Wyoming agencies would study public wastewater and stormwater systems

The Department of Environmental Quality would arrange a statewide study of public wastewater and stormwater infrastructure. The study would cover infrastructure in cities, towns, special districts, and counties, alongside the department’s ongoing work on drinking-water infrastructure. The Office of State Lands and Investments and the Wyoming Water Development Office would coordinate with and assist the Department of Environmental Quality. Local governments and special districts would provide infrastructure information requested for the study. The act would take effect July 1, 2026; the source does not state a separate study completion date.

Data gathered for the study would belong to Wyoming and would be made available through a state data portal or other designated repository. The rule would cover collected, created, digitized, compiled, and related geographic information system data and metadata. Study contracts would require delivery of complete underlying datasets in nonproprietary or widely used formats that support government use and bulk export. The public-access requirement would not require disclosure of information that state or federal law makes confidential or privileged. These requirements would apply to data produced for the study after the act takes effect on July 1, 2026.

The Office of State Lands and Investments would receive up to $8 million to carry out the study and would report its status to lawmakers each year. The money could pay for necessary study expenses, including a consultant, and the reports would go to the select water committee. The funding would come from the strategic investments and projects account. If that account is repealed by July 1, 2026, the same amount would instead come from the general fund, but only if the first funding source is not used. The money could not be transferred or spent for another purpose, and unused funds would revert under state law. The appropriation would run from July 1, 2026, or the act’s effective date, through June 30, 2030. Reports would be due by November 1 each year from 2026 through 2030.