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PROPOSED TEMPORARY TURBIDITY INCREASE IN THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER
The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) has received a request from HK Contractors, Inc., for a temporary increase in turbidity in the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. The temporary increase in turbidity is associated with replacement of the Yellowstone River bridge between Tower Junction and Cooke City, MT.
Activity in cold water streams like the Yellowstone River is normally limited to a ten (10) NTU increase over background. Approval of this request would allow an exceedance of this limit for up to thirty (30) total working days, subject to monitoring and reporting. This activity will follow the procedures in Chapter 1, Section 23(c)(ii), of the WDEQ Water Quality Rules, which allow for temporary elevated levels of turbidity in certain circumstances. The anticipated project completion date is November 2026. For that reason, the applicant intends to reapply for a temporary turbidity waiver each year until project completion. The applicant has secured a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 404 permit for the project.
Requests for information about the proposed temporary turbidity increase should be directed to Eric Hargett by email ([email protected]) or phone (307-777-6701). Written comments must be addressed to Eric Hargett, Wyoming DEQ/WQD, 200 W. 17th Street ? 4TH floor, Cheyenne, WY, 82002, and be postmarked on or before 5:00 p.m. on May 4, 2023 to be considered. Electronic comments may only be submitted through and accepted by the Wyoming DEQ comment portal provided at http://wq.wyomingdeq.commentinput.com/. Phone comments will not be accepted. Para espa?ol, visite deq.wyoming.gov.
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