Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, ca. 1869-1883
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Public Meeting
Research/Studies of Groundwater Resources in Western Nebraska and Southeastern Wyoming
The State Engineer’s Office and South Platte Natural Resources District will hold a meeting Wednesday, May 2, 2012, at 2:00 P.M. in the Pine Bluffs Community Center at 708 Lawson Street, Pine Bluffs, Wyoming. The purpose of the meeting is to review research and studies conducted by both Nebraska and Wyoming related to groundwater resources in western Nebraska and southeastern Wyoming. Topics will include Nebraska/South Platte Natural Resources District’s 1) Airborne Geophysical Survey, 2) Modeling Efforts, and 3) Water Usage and Management Activities. Additionally, the State Engineer’s Office and the U.S. Geological Survey will present their recently released, “Generalized Potentiometric Surface, Estimated Depth to Water, and Estimated Saturated Thickness of the High Plains Aquifer System, March – June 2009, Laramie, County, Wyoming, Scientific Investigations Map 3180.” For additional information, contact Lisa Lindemann, Administrator, Ground Water Division, at (307) 777-6163.
Public Meeting
State Engineer's Temporary Order Adopting Well Spacing Requirements within the Laramie County Control Area
The State Engineer’s Office will host a public information meeting on Thursday, May 3, 2012, at 6:00 P.M. in Room B63 (the lower level conference room) of the Herschler Building, 122 West 25th Street, Cheyenne, Wyoming. The north doors of the building will be open to the public. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the State Engineer’s April 11, 2012 Temporary Order Adopting Well Spacing Requirements within the Laramie County Control Area, the history of the Laramie County Control Area, the condition of the Control Area’s groundwater resources, and future management alternatives. For additional information, please call Lisa Lindemann, Administrator, Ground Water Division, at (307) 777-6163.
State Engineer Orders Temporary Spacing Regs in LCCA
April 11, 2012
Responding to mounting concerns over increasing development and use of groundwater resources in southeast Wyoming, State Engineer Pat Tyrrell issued an order Wednesday that will temporarily limit groundwater development for 18 months while the area’s groundwater resource and use are re-appraised.
More specifically, the order was issued for the Laramie County Control Area which encompasses approximately the eastern two-thirds of Laramie County, Wyoming. In crafting the order, Tyrrell took into account concerns voiced by Laramie County Control Area Advisory Board members.
In the order, Tyrrell calls for wells that are drilled for domestic and stock watering uses to be spaced such that no more than one well is drilled per lawfully subdivided lot or, in the case of other legal parcels of land, no more than one well per 10 acres will be allowed, if the target water source is the High Plains aquifer system. Additionally, such wells will be limited in allowable annual use to 1 acre-foot.
Miscellaneous use wells drilled in the High Plains aquifer system that will produce 25 gpm or less will be required to be a minimum of 1-mile apart and will be limited to a maximum annual use of 2 acre-feet.
Miscellaneous use wells producing greater than 25 gpm, as well as irrigation, industrial, and municipal use wells will be required to be drilled into the deeper Lance Formation or the Fox Hills Sandstone, and can be spaced no closer than one mile from an existing well in the same groundwater source. Wells drilled in the Lance Formation or the Fox Hills Sandstone for domestic and stock watering use will not be restricted to any minimum spacing requirements.
The Laramie County Control Area, established in its present configuration by the Wyoming State Board of Control in 1981, was formed at the request of resident landowners amid concerns that declining water levels could threaten drinking and stock water supplies and negatively affect irrigated agriculture.
The State Engineer has approved very few large producing wells as evidenced by the approval of only 15 new irrigation well permits in the Control Area since its formation. Approval of enlargement permits for existing wells has been much more common.
Since 1981, the Wyoming State Engineer’s Office has developed and maintains 33 water-level monitoring wells in Laramie County, of which 31 are located in the Control Area, in an effort to keep watch on the resource. Together, those monitoring wells continue to indicate declining water levels. The rate of decline is more severe in some parts of the Control Area than others.
The Control Area still sees growing water demands from subdivision development, irrigation and municipal uses, added to which is the current need for water for drilling wells in the Niobrara Shale oil play.
