CHEYENNE – The old riddle asks, “How do you eat an elephant?”
The answer: “One bite at a time.”
Wyoming State Engineer Brandon Gebhart, used the elephant riddle as an example of how to approach a major groundwater study project endorsed by the Legislature's Select Water Committee earlier this month.
The new $2 million study, would assess groundwater quality as well as quantity statewide. The project would build on the existing groundwater study in a control area in eastern Laramie County.
Although pressure for the study stemmed from the proliferation of data centers in Cheyenne and other communities throughout the state and the ensuing complaints, the study would also be useful in dealing with other industrial projects.
Sen. Ogden Driskill, a Republican from Devils Tower, said a rare earth mining organization is planning a new development in Crook County that will be ten miles within an area that has “a thousand wells.”
The groundwater study could provide a baseline for such projects and larger ones.
“There's no way to prove any damage unless you have a baseline,” Driskill said. “I'd like a baseline for my neighbors.”
Gebhart meanwhile told the committee members that the best plan is to proceed in phases or projects, the one bite at a time approach.
“What you're thinking of it is a systemic, statewide groundwater assessment,” he said. “And as such it will require the cooperation of other organizations, including the Department of Environmental Quality.”
A representative of the Farm Bureau endorsed the plan during a public comment period.
Gebhart also cautioned that although he recommended the $2 million price, it may be too little. The plan also called for two full-time employees. Gebhart said they will be needed for monitoring and oversight duties.
The committee then voted unanimously to include the groundwater assessment in their omnibus list of water projects for the legislative session next winter, and to include the $2 million in a budget amendment.
Committee members frequently mentioned a bill sponsored earlier this year by Sen. Taft Love, R-Cheyenne.
The bill that passed requires the state engineer every ten years to conduct a groundwater study in each county that has a control area designated by the board of control and where the state engineer has ordered one or more corrective controls.
While the committee liked the expanded study, it voted 3 to 8 against a proposal brought by a committee member, Rep. Ken Chestek, a Laramie Democrat. His bill would require data centers to limit their water use to .2 liters per kilowatt hour. It would not affect centers with closed cooling systems.
But his colleagues had plenty of questions. Driskill pointed out that the water requirement would force the Jim Bridger Power Plant to close. Chestek said the Jim Bridger plant could be grandfathered in. He said some data centers use a lot of water.
“I think there is a need for this bill,” Chestek said.
Later, in a brief phone interview, Chestek said he is inclined to sponsor the proposal as a single bill after he makes some changes and modifications.
“With the current drought conditions, it is crucial for the state to make sure of our water system,” he said. “Wyoming owns the water and we have a clear responsibility to control its use.”
Contact Joan Barron at 307-632-2534 or jmbarron@bresnan.net
