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Gillette-Madison Well Field Project

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 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.

Gillette-Madison Well Field Project

The DEQ received notification of water quantity and quality issues on August 11, 2017 for two existing and two deeper, replacement private domestic wells located 18 miles northeast of the Town of Moorcroft, Wyoming.  The two existing domestic wells which had previously produced a good quantity of water had gone dry and the two deeper replacement wells had identified low pH (< 4 s.u.) in them. 

A public meeting was held on October 12, 2017 in the Town of Moorcroft to answer questions on the recent water quality/quantity issues.  In addition, a survey was distributed to identify well owners that may have noted potential water quality issues and to solicit access to sample those wells.

Study Area and Sampling

The study area is shown on the “Study Area” figure at the link below.  The study area encompasses the majority of private domestic and stock wells and several springs that DEQ identified for sampling. 

 

DEQ mobilized water sampling crews to the study area on October 25, 2017. A total of 55 locations were sampled and analyzed for the analytes identified in the Gillette Madison Well Field Private Water Well Sampling List (Click here to view).  Of the 55 locations, 32 were domestic wells, 12 were identified as domestic/stock wells, 10 were stock wells and one location was a spring.  All private well owners were provided with their water quality results.

Based on Workgroup #3 meetings in April 2018 and after review of the data from the 2017 private water well sampling, a number of potential data gaps were identified by workgroup members and the consultant. To address these data gaps the DEQ collected additional samples from 13 previously sampled water wells and one spring, collected initial samples from 5 additional water wells in accordance with the October 2017 sampling list, collected 3 surface water samples (2 stream samples and one spring), and measured water levels in conjunction with the State Engineer’s Office on sampled water wells (if accessible). 

Final Report Released

The DEQ has released its final report into low pH and low water conditions reported in the vicinity of the City of Gillette’s Madison wellfield in Crook County.

 

The Main Report and Appendices are available below in the Resource Tab.

 

Questions regarding this report can be directed to Nicole Twing at Nicole.twing@wyo.gov or 307-777-8275. 

 

For a list of Fact Sheets regarding Common Contaminants found in groundwater, please click here.

Gillette-Madison Well Integrity Investigation
Based on Workgroup #1 meetings, and a review of available well integrity information provided by the City of Gillette, a recommendation was made to have the five new Gillette-Madison water wells, be re-logged for well integrity concerns. The City of Gillette had contracted for Schlumberger to conduct integrity logging of the five water wells, based on suggestions provided by the well-integrity expert hired by Workgroup #1. Reports prepared by the logging expert have been finalized and are available for M11, M12, M13, M14 and M15. 
 
Questions regarding the well integrity reports can be directed to Lily Barkau at lily.barkau@wyo.gov or 307-777-7072.
Executive Committee and Working Groups
An advisory group consisting of an Executive Committee and three (3) working groups was established to facilitate and oversee the development of plans and schedules, to implement preferred options that address the overall objective, and to investigate the cause of impacts to private wells in the study area.  The Executive Committee consists of one (1) representative each from DEQ, Water Development Office, State Engineers Office, Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, and the City of Gillette.  The DEQ representative was the chairperson of the executive committee.  In addition, the working group hired an independent consultant to assist with the data review and investigation of the cause of impacts.
 

The structure of the working groups, members of the Executive Committee and Working Groups and the task for the specified working group can be downloaded here.

 

Questions regarding the working groups can be directed to Lily Barkau at lily.barkau@wyo.gov or 307-777-7072.

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Investigation Documents
Investigation Documents

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