EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Wellhead Protection (WHP) Plan Overview:

In 1986, Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) established the Wellhead Protection (WHP) Program. Under these Amendments, each state was called upon to develop, and submit to EPA for approval, a plan that would protect ground water which supplies wells, wellfields, springs, and tunnels that provide drinking water to the general public. The basic, minimum elements' that states must address and include in their WHP plans are also specified in the SDWA.

On September 18, 1997 Wyoming became the 46th state to have an EPA-approved Wellhead Protection Program. This document represents Wyoming's Wellhead Protection (WHP) plan, and is intended to serve as a guideline to communities, Public Water Systems (PWSs; See Glossary), and others wishing to develop local WHP plans that will meet the minimum criteria for approval by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) and the EPA.

Prior to developing its WHP plan, in 1991 the WDEQ sponsored public meetings throughout the state to first measure the degree of public interest and support for wellhead protection, and to gather public input on the issues and options that Wyoming should consider when developing its own plan. Questionnaires (Appendix K) completed by attendees at these meetings revealed that 100% of those who responded indicated that ...communities should protect their public drinking water supply wells...from contamination'; 90% indicated that A Wellhead Protection (WHP) Program should be established in their community'. Summary results and additional comments taken from completed questionnaires are also provided in Appendix K.

The principal objective of a WHP plan is to prevent the contamination of groundwater resources that supply PWSs. As stated 35-11-102 ('Policy & Purpose') of Wyoming's Environmental Quality Act (Title 35 ["Public Health & Safety"]; Chapter 11 [Environmental Quality]), the policy and purpose of the Act is ".... to enable the state to prevent, reduce and eliminate pollution ...." and ".... to plan the development, use, reclamation, preservation and enhancement of the .... water resources of the state". In recognition of this purpose, WDEQ has identified the importance of providing assistance to local governments to protect drinking water supplies as an important objective in its Strategic Plan. WDEQ has identified the development of a state Wellhead Protection Plan as its primary means to meet this objective; this document is intended to provide such assistance. Responsibility for the development and administration of the state's Wellhead Protection Plan will reside within the jurisdiction of the Department of Environmental Quality's Water Quality Division (WDEQ/WQD).

Wyoming's WHP plan adopts the systematic and logical proactive approach to protecting drinking water supplies that has been established under the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1986. Communities and PWSs may follow this plan to develop and implement efforts that are designed to protect drinking water supplies from contamination. Potentially significant financial benefits and cost avoidances may be realized (see Appendix R) through the development and implementation of local WHP plans in accordance with the criteria set forth in this guidance. As presented in the state's plan, there are no requirements, rules or regulations that impose the development or implementation of WHP plans on any PWS, either publicly and privately owned. Communities and their PWSs should weigh the benefits of developing and implementing WHP plans and proceed accordingly.

Need for Local Wellhead Protection (WHP) Programs:

Development and implementation of local WHP plans is important in Wyoming because a major portion of the state's PWSs depend upon groundwater. As illustrated in Table 1, approximately 75% of Wyoming residents rely on groundwater supplied by PWSs for all, or part, of their drinking water supplies.

Table 1
Wyoming Public Water Systems (PWSs):
Number of Systems by System Class

The value of a clean, high quality groundwater supply cannot be overestimated. The enormous cost of aquifer remediation and developing alternative water supplies are only two of the many reasons why the protection of all groundwater resources developed by a PWS should be a priority. Aquifer remediation efforts described in technical literature and the news media over the past two decades have shown how difficult, if not impossible, it is to restore a contaminated drinking water supply. Clean drinking water is protective of human health and, from national media surveys, has been found to be an important factor in evaluating one's quality of life'.

Potential scenarios of contaminant introduction to drinking water sources are common to most PWSs, and can result from accidental spills and leaks, leaking underground storage tanks, septic systems, mining, agricultural and industrial operations, and other events and activities. The development of WHP plans includes management strategies designed to help ensure that existing groundwater resources used for public drinking water supplies will remain viable.

In the past several years, WDEQ/WQD has provided technical assistance and public information and education to many Wyoming communities active or interested in developing WHP plans. As depicted in Figure 1, WHP plan development and implementation is currently in progress in many communities throughout the state, including Cheyenne and Casper. Laramie and Torrington have both received EPA grants (Wellhead Protection Demonstration Projects) to develop WHP plans. These, and other on-going, projects represent a variety of aquifer conditions, land use activities, community sizes and socio-economic conditions in Wyoming. The techniques and procedures developed for each project can, and have been, used to assist other communities and PWSs in the development of their WHP plans.

