Posted August 21, 2014
A citizens
group, opposing new water quality regulations approved by the Iowa Commission,
filed a lawsuit to stop implementation of the rules, according to a WCF Courier
article by David Pitt available here.
Fairfield Citizen also published the article here,
and The Des Moines Register published an article available here.
Iowa
Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI) Action Fund along with three women
members of the group, filed a petition in Polk County District Court in Des
Moines requesting a judge to void the rules, which were approved unanimously
Tuesday by the Environmental Protection Commission.
The group
is alleging that the vote was illegal due to the fact that five members of the
Iowa Environmental Protection Commission have "a direct financial stake in
the factory farm industry and should have recused themselves from the
vote," according to The Des
Moines Register.
"Governor
Branstad, for far too long now, has let industry insiders and big money donors
run all facets of our government. We are drawing a line in the sand when it
comes to clean water for all Iowans," said Barb Kalbach, president of the
Iowa CCI Action Fund.
The
accused commissioners are Gene Ver Steeg, Brent Rastetter, Max Smith, Nancy
Couser, and Cindy Greiman.
State law
requires three out of the nine members to be “actively engaged in livestock and
grain farming, one in finance or commerce, and one in manufacturing.”
The rules
establish new inspection and permit processes for livestock farms, but they do
not impose mandatory permits and other stricter provisions sought by the Iowa
CCI. Iowa CCI wants all farms that “spill liquid waste to be required to get a
permit and the organization called for a three strikes rule that would shut
down farms that repeatedly spill contaminants into rivers or streams,”
according to WCF Courier.
Iowa is
the nation's leading corn, pork and egg producer, and has struggled with
cleaning up hundreds of impaired rivers and streams while managing the waste.
Iowa
natural resources director Chuck Gipp said after Tuesday's vote that state law
prevents the agency from implementing rules more stringent than federal clean
water rules. He said the rules bring Iowa into compliance with EPA requirements
and will require farms that spill manure to fix their problems or get a permit.
He expects the rules will improve Iowa's water quality.
Three Iowa
CCI members named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit claim they have been personally
affected by farm pollution, and the commission failed to listen to the three
women’s complaints.
The
complaint said Rita Dvorak, of Riceville, has been forced to spend thousands of
dollars to clean pollution in her pond from a neighboring livestock farm.
Rosie
Partridge, of Wall Lake, is surrounded by 30,000 hogs that force her family
inside at times. "Sometimes, the odor gets so bad that Ms. Partridge's
clothing will retain the smell of pig feces after leaving the area of the
odor," the lawsuit said.
Barb Lang,
of Des Moines, says massive algae growths and other side effects of farm runoff
have ruined water bodies far downstream from the farms.
"This
lawsuit seeks to invalidate yesterday's vote by a commission which consists of
individuals who clearly had a vested financial interest in the proposal before
them," said Joseph C. Glazebrook, Iowa CCI's attorney, in a statement.
"We believe that when the executive branch of government fails to protect
the general public from this type of harm, it is up to the courts to make sure
the people's interests are best served by state government."
For more
information on water law, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s
website here.
