CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION DETERMINATION
For the City of Torrington’s FY26 Water Service Line Material Evaluation Project, Goshen County, Wyoming.
The Department of Environmental Quality/Water Quality Division (DEQ) has conducted a review of the proposed FY26 Water Service Line Material Evaluation project in accordance with EPA and State of Wyoming procedures for implementing the State Environmental Review Process. DEQ has determined that this project is eligible for a categorical exclusion. Accordingly, DEQ is exempting the project from further substantive environmental review requirements under the State Environmental Review Process. Neither an Environmental Assessment/Finding of No Significant Impact nor an Environmental Impact Statement/Record of Decision will be required for the proposed action. The following is a brief description of the situation and the proposed action and a brief statement of how the action meets the criteria for a categorical exclusion.
The project will complete the EPA mandated service line material inventory and identify the “unknown” water service line material used at various locations within the city. The City has currently identified the material used in 72% of connections within our system using existing records. The remaining 28% will be identified using this project. Any locations found that require replacement by the EPA will be given priority and scheduled in upcoming waterline replacement projects.
The estimated cost of this project is $650,000. A Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan in the amount of $650,000 will fund the investigative work. Increased user fees will repay the loan. Loan terms are 0.0% interest rate for 20 years.
The City of Torrington is aware of and accepts the fact that they will be responsible for any required mitigative actions associated with the project, including but not limited to storm water runoff, erosion control, archeological/historic artifacts, and air quality concerns. These actions will be part of the standard State Revolving Funds Program contract conditions.
DEQ is granting an exclusion because the construction of this project replaces existing infrastructure in previously disturbed ground, specifically ground disturbed by the installation of the existing waterline over 50 years ago. DEQ has determined that exempting the proposed project from further review under the State Environmental Review Process will not result in adverse impacts to the population or the area of the City of Torrington and Goshen County, Wyoming.
The documentation to support this decision will be on file in the DEQ Cheyenne Office and is available for public review upon request. Requests for information about the proposed decision may be directed to Brad Ellis, SRF District Engineer by email at bradley.ellis@wyo.gov or phone (307) 473-3469. Written comments shall be addressed to Brad Ellis, Department of Environmental Quality, 444 West Collins Drive, Suite 1400, Casper, WY 82601 and be postmarked on or before 5:00 p.m. on October 6, 2025 to be considered. Electronic comments may only be submitted through and accepted by the Wyoming DEQ comment portal provided at http://wq.wyomingdeq.commoninput.com/. Phone or email comments will not be accepted.
Para espanol, visite deq.wyoming.gov.
Americans with Disabilities Act: special assistance or alternative formats will be made available upon request for individuals with disabilities. Please provide at least fourteen (14) days before the close of the public comment period for such requests.
Public Notice No. 9459 published in The Torrington Telegram on September 24, 2025.