According to Tyrrell, "eighteen months should allow for the development of strategies upon which the residents of the [Laramie County] Control Area can rely to preserve and/or extend the [ground] water resources of the area, while still allowing sufficient water for the oil play from existing sources through temporary use agreements."
A public meeting will be held on May 3, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. in Room B63 of the Herschler Building, 122 West 25th Street, Cheyenne, WY, to give the State Engineer’s Office an opportunity to present the temporary plan to the public and allow for residents to ask questions.
PDF of State Engineer's Temporary Order
Laramie County Control Area Boundary Map
Lee Arrington
Ground Water Division
Wyoming State Engineer’s Office
(307) 777-6157
Horse Creek Groundwater/Surface Water Connection Investigation, Goshen and Laramie Counties, Wyoming
October 19, 2011
To All Interested Parties:
You are invited to a community meeting on November 1, 2011, at the Lagrange Community Center at the Fairgrounds from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The purpose of the meeting is to present the results of the recently completed Horse Creek Groundwater/Surface Water Connection Investigation, Goshen and Laramie Counties, Wyoming, to interested parties.
This investigation was conducted as a result of a 2009 claim of interference, signed by area irrigators who were concerned about the potential impact of wells in the Horse Creek drainage on senior surface water rights. The State Engineer’s Office – Ground Water Division determined a claim of interference would not resolve the concerns of local surface water appropriators, and that any future calls for regulation of junior groundwater rights by senior surface water appropriators could probably not be resolved absent a determination that irrigation wells completed in the Horse Creek drainage may be hydrologically connected to Horse Creek.
The Ground Water Division subsequently contracted with Hinckley Consulting (Laramie, WY) and AMEC Earth and Environmental, Inc. (Boulder, CO) to ascertain whether or not hydrologic connection exists between groundwater and surface water in the Horse Creek drainage, and to develop the tools necessary for administration of surface and groundwater rights that 1) can be immediately and easily incorporated into the existing structure of stream and well priority regulation, 2) are well founded (and documented) in accepted scientific principles and procedures, and 3) can be readily explained to the water users.
We anticipate Hinckley Consulting and AMEC will provide an approximate hour-long presentation, followed by a question and answer period. Bern Hinckley (Hinckley Consulting), Chuck Brendecke (AMEC), Emily LoDolce (AMEC), Randy Tullis (Water Division 1 Superintendent), Gary Mehling (Water Division 1, District 2 Hydrographer), and staff from the State Engineer’s Office will be available to answer any questions you may have.
The Horse Creek Groundwater/Surface Water Connection Investigation, Goshen and Laramie Counties, Wyoming, report can be downloaded from the State Engineer’s Office website at http://seo.state.wy.us/
If you have any questions, please call me at (307) 777-5063. We look forward to seeing you on the 1st!
Sincerely,
Lisa Lindemann, Administrator
Ground Water Division
Meeting Invitation PDF
Horse Creek Investigation Report 2011
Temporary Use of Water
The State Engineer’s Office (SEO) anticipates there will be a large demand for water supplies for oil and gas-related activities and/or other temporary activities in southeast Wyoming – many of which will occur within Ground Water Control Areas. To address issues related to temporary water supplies in a Ground Water Control Area and outside of Ground Water Control Areas, the SEO has developed the following documents so all interested parties clearly understand what the options are relative to obtaining water for temporary uses:
- “Issuance of Temporary Water Use Agreements (TWUAs) Outside the Boundaries of Ground Water Control Areas in Southeast Wyoming” (Policy Memo dated September 23, 2010),
- “Issuance of Temporary Use Agreements (TUAs) in Ground Water Control Areas” (Policy Memo dated November 1, 2010),
- “Control Area Advisory Board Review for Miscellaneous-Use Applications in Ground Water Control Areas” (Policy Memo dated July 28, 2010),
- Guidance: Obtaining Temporary Water Supplies (Dated August 2, 2010); and
- the Temporary Use Agreement form.
Anyone with questions regarding these policy or guidance documents may contact the State Engineer’s Office at 307-777-6150.
