Our community problem is sediment and soil erosion in our river. A public policy solution to this issue is informing people about how the EPA influences our community, and contact our legislators, informing them of our opinions on the policies in place. A civil society solution is to plant willows along the banks of the river in areas where erosion is a problem. See Form 11 below:

SUMMARY OF INTERVIEWS

QUESTIONS FOR GAME AND FISH OFFICER

Have you ever seen any weird deformities with frog populations around the Laramie river?

What number of frog populations are in or nearby the Laramie river?

QUESTIONS FOR HAROLD BERGMAN

Is there a history of pollution in the Laramie river?

Do any of the feces from cows end up in the Laramie river?

Have you noticed any changes in the Laramie river?

Are there any deformities in frog populations around the Laramie river?

Are EDCs present In Wyoming surface waters?

If present, what are the sources?

If present, do they threaten fish populations?

QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED THROUGH WATER SAMPLING

What is the fecal count near the Laramie river?

What is the PH level of the Laramie river?

QUESTIONS FOR A RANCHER

Do your cows ever go in or nearby the Laramie river?

If they do, how close do they get and how long do they stay there?

QUESTIONS FOR A STORE OWNER

Do you ever dump any of your stores waste into the Laramie river?

If so, what do you dump?

If so, how often do you dump trash and how much do you dump?

QUESTIONS FOR A DOCTOR OR NURSE

How many people are affected by the Laramie river, if they are affected by the Laramie river?

Topic: Laramie river Information

Between 2009-2012, the Laramie River Conservation District Restored a 4 mile long section of the Laramie river, which improved stability and diversity in the river system.

Dr. Harold Bergman 2/23/17 Key Points •

The Union Pacific company, at 1886, floated wood down the Laramie river, and then they were treated with poisonous or horrible chemicals.

Four ponds without lining were built for waste chemicals.

Union Pacific asks for more ponds.

Wyoming sues Union Pacific under RCRA.

We sample trout and find site chemicals.

No fishing/ swimming signs pop up.

Crossey finds visible creosote oil.

EPA files action under CERCLA.

Union pacific stops treating wood there.

EPA closes off the site.H

SUMMARY OF DR BERGMAN'S PRESENTATION

Intro:

Dr. Bergman has been a member of the University of Wyoming faculty since 1975. Hi and he researches fish related biology. He has been interested in and studies environmental toxicology, fish physiology, and environmental policy. His research has been very influential in our daily lives, especially the work he has done to make our river safe. Dr. Bergman has written over a hundred scientific articles, and has obtained many awards for his outstanding teaching. Dr. Bergman presented to our class on some major issues the Laramie river used to have that he and other scientists worked on in the past. One of the issues is from the Union Pacific wood treating plant near the Laramie river. Another issue presented was EDCs and they affect they have on fish.

Part 1:

Starting in the 1880s, Union Pacific Railroad was a large part of life in Laramie. The wood used as railroad ties would rot easily, and didn't last very long. The company started to treat the with wood with chemicals to preserve the wood. The company would cut the trees up river, and send them down stream to the treatment area. At the time, the railroad did not know how dangerous these chemicals were, and negative impact they would have. When they were informed of this, they made ponds to dump the chemicals, but they seeped through the gravel and into the ground. The railroad continued using these dangerous chemicals for wood treating for over a hundred years. This issue was looked at, but the data found no chemicals in the river. The reason was because their instruments could only measure larger amounts of chemicals. Dr. Crossey and his team looked at the data again, this time with finer instruments, and found high levels of the chemicals used in wood treatment. Diesel oil leaks contaminated the river with dangerous, cancer-causing chemicals. Dr. Bergman and Dr. Crossey studied these chemicals in many different ways. They stuck a piezometer into the ice and down a meter into the ground. They struck oil in 39 places. It also moved down to the river all the way to a swimming hole. Mr. Bergman and his team used an instrument to detect the benzine rings. They measured the part per trillion concentration of chemicals in river sediments. This toxicity concentration was often too high for fish to survive but showed variation over time. It was very high in June, then lower in July, then higher in August, then lower in October again. The intensity probably varied on the strength of the river flow. They encircled the oil with a wall that was very expensive in order to trap it for good. The federal government is now treating the water with carbon and has rid it of toxicality. They are also removing it with trees using bioremediation. Ever since, the water has been cleaned and reinserted. Then, they built the green belt because the water was officially safe.

Part 2:

In river systems around the country, endocrine disruptors are polluting our water. The endocrine system is the collection of glands that produce hormones that regulate metabolism, growth and development, tissue function, sexual cells, reproduction, sleep, and other functions. Endocrine disrupters are chemicals that can interfere with the body's endocrine system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects in both humans and wildlife. Substances, both natural and manmade, are thought to cause endocrine disruption including metals, contaminants, additives in food, pesticides, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, dioxin and dioxin-like compounds. Endocrine disrupters are found in many household items, including plastic water bottles, metal food cans, laundry detergents, flame retardants, food, toys, cosmetic products, and

pesticides. For example, an endocrine disrupting pesticide DDT, a commonly-used pesticide for insect control in the US until it was canceled in 1972 by the EPA.

