8 acres is not ‘sprawling’ anywhere, never mind Wyoming. And out west water rights are extremely sensitive - the EPA may be the least of this guy’s problems. An old friend tried to get leaky irrigation canals in Colorado fixed, only to learn that they were ‘intentionally’ leaking onto the farms of the politically-connected - he learned this when his trailer home was fire-bombed and he crashed naked through his back wall because the exits were burning.
The writer of the article is likely from some craphole city where 8 acres would seem big. For them an 1/8 acre is a nice sized yard.