EPA regulation changes could cost Kaycee nearly $800K

BUFFALO (WNE) — The town of Kaycee knows it only has copper and plastic pipes in its water system, but based on changing Environmental Protection Agency regulations, it may need to spend nearly $800,000 to satisfactorily prove it.

Kaycee isn’t alone among small towns in the state faced with challenges due to evolving regulations related to the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule, updated in 2024, town Clerk-Treasurer Kristen LeDoux said. 

LeDoux said the town’s records show that none of its pipes are made from lead, but what the EPA considers satisfactory documentation has changed. 

The water main’s documentation was accepted, but the town may have to pothole every single water tap between main and water meter to meet new requirements. Utility potholing involves drilling a small exploratory hole down to service lines, and can be done to test the type of pipe it is.

“We know we don’t have any lead; it’s just satisfying their requirements,” she said.

The town is applying for a loan from the State Loan and Investment Board’s drinking water fund to cover the costs.

Town Councilman Tom Knapp said that since state statute requires that water services, like sewer and garbage services, must be self-funding through user fees, taking on a loan could mean water user rates would have to be raised. The water reserves wouldn’t be enough to cover the costs of the project, though it could be used to supplement the loan’s repayment, LeDoux said.

However, Knapp said that the regulations may be altered in a way that the council either doesn’t have to drill or could drill fewer locations.

“There are a lot of communities that are in the same spot, so we’re hearing other alternatives,” he said.

This story was published on Jan. 15, 2026.