Posted July 20, 2015
The Des
Moines Water Works lawsuit against three northwest Iowa counties over water
quality is scheduled to be heard by a federal trial judge, beginning Aug. 8,
2016, according to a Des Moines Register article available here.
Siouxland Matter also published an article available here.
U.S.
District Court Judge Mark Bennett expects the bench trial in Sioux City to last
up to two weeks.
The Des
Moines utility is suing Buena Vista, Calhoun and Sac counties claiming that the
drainage districts present act as conduits for nitrates to move from farm
fields into the Raccoon River, one of two sources of drinking water for 500,000
residents in the Des Moines metro area, according to Siouxland
Matters.
Ag leaders
have encouraged growers to adopt more conservation practices outlined under the
voluntary Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy to keep nitrogen and other nutrients
on farm fields. In the last year, the state provided $9.6 million legislative
session for conservation and water quality initiatives, according to The
Des Moines Register.
Chris
Hensley, a Des Moines City Council member and Iowa Clean Water Partnership
leader, said the lawsuit is “not the right path forward.”
“Legal
action will create a divide between rural and urban Iowa and do nothing to
reduce nitrate levels. Collaboration will increase participation in
conservation efforts, such as the Nutrient Reduction Strategy, and make a
positive impact on water quality.
Bill
Stowe, the utility’s CEO, said the utility is confident the lawsuit “will lead
to greater environmental protections in Iowa.”
Stowe
criticized what he called farm propaganda on water quality, pointing to TV ads
from the newly created Iowa Partnership for Clean Water. Instead, he said, the
utility wants “substantive discussions about what will protect the quality of
the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers.”
Stowe said
recent high nitrate levels prompted the Des Moines utility to run its nitrate
removal plant for more than 150 days, longer than ever before. It stopped using
the plant late last week.
A final
pretrial conference is scheduled for July 26, 2016, according to Siouxland
Matters.
For more information on water law, please visit the National
Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
