Wyoming coal community has a chance to save itself from economic ruin, but small-town struggles stand in its way

CASPER – The city of Kemmerer, Wyoming, feels a sense of pride for its tough little wastewater treatment plant. For 42 years, the plant has quietly serviced hundreds of homes.

It’s chugged through economic booms that stretched it to capacity and busts that forced many residents to move out. Under the care of the same operator for the last three decades, it’s lived twice as long as intended.

But the community is poised to outgrow the plant for good.

The 3300 people who rely on it today are about all its aging machinery can handle, said Brent McClarnon, superintendent of the Kemmerer/Diamondvill...