History of the VRP

The VRP was established in 2000 in response to the enactment of the “Voluntary Remediation of Contaminated Sites” law by Wyoming legislature. The program was developed by using an open process with DEQ staff and representatives from participating regulated, consulting, and environmental communities. Specifically, DEQ established a number of workgroups to focus on specific program development activities, including: risk assessment, site characterization, pollution prevention, and remedy selection.

In addition, the DEQ and EPA Region 8 developed two cooperative agreements that define how the two agencies will interact with respect to contaminated sites addressed under the VRP. These agreements were developed after consulting with a wide range of interested parties in addition to soliciting public comment on draft versions. On March 14, 2002 the Wyoming DEQ and EPA Region 8 signed the final Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Memorandum of Agreement and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund) Memorandum of Agreement.