Proposed Reclassification of Muskrat Creek, North Platte River Basin in Goshen County, Wyoming

Proposed Reclassification of Muskrat Creek, North Platte River Basin in Goshen County, Wyoming October 25, 2010 Waterbody: Muskrat Creek - Mainstem of Muskrat Creek from its headwaters downstream to its confluence with Rawhide Creek Location: Mainstem of Muskrat Creek from its headwaters-sw¼, Section 7, Township 30 North, Range 64 West downstream to its confluence with Rawhide Creek-SW¼, Section 12, Township 28 North, Range 63 West in Goshen County. Tributary to: Rawhide Creek River Basin: North Platte River (HUC 10180009) Purpose The purpose of this Use Attainability Analysis is to recommend the reclassification of the main stem of Muskrat Creek from headwaters downstream to its confluence with Rawhide Creek from primary contact recreation use to secondary contact recreation use. Background The Muskrat Creek watershed is located within the Lower North Platte Sub-basin (USGS HUC 10180009) in the North Platte River Basin. The watershed lies entirely within Goshen County in eastern Wyoming (Figure 1). Muskrat Creek is an intermittent stream that drains this watershed, flowing approximately 30 miles from its headwaters (at 5,781 ft. elevation) to its confluence with Rawhide Creek (at 4,495 ft. elevation) 26 miles south of Lusk. Land uses within the sub-basin are primary land uses are irrigated agriculture, dryland farming, and grazing. Muskrat Creek is currently classified by the state of Wyoming as 2AB, and therefore is protected as a cold water fishery, for aquatic life other than fish, agricultural, industrial, primary recreational, and wildlife uses. Justification for Reclassification The Use Attainability Analysis (UAA) developed by the Goshen County Conservation Districts (see Appendix A) satisfactorily demonstrates that the mainstem of Muskrat Creek from its headwaters downstream to its confluence with the Rawhide Creek is most appropriately classified as a secondary contact recreational use instead of the current primary recreation use classification. WDEQ concurs with this proposed reclassification based on the UAA and on the following summary of justifications. 1

Figure 1. Map showing the location of the Lower North Platte Sub-basin within Wyoming (inset map) and the location of the mainstem of Muskrat Creek. 2

Section 27 of Chapter 1 of the Wyoming Water Quality Rules and Regulations states that a primary contact recreation designation is intended to apply to those waters where there is a reasonable potential for people to engage in full body contact with the water and/or a potential to ingest small quantities. Secondary contact recreation designation is intended to apply to all other waters. Primary contact recreational use is intended for perennial streams, reservoirs, and lakes, where there is a reasonable possibility for recreational use. Muskrat Creek is an intermittent stream where stream flows are dominated by spring snowmelt, thunderstorms, and groundwater input. The resulting small stream flows are insufficient to support primary contact recreation uses. Given the above described hydrology, it is highly unlikely that recreational activities such as fishing, swimming, kayaking, rafting, or canoeing could occur on this creek. In addition to these physical limitations, almost all of the land surrounding Muskrat Creek is private, and provides very little public access, which further limits the opportunity for public recreation. This reclassification is further based upon Section 33 (b) of Chapter 1 of the Wyoming Water Quality Rules and Regulations which allows that the Water Quality Administrator may lower a classification, remove a designated use which is not an existing use or an attainable use, establish ambient-based criteria on effluent dependent waters, or make a recommendation to the Environmental Quality Council to establish sub-categories of a use, or establish site-specific criteria if it can be demonstrated through a Use Attainability Analysis (UAA) that the original classification and/or designated use or water quality criteria are not feasible because: (b)(ii) Natural, ephemeral, intermittent or low flow conditions or water levels prevent the attainment of the use, unless these conditions may be compensated for by the discharge of sufficient volume of effluent discharges without violating state water conservation requirements to enable uses to be met; and The requirements for reclassification outlined in Sections 33 (b)(ii) are satisfied by the above description of the hydrology of Muskrat Creek. Implementation This document represents a preliminary determination by the administrator of the Water Quality Division to change the classification of Muskrat Creek. After consideration of public comments, the Administrator shall publish a final determination which will be submitted to EPA for approval under the Federal Clean Water Act. The revised classification shall become effective upon EPA approval or 90 days after submittal, whichever comes first. Public Participation Persons wishing to comment on these findings or planned implementation may submit written comments to Richard Thorp, Water Quality Division, Department of Environmental Quality, Herschler Bldg. 4W, Cheyenne, WY 82002 on or before November 30, 2010. Copies of the Use Attainability Analysis are available from the Department of Environmental Quality, 122 West 25th Street, Herschler Building-4W, Cheyenne, WY or can be downloaded from the agency s website (http://deq.state.wy.us/wqd/watershed/surfacestandards/index.asp). Persons may request a hard copy of the document by contacting Richard Thorp at 307-777-3501, fax at 307-777-5973, email rthorp@wyo.gov. RT/LP/rm/11-0587 3

Appendix A UAA Submitted by Goshen County Conservation Districts for Muskrat Creek 4