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Groundwater

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.

Groundwater

The WQD Groundwater Program works to protect and preserve Wyoming’s groundwater by permitting facilities to prevent contamination, and investigating and cleaning up known releases.

The Groundwater Section includes the Underground Injection Control (UIC) program that permits the discharge of wastewater effluent, in-situ uranium processing waste and oilfield waste into subsurface geologic formations. These permits contain limits on the quality of the discharge based on aquifer or groundwater conditions and standards, and establish self-monitoring and reporting requirements for the permittees.

In addition to the UIC program, the Groundwater Section is responsible for developing groundwater classifications for exemption of aquifers impacted by in-situ uranium mining operations, overseeing groundwater investigations, implementing the division’s ambient groundwater monitoring program, administering the division’s groundwater data management system and overseeing the cleanup of legacy groundwater contaminated sites such as at historic spill sites and Department of Defense cleanup of Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS), such as the former Atlas Missile Sites in Laramie and Platte counties. 

Federal Facilities

The Federal Facilities team works with the Federal Government to clean up soil or groundwater contamination at active or decommissioned federal properties, such as the Atlas D Missile Site 4.

Groundwater Pollution Control (GPC)

The GPC Program evaluates potential impacts to the groundwaters of the State by activities permitted at the local, state, or federal level.

Know Your Well

The Know Your Well Program helps private well owners learn more about their drinking water wells and how to protect their water supply.  If you have a question regarding private water wells, including permits and construction, please contact the Wyoming State Engineer’s Office at 307-777-6150.

Underground Injection Control (UIC)

The UIC Program is responsible for regulating and permitting the construction, operation and closure of facilities that dispose of or store non-hazardous materials below ground.

Contact
Contact
NAMEPROGRAMSPHONE
Lily BarkauGroundwater Section Manager Cheyenne(307)777-7072
Nicole TwingGround Section Geology Supervisor, UIC, GPC, & Federal Facilities Programs(307)777-8275
John PassehlFederal Facilities Program, Geology Supervisor, Cheyenne(307)777-5623
Justin ScottUIC Program, Geology Supervisor, Cheyenne(307)777-7511
Laurel MorrowUIC Program, Project Geologist, Cheyenne(307)777-7608
Tyler HarrisUIC Program, Natural Resources Program Principal, Cheyenne(307)777-5501
Hunter HubbardUIC Program, Project Geologist, Cheyenne  (307)777-2960
Wylee RizzitelloGPC Program, Natural Resources Program Principal, Cheyenne(307)777-9355
Curtis CrawfordUIC Program, Natural Resource Analyst, Cheyenne(307)777-6080
Aaron BirkemeierGPC Program, Natural Resource Analyst, Cheyenne(307)777-7092
Graeme Finley UIC Program, Senior Project Geologist, Casper  (307)473-3478
Christy HutchinsonGPC Program, Natural Resources Program Principal, Casper(307)473-3468
Steven LooseGPC & UIC Program, Project Geologist, Lander(307)335-6942
Jack LeitnerUIC Program, Natural Resource Analyst, Lander(307)335-6752
Forms
Forms

Groundwater Pollution Control (GPC) Forms

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

Underground Injection Control (UIC) Forms

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Guidance and Information
Guidance and Information

This page contains a variety of downloadable documents and information pertaining to Groundwater guidance procedures. 

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

 
Helpful Links
Helpful Links

This page contains a variety of links to supplementary Groundwater information and resources, from reports to data and information systems.  

Monitoring Data
Monitoring Data

This page contains information, including fact sheets and maps, about Groundwater monitoring programs in Wyoming.  

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

Aquifer Prioritization Project
This project developed a method to prioritize aquifers for groundwater monitoring based on their geology and potential contaminant sources.

Groundwater Vulnerability Mapping Project 
GIS coverage maps and reports are available for each county. Please run the Autorun.exe in each county's zip file to access all data except the maps. To access map data, please download the shapefiles separately and import them into ArcMap.

Ambient Groundwater Monitoring Program

Pesticide Monitoring Program
Wyoming's Pesticide Monitoring Program is a cooperative monitoring effort between the Wyoming Dept. of Agriculture and the US Geologic Survey (USGS). Since 1995, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Wyoming Department of Agriculture, has been sampling groundwater in Wyoming. Sampling of surface water for pesticides began in 2006.

Groundwater and surface water data, maps, and reports, including fact sheets are available for each county.

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