SEO ANNOUNCES NEW WATER WELL MINIMUM CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS
The Wyoming State Engineer’s Office has promulgated new rules in Part III of the State Engineer’s Office rules, entitled “Water Well Minimum Construction Standards.” The State Engineer is authorized under W.S. §41-3-909 to establish standards for construction of water wells to protect the use of the state’s ground water resources. The new rules were filed with the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office on April 6, 2010, and are effective immediately.
The rules are available at:
http://seo.state.wy.us/GW/PDFs/WaterWellMinimumConstructionStandards.pdf
or are available by writing to:
State Engineer’s Office
Groundwater Division
Herschler Building, 4 East
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002
Agency Contact:
Lisa Lindemann, Administrator
(307) 777-5063
e-PERMIT GOES LIVE
The Wyoming State Engineer’s Office (SEO) has announced that its new electronic workflow management system, dubbed, “e-Permit” is operational and available for public use. This multi-year project hosts numerous capabilities including the electronic submittal of applications for new water rights via an internet connection. Other features of the system include:
- Most SEO instruments including all applications, forms, statements of completion, and proof of appropriation/beneficial use forms are available for electronic submittal to the agency.
- All agency water right actions will be processed electronically using desktop computers. This reduces paper processing, improves efficiency and improves the accuracy of data storage.
- A new relational water rights database has been created to expand the search capabilities for water rights information.
- All new agency documents will be stored in digital form in the new Document Management System (DMS). These documents will be available through e-Permit.
- Existing digital images now available through the agency’s electronic water rights database will remain available by searching the old database. It should be noted that while the old database will remain available for public searches, it will not be updated after February 5, 2010. The new database will need to be utilized for agency actions taking place after February 5, 2010.
- As time and funding allow, existing paper, maps and microfilm records are being scanned and loaded into the DMS. The public will be able to search and view these images via the internet.
- Geographic Information Systems mapping is available to assist in locating water rights features.
In order to get started using e-Permit, the user needs to first register with the State through its e-Government on-line services. Log-on to https://egov.state.wy.us/ and follow the instructions to create a personal user profile.
Once the user profile has been created, go to https://seoweb.wyo.gov/ which is the SEO’s e-Permit site.
Embedded in e-Permit are multiple help screens to help users understand and navigate e-Permit. The agency is also planning to conduct e-Permit training sessions on an as needed basis. Anyone wishing to sign up for one of these training sessions should contact Nancy Bales at 307-777-6150 or nbales@seo.wyo.gov
The SEO is pleased to be able to offer to the public, the ability to submit online water rights applications. However, the agency will continue accept paper applications as it has done for the last 120 years. Any user comments regarding the system will be appreciated as we continue to improve the system.
Sage Grouse Conservation
The State Engineer’s Office has announced that it is adding a step in its water right permit application review procedures to comply with Governor’s Executive Order 2008-2. The executive order is intended to conserve greater sage grouse populations in the state and prevent listing of the species as a threatened or endangered species. Specifically, the executive order states, “New development on land uses within Core Population Areas should be authorized or conducted only when it can be demonstrated by the state agency that the activity will not cause declines in Greater Sage Grouse populations.” Core Population Areas have been identified in the state and represent areas of critical habitat necessary to conserve the species.
Effective January 4, 2010, the State Engineer’s Office will begin screening all new water right permit applications to determine if they are located within a defined Core Population Area. For those applications falling within a Core Population Area, the applicant will be notified of the need to conserve sage grouse and asked to select an option to accomplish this goal. Current options identified by the State Engineer’s Office include the following:
- Relocate the proposed facility outside of a Core Population Area.
- The applicant may provide a biological assessment demonstrating that full development of the project will not impact sage grouse populations.
- The applicant agrees to a set of special permit conditions. Specifically:
- No facilities or construction activities are allowed within 0.6 miles of the perimeter of an occupied sage grouse lek.
- No construction shall take place in a Core Population Area in the March 15th to June 30th time frame.
- The applicant provides evidence that the proposed project will be located in a previously disturbed area such as farmstead or industrial site.
- For small agricultural facilities that support existing land uses and generate limited operation and maintenance activities, the applicant agrees to a special permit condition. Specifically:
- No facilities or construction activities are allowed within 0.25 miles of the perimeter of an occupied sage grouse lek.
