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:

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Proposed Rules and Regulations

The Water Quality Division will present proposed revisions to Water Quality Rules Chapter 1, Wyoming Surface Water Quality Standards; and Chapter 2, Permit Regulations for Discharges to Wyoming Surface Waters to the Water and Waste Advisory Board at their June 13, 2024 meeting, starting at 9:00 a.m. The proposed revisions to Chapter 1 (1) fulfill the federal requirements at 40 CFR § 131.20, (2) restructure and align requirements with state law and federal law, regulations, and guidance; (3) revise designated uses and remove the designated use classification system; and (4) provide minor updates to specific water quality criteria. The proposed revisions to Chapter 2 (1) update references to the designated use classification system to reflect proposed revisions to Chapter 1; and (2) incorporate provisions related to fish toxicants, aquatic pesticides, and short-term sediment disturbance that Water Quality Division proposes to move from Chapter 1 to Chapter 2. More information is available at: http://deq.wyoming.gov/shwd/wwab/ under the “Upcoming Meeting” tab

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.

Class VI

Class VI Carbon Capture, Utilization & Storage (CCUS) refers to the process in which carbon is captured from industrial processes and either utilized by turning the carbon into a new product or stored by injecting the carbon into a storage site, usually underground in a geologic formation.

For more information on how to apply for a Class VI permit, please review the Class VI Injection Wells and Facilities Underground Injection Control Program Informational Program Packet located in the ‘Forms and Guidance’ tab above.

Forms are also available for:

  • Informational Meeting
  • Site Characterization
  • Pre-application Meeting
  • Permit Application Part 1
  • Permit Application Part 2 (a WordVersion is available upon request)
  • Depth Waiver Form
  • Expansion of the Areal Extent of a Class II Aquifer Exemption
Contact

Questions regarding Class VI wells and the permitting process, or to request a Word version of the Permit Application Part 2:

Lily R. Barkau, P.G. 
(307) 777-7072 
lily.barkau@wyo.gov

Forms and Guidance

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Permit Applications

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Applicant: Frontier Carbon Solutions
Applicant: Frontier Carbon Solutions, LLC
Project Name: Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub
Status: Issued December 14, 2023
 

Applicant: North Shore Exploration and Production

Applicant: North Shore Exploration and Production, LLC
Project Name: Painter Reservoir CCS1
Received: December 1, 2021
Status: Denied
File: Permit Denial November 30, 2023

Applicant: Tallgrass

Applicant: Tallgrass
Project Name: Eastern Wyoming Sequestration Hub
Received: December 21, 2023
Status: Under Review
File:

Applicant: Tallgrass
Project Name: Eastern Wyoming Sequestration Hub
Received: December 6, 2023
Status: Under Review
File:

Applicant: Tallgrass
Project Name: Eastern Wyoming Sequestration Hub
Received: December 6, 2023
Status: Under Review
File:

Applicant: Tallgrass
Project Name: Eastern Wyoming Sequestration Hub
Received: December 6, 2023
Status: Under Review
File: 

Applicant: Tallgrass 
Project Name: Eastern Wyoming Sequestration Hub
Received: March 29, 2023
Status: Under Review
File:

Applicant: Tallgrass
Project Name: Eastern Wyoming Sequestration Hub
Received: December 12, 2023
Status: Under Review
File: 

What is a Class VI Well?

A well that is used for injecting a carbon dioxide stream for geological sequestration that:

  • Is not experimental in nature and injects a carbon dioxide stream for geological sequestration, beneath the lowermost formation containing an underground source of drinking water. 
Geologic Sequestration

Wyoming Environmental Quality Act and Industrial Development Information and Siting Act (2020 Edition) 35-11-103:

  • (xx) “Geologic sequestration” means the injection of carbon dioxide and associated constituents into subsurface geologic formations intended to prevent its release into the atmosphere;
  • (xxi) “Geologic sequestration site” means the underground geologic formations where the carbon dioxide is intended to be stored;
  • (xxii) “Geologic sequestration facilities” means the surface equipment used for transport, storage and injection of carbon dioxide.

Carbon sequestration permit requirements and Unitization are outlined in 35-11-313 through 35- 11-317

Water Quality Rules Chapter 24. Section 2(v) “Geologic sequestration project” means an injection well or wells used to emplace a carbon dioxide stream into an injection zone for geologic sequestration. It includes the subsurface three-dimensional extent of the carbon dioxide plume. associated pressure front. and displaced fluid. as well as the surface area above that delineated region.

Permitting Process

The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality implements the Underground Injection Control Class VI Program. Water Quality Rules, Chapter 24 outlines the permitting requirements for Class VI wells.

The following is the permitting, operating and closure process for a Class VI well in Wyoming:

Primacy

Section 1421 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SOWA) requires the US EPA to develop UIC program requirements that protect underground sources of drinking water. Primary enforcement authority, often called primacy, refers to state, territory or tribal responsibilities associated with implementing US EPA approved UIC programs. Primacy programs are established under Section 1422 and 1425 of the SDWA. Wyoming received primacy over Class I through V in 1983. The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality received primacy over Class VI wells on September 3. 2020. Wyoming is one of two states to have received primacy for implementing the Class VI program; the other is North Dakota.

Wyoming’s primacy documents can be found here:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/10/09/2020-20544/wyoming-underground-injection- control-program -class-vi-primacy