Appendix A

Minutes
Source Water Assessment Plan Advisory Committee Meeting
January 29, 1998

John Barnes	Wyoming State Engineer's Office
Jack Theis	US Environmental Protection Agency, Region VIII
David Zelenka	Wyoming Water Development Commission
Mike Wireman	US Environmental Protection Agency, Region VIII
Michael Stull	Wyoming Association of Municipalities
Tom Clayson	Petroleum Association of Wyoming
Maggie Davison	Dept. of Environmental Quality/Water Quality Division
Phil Ogle	Dept. of Environmental Quality/Water Quality Division
Mark Opitz	Natural Resources Conservation Service
Rick Schuler	US Bureau of Land Management
Ken Hamilton	Wyoming Farm Bureau
Jim Bigelow	Wyoming Dept. of Agriculture
Kevin Frederick	Dept. of Environmental Quality/Water Quality Division
Ted Bartke	US Geological Survey
Gary Beach	Dept. of Environmental Quality/Water Quality Division
Jack States	Non-Point Source Task Force
Karen Larsen	League of Women Voters
Jim Case	Wyoming State Geological Survey
Jeff Lundberg	Wyoming Agri-Business
Floyd Field	Wyoming Association of Rural Water Systems

Following opening remarks, a brief presentation was made as to the objectives of, and process associated with conducting source water assessments. It was pointed out that source water assessments are conducted to provide information to water suppliers that can be used in the development of source water protection plans. It was clarified that the implementation of source water protection plans by public water supplies is voluntary and that the objectives of implementing such a management tool are to provide a pro-active pollution prevention approach to providing water to consumers. Some of the benefits of adopting pollution preventions plans were discussed. The elements of a source water assessment plan were discussed, those being: public participation in developing a plan to perform source water assessments; a strategy for delineation of source water protection areas; a process for identification of potential contaminant sources within the protection areas; an approach for the determination of susceptibility of source waters to contaminant releases; and a process of making assessments available to the public. It was explained that the task of the advisory committee was to make decisions on these approaches and strategies such that source water assessments could be accomplished in Wyoming.

Gary Beach provided clarification on the differences between the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) process and source water assessments. He explained that the TMDL program provides management options for control of waste loadings to surface waters, while the SWAP program is designed to be a preventive program which is voluntary, rather than regulatory, in nature. There may be some sharing of information between the programs, such as in the area of contaminant source identification, but that is where the similarity stops.

Kevin Frederick discussed the responses to the questionnaires that were sent out to members following the first SWAP meeting in October. The most commonly voiced concern was that the objectives of conducting source water assessments were not clearly understood and that more information was needed regarding not only the specific tasks for the committee to undertake but also the overall goals of the Source Water Assessment Program.

Mike Wireman provided some insights into how source water assessment and protection were being undertaken in some of the communities in Colorado that he has been working with and described some of the benefits he has seen for these communities as a result of their participation in the process. Mike then presented an overview of alternative approaches to delineation of source water protection areas supplied by surface water and included a brief description of conditions where the surface water/groundwater connection must be considered to effectively delineate a source water protection area.

The committee held discussions on determining whether or not to continue in this effort. It was decided that this would be explored further following the legislative session when more would be known about the fate of the State Revolving Fund (SRF) set-aside moneys and whether the funds would be available to conduct assessments in Wyoming. Future meeting dates were proposed and the meeting was adjourned.

Chapters
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
Glossary | Acronyms
Appendices
A | B | C | D
Wyoming's Source Water Assessment Guidance Document Contents