gasification project in 2013. Part of the R & D License requires an aquifer exemption by EPA.

Underground coal gasification is the process of converting coal into syngas.

According to EPA, “the inward hydraulic flow maintained during gasification and restoration, Linc’s planned engineering controls required by it’s permit, and the monitoring plan… demonstrate that the surrounding USDWs (Underground Sources of Drinking Waters) will be protected.”


“It’s encouraging to see that the EPA and DEQ, after conducting independent reviews of the scientific information and public comments, have come to the same conclusions,” said Todd Parfitt, DEQ Director. “EPA and DEQ both agree that the proposed aquifer exemption will meet the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act.”

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