By Kimberly Mazza
WYOMING – The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Solid Waste Program held a first-of-its-kind workshop in Cheyenne, Wyo recently. Though the Solid Waste Program has held several workshops in the past, this was the first time that the Program partnered with another DEQ Division. In this training, the DEQ’s Air Quality Division (AQD ) was invited to discuss its permitting and regulations as they apply to landfills.
The training was held both in person and virtually. The 38 attendees spanned the state representing Laramie, Sweetwater, Teton, Uinta, Park, Albany, Natrona, Sheridan, and Johnson Counties.
Title V Air Permit Engineer Daney Brauchie, and Compliance District 1 Engineer Brian Bohlmann represented the DEQ’s AQD and covered topics in their presentations that included Title V permitting, smoke management, open burning, petroleum contaminated soils, and flare capture and control systems.
The Solid Waste Program falls under the Solid and Hazardous Waste Division (SHWD) and ensures that all solid waste be disposed of, treated or recycled at designated facilities approved by both the SHWD and the local governing body with jurisdiction in which the facility is located. The Program oversees solid waste facilities by issuing permits, assisting with design, construction, operation, monitoring compliance and assisting with corrective actions for environmental releases from landfills.
In 2022, DEQ’s Solid Waste Program held its first free training. The topic was Dead Animal Composting. Due to its successful outcomes, the Solid Waste Program decided to expand to four training courses in 2023 – Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Operator/Manager, Dead Animal Composting, Filling out the Annual Report, and the State Guaranteed Trust Informational Webinar. To continue to meet the needs of the solid waste community, the Solid Waste Program sent out an online survey earlier in 2024 asking for industry input. The top two suggestions were Air Quality Permitting – specifically Title V, and Transfer Station Operation/Management.
Upcoming trainings will be MSW Landfill Operator and Manager Exam Review and the Transfer Station Operation and Management Exam Review, which will be held at the Wyoming Solid Waste and Recycling Association Annual Conference in Casper, August 29. These courses will be “in-person” only. The last 2024 training will be November 7, both in person and online, and will offer the Transfer Station Operation and Management Exam Review.
For more information and to register, visit the DEQ’s website/ Solid and Hazardous Waste Division/Solid Waste Program/Training page at https://deq.wyoming.gov/shwd/solid-waste/.