DEQ awards annual coal reclamation award to Black Thunder Mine

By Kimberly Mazza CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) recently awarded the 2023 Excellence in Mining Reclamation Award for coal to Black Thunder Mine for obtaining Area and Phase 1 Bond Release across reclaimed areas in 2022. DEQ presents the Excellence in Mining Reclamation Awards to Wyoming coal and noncoal mine operators […]

WYPDES Compliance/Enforcement  named DEQ Team of the Year

Pictured from left: WQD Administrator Jennifer Zygmunt, Brad Kniss, Katherine McCrea, Kevin Campbell, and DEQ Director Todd Parfitt. By Kimberly Mazza CHEYENNE – The Water Quality Division Wyoming Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WYPDES) Compliance and Enforcement Team was named the 2022 Team of the Year on June 5, 2023, for the Wyoming Department of Environmental […]

DEQ Works with Partners to Address Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms

HCBs at Alcova Reservoir By Kimberly Mazza CHEYENNE, Wyo – Since 2017, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has worked with cooperators to improve our understanding of harmful cyanobacterial blooms in Wyoming waterbodies for the wellbeing of the public. Harmful cyanobacterial blooms, also known as HCBs, blooms, or blue-green algae are dense accumulations of cyanobacteria […]

Notice to Avoid and Report Possible Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms in Wyoming Waters

CHEYENNE, Wyo – With summer nearly upon us and more people heading to Wyoming’s lakes and reservoirs to recreate, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Wyoming Department of Health (WDH), Wyoming Livestock Board (WLB), and local, state, and federal partners want to remind the public to avoid and keep animals away from harmful cyanobacterial […]

Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Air Quality Division Nationally Recognized

By Kimberly Mazza CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Air Quality Division (AQD) has been recognized in the newly released 2023 edition of “State Air Trends & Successes: The StATS Report.”  The annual publication, which has been issued by the Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies (AAPCA) since April 2017, looks at […]

March 13th is Know Your Well Day

By Kimberly Mazza In recognition of the importance of groundwater to the citizens of the state and in conjunction with the National Groundwater Association “Groundwater Awareness Week”, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Water Quality Division (WQD) has designated March 13th as “Know Your Well Day.” Over 72 percent of Wyoming’s population relies on groundwater […]

DEQ Honors Mining Industry in Wyoming

DEQ Honors Mining Industry in Wyoming By Kimberly Mazza CHEYENNE – Today, December 6 is National Miner’s Day 2022.  As one of Wyoming’s founding industries and historically rooted in the state’s culture and economy, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) would like to honor our Wyoming miners and acknowledge the continued impact of Wyoming’s […]

Over 3,000 Sagebrush Seedlings Planted this year.

LANDER – “The sagebrush planting went great,” stated Josh Oakleaf, Project Manager and VegetationCoordinator with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Abandoned Mine Lands (DEQ-AML) Division. Oakleaf was referring to the AML Native Plants Project (NPP) fall planting, which is a partnership createdin 2016 by the DEQ-AML Division and the Bureau of Lander Management AML […]

Risks Associated with Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms (HCBs) Continue Despite Cooler Temperatures

CHEYENNE, Wyo – Although fewer people are recreating in Wyoming’s lakes and reservoirs this fall as water and air temperatures decrease, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ), Wyoming Department of Health (WDH), Wyoming Livestock Board (WLB), Wyoming Department of Agriculture, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Wyoming State Parks, and United States Forest Service want […]