Public Notice: Water Quality Certification for the Madison River Bridge Project in Yellowstone National Park

Summary

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received a request from the National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park for a Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 water quality certification (WQC) for the above project. Section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act requires applicants for Federal permits and licenses that may result in any discharge into waters of the United States to obtain certification or waiver from the certifying authority where the discharge would originate.

EPA acts as the certifying authority on lands of exclusive federal jurisdiction in relevant respects, in this case on lands within Yellowstone National Park. EPA will act on this certification request by either: 

1. granting certification; 
2. granting certification with conditions; 
3. denying certification; or 
4. expressly waiving certification consistent with CWA Section 401 and EPA’s implementing regulations at 40 CFR 121.

The proposed project would be covered under U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) CWA Section 404 Nationwide Permit (NWP) 6. NWP 6 authorizes discharges of dredged and/or fill material into waters of the United States for survey activities, such as core sampling, seismic exploratory operations, plugging of seismic shot holes and other exploratory-type bore holes, exploratory trenching, soil surveys, sampling, sample plots or transects for wetland delineations, and historic resources surveys, in waters of the United States under section 404 of the CWA and section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. 

Project Description

Applicant

Yellowstone National Park

Location

44.663660, -110.965369 in Yellowstone National Park

Waterways

Madison River

The proposed project is a geotechnical investigation for future construction of a new bridge across the Madison River on U.S. Highway 191. An 8-inch diameter borehole will be drilled to determine the geologic setting and identify bedrock depth.

Equipment will operate from the existing bridge and consist of a truck rig or smaller drilling equipment. Equipment will be steam cleaned, and any water tanks drained, cleaned, and dried prior to entering the Park. Water used for drilling will be taken from the Madison River and intakes will include fish screens. 

Standard methods for drilling in rivers will be followed. Initially, a casing will be advanced into the sediment into which bentonite clay will be inserted to form a seal. After the seal is set, drilling inside the casing is tested to measure turbidity. During drilling operations, return water from the borehole will be recirculated and any excess water will be disposed of upland at a location approved by Park personnel; best management practices (BMPs) will be implemented to prevent drill water from reaching the river or any other waterbodies. Drilling will extend an estimated maximum depth of 120 feet. Boring will yield approximately 1.6 cubic yards of total material. The borehole will be backfilled using standard methods at completion of the project, which includes sealing the hole with bentonite.

The project will impact 0.00002 acres of the Madison River below the ordinary high water mark. No wetlands will be impacted.

Public Hearings

Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider this application. If the Administrator, in his or her discretion, determines that a public hearing is appropriate or necessary, EPA will schedule a public hearing. You may request a public hearing using the information in the “How to Comment” box on the righthand side of this webpage.

Public Comment

Submit comments as described in the “How to Comment” box at the righthand side of this webpage. EPA must receive comments by 11:59 pm MST on February 4, 2026. 

All comments received prior to the end of the comment period will be considered in the preparation of the Clean Water Action Section 401 Water Quality Certification and will be part of the administrative record. Contact Jeffrey Ullman (R8CWA401@epa.gov ; 303-312-6329) to request additional information, public notice updates, submit comments or provide additional information relevant to this certification.

At this time there is no opportunity to review the submitted material and documents in person at an EPA office. These documents are only available electronically and can be provided upon request.

Notification and details of any public comment period extension will be posted to this page only. Interested parties on our email list will also be notified by email.  

Project Applicant

Cameron H. Sholly, Superintendent (Cam_sholly@nps.gov)
Yellowstone National Park

Authorized Agent 

Western Federal Lands Highway Division
Jennifer Chariarse, Environmental Manager (Jennifer.Chariarse@dot.gov)