Endocrine disrupters in the Laramie River are coming from farm runoff above the river similar to other rivers in the U.S. The exposure to endocrine disrupters in the Laramie River is causing fish to change sex. The changes vary from subtle changes in body function to fish completely changing sex. Usually the sex of the fish is 50:50, except for the White Suckers who were about 75:25. In the river in Boulder, CO 100% of the fish were female. Due to the chemicals in the water male fish were starting to produce vitellogenin. Endocrine disrupters don’t only effect fish and other wildlife, they also affect humans by altering reproductive organs in women and men, increasing occurrence of breast cancer, immune functions, abnormal growth patterns, and cause neurodevelopmental delays in children. Human exposure to EDCs can happen through ingestion of food, dust, water, inhalation of gases and particles in the air, and through the skin.

Part 3:

We were surprised to learn after Dr. Bergman's presentation that neither oil, nor EDCs are major problems currently for our river. It is a great sign that our river is healthy. We learned so much from this presentation, but do have some questions about other potential issues in our river. One thing we are interested in is mirco plastics, plastic bags, or any other human-caused pollutants in our river systems. We would also like to learn more about the enviornmental policies that exist for our river to prevent these pollutants.

Mapping Trash

This map covers a area near Woods Landing https://acsdone-my.sharepoint.com/personal/tstrube_acsd1_org/_layouts/15/guestaccess.aspx?guestaccesstoken=SYcopBA6mdf2ExzBTRRKYumHtUjpPIdz1i03lXcv%2bf8%3d&docid=2_158fcd2cc07a443bd81c949368aa4455a&rev=1

This map covers a part of the river in Laramie https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1xc9fZ4iKe1AYMMY-iaB4Gjo_Fv0&ll=41.10966949935144%2C-106.07225241964727&z=12

Bibliography

Bergman, Harold. Personal Interview. 22 Febuary 2017.

Bergman, Harold. Presentation by Harold Bergman. Harold Bergman. February 23, 2017.

City Of Laramie. Laramie Wyoming. City of Laramie. n.d. https://www.cityoflaramie.org/ .

Claymore, Chris. Personal Interview. 27 Febuary 2017.

Cottonwood Homeowners Association. Cottonwood Estates. Cottonwood Homeowners Association. n.d.http://cottonwoodhomeowners.wix.com/cha-website

Earth Force. Water monitoring kit. Earth Force, n.d.

Goyn, Lanny. Personal Interview. 27 Febuary 2017.

Google. Google Maps. Google, n.d. https://www.google.com/maps .

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Heather et al. LOWER LARAMIE RIVER WATERSHED STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES ASSESSEMENT 2006 FIELD SEASON. Rawlins Field Office, September 2007. https://www.blm.gov/style/medialib/blm/wy/field-offices/rawlins/standards06.Par.47281.File.dat/LowerLaramie_SandG.pdf

Johnson, Eben. Assessment of endocrine disrupting compounds in Wyoming surface water: little evidence of presence or effects on Wyoming fisheries. Bergman Lab, October 29, 2014.

Laramie Rivers Conservation District. Laramie Rivers Conservation District. Laramie Rivers Conservation District. n.d.http://www.lrcd.net/

Marcell et al. BIG LARAMIE RIVER WATERSHED Standards and Guidelines Assessment 2007 Field Season. Rawlins Field Office, September 2008. www.blm.gov/style/medialib/blm/wy/field-offices/rawlins/standards07.Par.97720.File.dat/BigLaramie2007.pdf . This source was about the Laramie river watershed. This source was useful to use because it helped us learn more about different areas of the Laramie river, and what used and still does pollute different sections of the river. This source was credible and accurate because it was an in depth and scientific paper, with credible people researching and writing it.

Parkin, Darren. Personal Interview. 27 Febuary 2017.

Perdue Owl. Perdue Online Writing Lab. Perdue Owl. n.d. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/ .

Project Citizen, Electronic Portfolios. Project Citizen .n.d. http://www.civiced.org/electronic-portfolios

States West Water Resources Corporation Cheyenne, Wyoming. Upper Laramie River Basin Planning Study. States West Water Resources Corporation Cheyenne, Wyoming, November 1991. http://library.wrds.uwyo.edu/wwdcrept/Upper_Laramie_River/Upper_Laramie-River_Basin_Planning_Study_Level_I_Investigation-Final_Report-1991.html

United States Environmental Protection Agency. Volunteer Stream Monitoring: A Methods Manual. United States Environmental Protection Agency. November 1997. https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-06/documents/stream.pdf

University of Wyoming. ZOOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES Harold L. Bergman Professor Emeritus. n.d. http://www.uwyo.edu/zoology/people/bergman.html