Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) said on Oct. 31 that it will begin a formal rulemaking process to expand options for disposal of dead-animal waste at meat processors, including a path for limited on-site disposal where appropriate.

DEQ administrator Suzanne Ingalls told the joint Agriculture committee the agency has coordinated with the Attorney General’s Office, EPA staff and legislative staffers and concluded it has authority to proceed by rule rather than seeking new statutory language. DEQ described a rulemaking and public-engagement roadmap that includes drafting location and setback standards (informed by other states’ approaches), stakeholder engagement (meat processors, the meat processors association and the Department of Agriculture), a public comment period, review by the Water and Waste Advisory Board and an Environmental Quality Council hearing. DEQ targets a timeline of six months to appear before the EQC and roughly a year for a final rule, contingent on meeting scheduling and public-process steps.

On enforcement and interim matters, Ingalls said the agency retains enforcement discretion and would respond to complaints as they arise; she told the committee that exact site-specific responses would depend on public-health and environmental risk in each case.

Ending: DEQ staff offered to keep the committee informed of rule-development milestones and public feedback during the process.