Conservation District Receives Grant that will Support Acme Power Plant Project

The Sheridan County Conservation District has received a $2,500 grant that will be used to support outreach efforts associated with the Acme Power Plant reclamation project.

The grant is from the Wyoming Community Foundation through the Sheridan-Johnson County Community Foundation Endowment Funds.

The Acme Power Plant project is a community effort to address environmental and safety concerns at the former Acme Power Plant on the Tongue River north of Sheridan. The purpose, according to the conservation district, is to make the site suitable for public use in the future.

No specific future uses have been determined at this time, but expectations, according to the conservation district, include protecting water and land quality, ensuring public access and capturing the historical importance for the site.

According to a news release from the conservation district, input from earlier discussions has heavily favored some form of outdoor recreation.

The conservation district owns the approximately five-acre site for the purpose of participating in federal and state remediation programs. Contamination of surface soils, groundwater, sediments and building materials were identified during initial environmental assessments in 2017.

Some site stabilization activities were completed in October 2018, and detailed site assessments are currently under way.

The plant, which produced electricity through the burning of coal, was built in 1910 and for several decades provided electrical power to the city of Sheridan as well as the coal mining communities that dotted the Tongue River Valley during the early years of the 20^th century.