Federal Facilities

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.

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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 December 12, 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.

Federal Facilities

Federal facilities, mostly military sites, are located throughout the state of Wyoming.   The Federal Facilities Program works with federal partners such as the US EPA, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the US Department of Defense to investigate, quantify and clean up soil and water contamination on these sites.

Active Federal Sites

The military discovered soil and groundwater contamination at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, located west of Cheyenne, in the 1980’s. Contaminated soil and groundwater has been removed or treated and clean-up is ongoing to address remaining contamination.

The Wyoming Air National Guard has been cleaning up contaminated properties, such as the site located at the Cheyenne Municipal Airport, since 2001.  Long-term plans are in place for ongoing clean-up where soil or groundwater contamination still exists.

Formerly Used Defense Sites

When the military inactivates, or decommissions, a site, they become known as Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDs).  The Federal Facilities Program and federal partners work with current land owners to find acceptable clean-up methods for these sites. There are currently several dozen FUDs located in Wyoming.  Top priority sites for clean-up include those which impact drinking water supplies. 

Investigating Contaminated Sites

The extent and nature of the soil and groundwater contamination is often unknown.  Groundwater contamination plumes can extend hundreds of feet, or more, so investigations are currently in progress to better characterize contamination at federal facilities in Wyoming.

Success Stories

Investigations at one FUD determined that the plume from the Belvoir Ranch site extends for more than 10 miles.  Municipal and private wells were impacted by this plume, so this FUD was particularly important to clean up.  Due to the successful collaboration between the land owners, the Federal Facilities Program and federal partners, the water produced by these wells is being treated and no longer poses a danger to human health. Photos, maps, site investigation reports and more can be found at the Atlas Missile Site 4 Information website.

Federal Facilities Program Manager: Nicole Twing 307-777-8275

Contact
NAMEPROGRAMSPHONE
Lily BarkauGroundwater Section Manager, Cheyenne(307)777-7072
VacantGround 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
Tyler HarrisUIC Program, Project Geologist, Cheyenne(307)777-7608
Aaron BirkemeierUIC 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
Julia GliciniUIC Program, Natural Resource Analyst, Cheyenne(307)777-6080
Brenden StefanowiczGPC 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 Program, Geology Supervisor, Lander(307)335-6942
Jack LeitnerUIC Program, Natural Resource Analyst, Lander(307)335-6752
Sites

This page contains a series of maps detailing contaminated federal sites in Wyoming. which include:  

  • FUD Sites Map
  • Top Priority Sites Map
  • Atlas Missile Site 4
  • Restoration Advisory Board - RAB
  • Atlas Missile Site 4/Belvoir Ranch Plume Map

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