The Administrative Rules Review Committee will question the Strength of the Clean Water Act at 11 a.m. Tuesday in Room 116 of the Iowa State Capitol.
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement members continue to say the rule is weak and needs to be strengthened if the DNR is serious about cleaning up Iowa’s 630 polluted waterways.
“We want permits for all factory farms, good inspections that find problems and fix problems, and tough fines and penalties that deter future pollution,” said Vern Tigges, retired family farmer from Adel. “Branstad’s DNR is full of excuses so they can continue business as usual.”
Iowa DNR said the CWA rule is as strong as it can be but Iowa CCI members say there’s a lot more the DNR can do to strengthen the rule and protect our water.
Public comments submitted by Iowa CCI, Environmental Integrity Project, Sierra Club and 23 other interested organizations including Des Moines Water Works show specific examples of how the rule can be strengthened.
There have been 58 manure spills occurring since the CWA Work Plan was signed on Sept. 11, 2013.
In an annual report on progress of implementing the Clean Water Act submitted to the EPA by DNR, it stated that DNR has failed on completing the number of inspections required by EPA, failed to issue fines and penalties when required and has not issued a single CWA permit as a result of an inspection.