The State Engineer’s Office looks forward to working with water right permit applicants as these procedures are implemented. Anyone with questions regarding this policy may contact the State Engineer’s Office at 307-777-6150.
State Engineer’s Office Advises Early Application
for Ground Water Permits
If you anticipate applying for a ground water permit to drill a water well or develop a spring, be advised that the State Engineer’s Office – Ground Water Division is currently experiencing 5 to 6 weeks to process an application from start to finish. Note: you must have an approved permit before you begin drilling a well or developing a spring. Typically, the agency seeks to complete permit application review procedures in 30 days or less. However, staff availability and procedural modifications are extending review times somewhat in the near term. Please bear with us as we work through this process to improve and expedite your permit application review and approval. We hope to return to more typical processing times as soon as possible.
Prospective appropriators can minimize the amount of time it takes to process their application by insuring the U.W. 5 form, “Application for Permit to Appropriate Ground Water”, is completed correctly. Defective applications will be returned to the applicant, effectively extending processing times. Incomplete applications require more processing time if applicants must be contacted to obtain missing information.
Also, remember to include the correct application fee. As of May 1, 2009, the application fees for ground water permits increased to the following:
| Domestic and/or stock use wells | $50.00 |
| Irrigation, municipal, industrial, and miscellaneous use wells | $75.00 |
| Coalbed natural gas wells | $50.00 (unchanged) |
As of July 1, 2008, Wyoming Statute 33-42-101 through 33-42-117 requires most water well drilling and pump installation activities to be conducted by a licensed Wyoming Water Well Contractor. You can conduct an electronic search for a licensed contractor at http://wwcb.state.wy.us or call the Ground Water Division for assistance at (307) 777-6163. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.
Contact: Lisa Lindeman, Administrator, Ground Water Division
Office: 307-777-5063
- Flow Summary
- Daily Wind River and Big Horn River flow levels - (307) 856-2912
- Daily Regulation information for Owl Creek Water Users - (307) 867-2472
- Daily Regulation information for Greybull River Drainage Water Users - (307) 868-2524
The mission of the Wyoming State Engineer's Office and Board of Control is to provide for the general supervision and protection of both inter- and intra-state waters of this state. This includes the appropriation, distribution and application to beneficial use of water as provided under the prior appropriation doctrine, and to maintain the flexibility within that framework to meet the changing needs of the citizens of Wyoming. The State Engineer's Office collects, analyzes, maintains and provides water related information for ensuring the appropriate management and regulation of Wyoming's water resources.
- Permitting and Adjudication of Water Rights - prior to using any water in the state, the appropriator is required to obtain a permit. The permit is the first step in acquiring a water right and it defines the conditions of use as well as the priority date. Once a permit has been issued, the permit holder may begin construction of the facility (well, ditch, reservoir, etc.) and begin beneficial use of Wyoming water.
Upon satisfying the conditions of the permit, the appropriator may file a notice of beneficial use and seek adjudication of the water right by the Board of Control (BOC). The employees involved in permitting and adjudication of water rights are primarily located in the Herschler Building in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
- Administration and Regulation – Wyoming has an arid climate and most areas of the state experience water shortages at some point during the year. During these times, water is allocated to senior water users based upon the doctrine of prior appropriation and numerous Wyoming Statutes that support this doctrine. This administration and regulation is supervised by the agency’s four Division Superintendents. Each Superintendent is located in one of the four Division offices (Torrington, Sheridan, Riverton, and Cokeville). Each Superintendent has a staff of Hydrographer/ Water Commissioners that are located in 24 offices across the state. These employees are responsible to allocate water by field regulating headgates, pumps, stream diversions, etc.
- Administration of Interstate Compacts and Decrees – Wyoming is party to seven interstate water compacts and three interstate court decrees. These documents define the amounts of water that Wyoming must provide to downstream states. A staff of four employees in Cheyenne maintains contact with adjoining states and federal agencies to assure compliance with various compacts and decrees. Additionally, they monitor federal actions that might impair Wyoming’s ability to use its water.
State Engineer: Patrick T. Tyrrell
122 West 25th Street
4th Floor East
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Phone: (307) 777-6150
Fax: (307) 777-5451