DES MOINES, Iowa - There is a growing problem with nutrients in drinking water sources in Iowa, but there are hopes that some solutions will flow out of the Farm Bill under debate in Congress.

According to Linda Kinman, public policy analyst for Des Moines Water Works, there's been an increase in nitrates in water sources for decades, and this past summer both the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers hit their highest levels on record, while the cost of water treatment reached nearly a million dollars.

"It takes more money to treat and it also takes a lot more diligence as far as watching what's coming into the plant and what's going out of the plant to make sure the treatment and everything is working," she said.

Kinman said they now have the world's largest nitrate-removal facility and also use off-river storage in ponds and old quarries. While those strategies are helping, she said, strong conservation policies via the Farm Bill are needed to address excess nutrients in the water.

One proposal, called Conservation Compliance, would require farmers to implement soil-conservation plans and protect wetlands on vulnerable lands as a condition of receiving federal crop insurance. Another, called Sodsaver, would help address the loss of grasslands by reducing the subsidy and guarantee level on federal crop insurance for cropland converted from native prairie.

Kinman said the need for these types of programs is especially important in an agricultural state like Iowa, where fertilizer is commonly used and many a field is tiled.

"Because nitrates are water-soluble, they go through the soil profile into the tile and are discharged, sort of bypassing nature's natural biological process to reduce nitrates. So for drainage tile, we really need to develop some type of water management practices."

Kinman noted that moving away from the voluntary conservation practices of the past 30 years to those that are more of a requirement is not only a water issue, but also a soil issue.

That's "because Iowa has lost about 50 percent of its topsoil in the last 100 years. So, to preserve the thing that makes Iowa important, which is our agricultural land, the conservation practices need to be on the land, and if you protect the soil, you're going to help protect water quality also," she asserted.

Versions of the Farm Bill have passed both the U.S. House and the Senate, but little progress has been reported from the conference committee negotiations over the past month. The previous Farm Bill expired at the end of September.

More information on Sodsaver is at bit.ly/1jeeJhs. More on Conservation Compliance is at bit.ly/1gWecnN. Farm Bill information is at 1.usa.gov/1cCJJFH.




get more stories like this via email

New maps show the extent of New York State's lead pipe replacement program.

They demonstrate progress in replacing lead service lines, although the state still has an estimated 494,000 of them. The Environmental Protection Agency awarded the state of New York more than $300 million over the last three years for the work but only $104 million has been awarded to municipalities.

Josh Klainberg, senior vice president of the New York League of Conservation Voters, said additional state funds can replace more lines.

"There are 24 projects that were funded from that $104 million that went out, which is great," Klainberg acknowledged. "But as I mentioned, though, there were an additional 85 other projects requesting money as well, totaling $211 million that went unfunded because there's no additional money."

The Rensselaer County Legislature passed a resolution urging New York State to allocate more funding to lead pipe replacement.

The EPA's new Lead and Copper rule expected this October will give municipalities nationwide a decade to replace all existing lead pipes. Klainberg pointed out when it happens, competition for labor and materials will be fierce. The rule's 10-year clock could start in 2027.

State dollars for the work are in the Clean Water Infrastructure Act and the Environmental Bond Act but do not match federal funds. A major challenge to replacing lead service lines is having an accurate inventory. Cities such as Troy are working with homeowners to get the information.

Klainberg emphasized replacing lead pipes benefits a municipality's water infrastructure.

"We spend a tremendous amount of money on that infrastructure," Klainberg noted. "For that last bit, to not consider that part of the overall infrastructure which is the most critical point, this is what I think the rethinking of this inventory project is about."

Beyond national maps, New York's Lead Pipe Right to Know Act requires information about where lead pipes are located to be easily accessible online for New Yorkers to access.


get more stories like this via email

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has a month to respond in court to a new lawsuit concerning a factory farm in the central part of the state.

Those leading the legal fight said the case speaks to how worried some communities are about concentrated animal feeding operations. The group Midwest Environmental Advocates represents Portage County residents in a lawsuit claiming the Department of Natural Resources reached an illegal settlement with a large livestock facility for a wastewater permit. At issue is whether the state should have allowed public input.

Adam Voskuil, staff attorney for the group, said as concentrated animal feeding operations gain a bigger footprint, data is becoming clear about the harm to local resources.

"We're seeing concerns over CAFOs in western Wisconsin, too, where there have been significant spills and fish kills," Voskuil reported.

He is referring to a 2019 incident where a settlement was reached with a large dairy operation over a manure discharge. For his clients, Voskuil pointed to 2018 county data showing elevated nitrate levels in private wells, saying it rises above the traditional "not-in-my-backyard" opposition.

The DNR would not comment on the lawsuit but some farm groups say large ag facilities have to adhere to strict regulations as they help feed the world.

Voskuil noted people who live near the sites are not regulators. They are individuals asking for responses to what they feel is a growing crisis.

"I really think that we need to stop just accepting that CAFOs can externalize the cost of environmental contamination onto the communities that live downstream or downwind," Voskuil stressed.

Wisconsin currently has nearly 340 concentrated animal feeding operations as consolidation in agriculture outmuscles smaller, independent farms. Even though the DNR is targeted in the new lawsuit, the agency was being defended by the state in a separate case for maintaining the permitting process for the projects. The suit was brought by industry groups who said they are being overregulated.


get more stories like this via email

A new film documents the 2018 battle between Colorado environmentalists and the oil and gas industry over proposed fracking regulations.

The film also documents a grassroots effort by Colorado Rising to pass a ballot initiative which would create a 2,500-foot setback for all hydraulic fracturing wells in the state, particularly in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Sarah Schulte, organizing committee member of GreenFaith Boulder County, which recently previewed the film for about 100 members, said the film has a strong message.

"What probably makes the film pretty dramatic and kind of shocking is the length to which oil and natural gas industries in Colorado set out to thwart them," Schulte pointed out. "Not only with some of the tactics you might expect, but also some kind of more nefarious tactics sabotaging their signature gathering, for example."

In the end, the petroleum industry defeated the measure after a $50 million campaign opposing it. Schulte acknowledged Colorado Rising raised only $1 million for its campaign. After the election, the state adopted a 1,000-foot drilling setback from schools and residential property lines.

Hydraulic fracturing, commonly called fracking, involves drillers injecting a mixture of chemicals underground to break up the shale and free the oil. The chemicals used in the process, which are sometimes toxic, can pollute groundwater and make the surrounding land unstable.

Schulte emphasized the movie had a powerful effect on the group's members.

"I think most people were pretty angry and maybe even a little sad after seeing how these kinds of politics play out in Colorado," Schulte observed. "They asked questions like what can we do next? How do you keep going when it's so difficult to fight such a big and powerful industry?"

The film, Fracking the System: Colorado's Oil and Gas Wars, is currently being previewed by select audiences. It has won the "Spirit of Activism" award at the Colorado Environmental Film Festival
and the "Environmental Award" at the 2024 DOCUTAH International Film Festival.