This agreement is to fund the state of wyoming's water quality management planning program to improve impaired water and protect unimpaired waters across the state by conducting planning that…

This $164,000 Formula Grant awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 8 under the Water Quality Management Planning program (CFDA 66.454) will fund two water quality planning projects in the state of Wyoming:

1. The Boysen Nutrient Reduction Strategy Phase I Supplemental, which will develop public outreach materials, assist with public involvement, and initiate implementation of nonpoint source pollution reduction projects to address water quality issues in the Boysen Reservoir watershed.

2. The Flat Creek USGS Fingerprinting Study, which will use sediment tracers to determine the relative contributions of different sediment sources in the Flat Creek watershed to support the Teton Conservation District's watershed management plan.

This grant, awarded on January 21, 2025, will be implemented by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and is scheduled for completion by January 20, 2027.

This agreement is to fund the state of wyoming's water quality management planning program to improve impaired water and protect unimpaired waters across the state by conducting planning that informs and supports implementation of clean water act programs. In accordance with clean water act section 205(J)(3), unless a waiver request is approved by EPA, the recipient will jointly develop workplans with and passthrough at least 40% of funding to regional or interstate watershed management planning agencies. This agreement is supported by funding provided under the infrastructure investment and jobs act (IIJA) (PL 117-58). Activities:the activities to be performed include the following water quality management planning activities: the boysen nutrient reduction strategy phase I supplemental - this project will support the initial phases of the boysen reservoir nutrient reduction strategy by: 1) developing a public-friendly visual report that characterizes the watershed and water quality issues and summarizes past, current, and future actions to address water quality issues in the watershed; 2) assisting with the development of and initial implementation of a public involvement strategy; and 3) initiating implementation of nonpoint source implementation projects; and the flat creek USGS fingerprinting study - this project addresses a segment of flat creek that is listed as impaired on the 303(D) for sediment. Teton conservation district (TCD) maintains a flat creek management plan to reduce sediment and other pollutant contributions through activities implemented in partnership with local agencies and organizations. USGS performed a sedimentation study in 2019-2020 that was published in 2022. However, no study has addressed the relative contributions of multiple sediment sources in the flat creek watershed. USGS will build upon that study by conducting a 'fingerprinting' study using tracers to determine sediment contribution from varying sources in the flat creek watershed, helping to prioritize further sediment reduction projects.subrecipient:the first subaward is the boysen nutrient reduction strategy phase I supplemental project by the lower wind river conservation district. This project supports the initial phases of the boysen reservoir nutrient reduction strategy by: 1) developing a public-friendly visual report that characterizes the watershed and water quality issues and summarizes past, current, and future actions to address water quality issues in the watershed; 2) assisting with the development of and initial implementation of a public involvement strategy; and 3) initiating implementation of nonpoint source implementation projects. Specific tasks and deliverables are outlined in the workplan. The second subaward is the flat creek USGS fingerprinting study by the teton conservation district (TCD). This project will address a segment of flat creek that is listed as impaired on the 303(D) for sediment. TCD maintains a flat creek management plan to reduce sediment and other pollutant contributions through activities implemented in partnership with local agencies and organizations. USGS performed a sedimentation study in 2019-2020 that was published in 2022. However, no study has addressed the relative contributions of multiple sediment sources in the flat creek watershed. USGS will build upon that study by conducting a 'fingerprinting' study using tracers to determine sediment contribution from varying sources in the flat creek watershed, helping to prioritize further sediment reduction projects.outcomes:for the boysen nutrient reduction strategy phase I supplemental project, the anticipated deliverables include: administrative: reimbursement requests, complete progress reports with each reimbursement request, annual reports, final project report, other documentation as requested; reporting: annotated outline for the visual summary report to be prepared in collaboration with WDE