Pavillion Working Group Continues Water Quality Studies

The Pavillion Working Group met in Casper Tuesday.

The group was established at the behest of the Environmental Protection Agency after private water well testing near Pavillion found chemical contaminants.

John Corra, director of the Department of Environmental Quality, is the working group co-chair. He says the group continues analysis and evaluation of Pavillion area ground water through study of old sites in the area, of the well bore integrity of new sites, plus study of ongoing monitoring, while addressing the clean water needs of affected residents.

“The purpose of this meeting is to get everybody caught up on where we’re at. Look at the status of our studies, share information with the public , and then figure out where are the gaps in our understanding and then outline some next steps.”

A number of Pavillion area residents suspect local natural gas development is to blame for the contamination of their water wells. Industry representatives, specifically Encana Corporation, maintain the well water testing by the EPA was inconclusive or improperly done.