Cost/Benefit of Local Wellhead Protection:

Unlike many other states, Wyoming has been extremely fortunate in that very few PWS wells have been impacted or lost' due to contamination. Table 2 illustrates potential financial savings which a typical Wyoming community might accrue in the event that implementation of a local Wellhead Protection plan: 1) assists a PWS in obtaining a susceptibility monitoring waiver from EPA, allowing it to reduce the degree of monitoring required by the Safe Drinking Water Act; 2) reduces the possibility of the need for costly treatment of a contaminated drinking water supply; and, 3) precludes the need to replace a drinking water supply well that has been lost due to contamination. More detailed information regarding potential financial benefits to both the state and communities is presented in Appendix R (FACT SHEET 1: "Economic Benefit Potential From Implementation of a Wellhead Protection Program in Wyoming" and FACT SHEET 2: "Potential Economic Benefits and Cost Avoidance to Wyoming Communities (or Public Water Systems) When Wellhead Protection Plans are Implemented").

Public Input and Participation in Development of Wyoming's WHP Plan:

The development of Wyoming's Wellhead Protection (WHP) plan stemmed from the establishment (July, 1995) and voluntary participation of a 20-member, multi-interest advisory committee. Members of the advisory committee were selected from federal and state agencies, local (city/county) governments and associations, industry, citizen interest groups and environmental interest organizations (See Acknowledgment). Major tasks of the committee involved the identification and establishment of goals, guidelines, minimum criteria, examples and reference materials deemed pertinent by the committee for inclusion in the draft plan. Results of public surveys (1991) to measure the degree of public interest and support for wellhead protection, and public input on the issues and options that Wyoming should consider when developing its own plan where provided to committee members for consideration during development of the plan.

Public participation in the development of this plan also was solicited through press releases distributed to local and statewide newspapers, informing the public of the establishment of the Wellhead Protection Advisory Committee and its role(s), and encouraging interested parties to respond with comments, ideas and suggestions to the draft elements of the state's proposed plan. The opportunity for public participation in development of the state's plan will again be provided when the proposed final draft plan is released for public review and comment before Wyoming's Water Quality Advisory Board. The final plan will then be presented to the Governor for signature and submittal to EPA for approval; formal adoption of the plan by WDEQ/WQD will occur upon receipt of EPA's approval.

Preview of Wyoming's Wellhead Protection Plan:

The basic premise behind the state's WHP plan is that it should allow voluntary, as opposed to mandatory, participation and provide reasonable flexibility in development and implementation at the local level. The development of WHP plans by communities or PWS owner/operators is often dependent upon whether the benefits derived, or potentially derived, from the development and implementation of the plan will meet community goals and objectives, and can be justified from an economic standpoint.

As detailed in this document, Wyoming's WHP plan addresses each of the elements' (of WHP plans) required under the SDWA Amendments, and establishes minimum criteria for WDEQ/WQD acceptance and approval of WHP plans.

Shading has been used throughout this plan to help facilitate the reader's identification of minimum standards and criteria for acceptable (local) Wellhead Protection plans.

Special consideration has been given to assisting WHP plan development for the smaller Non-Community' PWSs which, although constituting the majority of public drinking water systems in the state, service only approximately 14% of Wyoming's population. To facilitate the development of WHP plans for these types of systems, a condensed model plan' has been developed (Appendix F: "State of Wyoming Groundwater Contamination Susceptibility Assessment Survey Form") for these systems to complete and use in the belief that a simplified, streamlined approach will better suit the needs of not only these types of PWSs, but their users as well. The University of Wyoming (with funding from EPA), the Wyoming Water Resource Center, and WDEQ/WQD have all been involved in an effort to assist some of these smaller systems by delineating WHPAs for their systems, and providing a map of the delineated WHPA to them for inclusion into their WHP plans.

PWSs wishing to use WHP plans, or parts thereof, to participate in federal incentive programs (e.g. SDWA Monitoring Waivers) must meet the minimum criteria as set forth in this document and be approved by WDEQ/WQD. Although some communities (and their respective PWSs) may have no desire to use WHP plans to enjoy such benefits, they are also encouraged to develop their plans to include all elements of this guideline, meet the minimum criteria for approval, and obtain WDEQ/WQD approval of the plan. WHP plans which are approved by WDEQ/WQD are also considered acceptable by EPA.

Just as WHP plans developed by other states are dynamic and evolving to make them more useful to their communities, it is understood that Wyoming's plan will also be subject to periodic change in hopes of improving the success of wellhead protection in Wyoming.

A listing of available reference and technical assistance documents, including order forms, is included as Appendix C.

Sections
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
Appendices
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R
Wellhead Protection Program Guidance Document Contents
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality