Barrasso Praises Plan to Clean Water in Cheyenne

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) applauded the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers' (USACE) decision to reduce the level of the chemical contaminant trichloroethylene (TCE) in the city of Cheyenne's water supply to an undetectable level. In a recent letter to Barrasso, the USACE agreed to utilize an advanced aeration system to remove TCE from the water. Barrasso delivered the following statement:

"For years, I have worked with Bud Spillman and the city of Cheyenne to remove TCE from the city of Cheyenne's water supply. Families who live in Cheyenne deserve access to clean, safe water throughout their community.

"I am pleased with the Army Corp of Engineers' recent decision to use a state of the art treatment system to reduce the level of TCE in the water supply to an undetectable level. It's good to see that it will be resolved without Wyoming taxpayers having to foot the bill."

Background:

Starting in the early 1990's, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the City of Cheyenne found evidence of trichloroethylene (TCE), an industrial solvent used in cleaning rocket motors, in the city's water wells.

In 2008, Barrasso, then Ranking Member of the Superfund and Environmental Health Subcommittee, pushed for testing between the one mile area of the nuclear missile site and the city of Cheyenne's wells.

In December 2008, at the request of Barrasso, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a report that confirmed the there was a link between a former nuclear missile site and the city of Cheyenne's wells.

On April 5, 2010, Bud Spillman, Manager of the Water Treatment Division at Cheyenne BOPU, wrote a letter to Barrasso laying out the blueprint for an advanced aeration system that would allow for the complete removal of TCE from Cheyenne's groundwater supply.

On April 14, 2010, Barrasso wrote a letter to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers demanding that they utilize the advanced aeration system blueprint provided by Mr. Spillman to remove TCE from the groundwater supply.

On May 25, 2010, the Army Corp of Engineers responded to Barrasso's letter and agreed to use "the state-of-the-art treatment system that will result in a wider margin of safety for the drinking water supply."

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