skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, December 16, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Schumer requests "special drone-detection tech" for N.Y. and N.J; MA worker co-op movement backs REI union contract efforts; Georgia's clean energy boom sparks workforce growth, housing challenges; Join the flock: Mississippi's Christmas Bird Count takes flight.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

President-elect Trump rethinks his ability to lower prices, mass deportations could spur economic losses on par with the Great Recession, and Sen. Bernie Sanders says he'll work with the Trump administration to raise the federal minimum wage.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Conservative voters surprised pundits by casting election votes for Trump but also against school vouchers, Pennsylvania's Black mayors work to unite their communities, and America's mental health providers try new techniques.

State to Rewrite Manure Rules for CAFOs

play audio
Play

Wednesday, June 21, 2023   

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is updating the rules defining how manure is stored at animal feeding operations.

For generations, groundwater has been threatened by soil runoff from these operations, and environmental advocates want to see tougher standards. Farmers routinely apply the manure to their land as fertilizer. But erosion, unpredictable weather and rules that are difficult to enforce leave the manure contaminating ground and surface water.

Michael Schmidt, staff attorney for the Iowa Environmental Council, is calling for greater separation between manure storage facilities and karst soil, which contains porous rock, limestone and underground caves.

"And if you build a manure storage structure on top of that, it can basically all run into those caves and get into the groundwater and the surface waters," Schmidt explained.

The DNR said despite its existing rules, there are still hundreds of streams, lakes and private wells teeming with high levels of fecal coliform and other pollutants.

Schmidt pointed out the environmental council is also asking the DNR to modernize manure management plans for farmers, so they are an up-to-date reflection of what is happening on their land. Right now, plans are submitted on paper, which Schmidt argued means a less than accurate account of what really takes place at confinements across the state.

"We have roughly 9,000 animal feeding operations in Iowa," Schmidt noted. "And so, it is an overwhelming task to try to provide oversight for all of these. And having the contents be electronic and geospatial would let DNR and the public have a much better sense of where the manure should be applied and how much should be applied."

The DNR plans to hold a public hearing on its proposed new rules at the end of September.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Along with a goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, the Port Authority is looking to reduce direct emissions 50% by 2030. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

The Port of New York and New Jersey is receiving funding to cut emissions. It's part of the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Ports Program…


Social Issues

play sound

Ohioans are paying close attention to the fast-tracking of Senate Bill 295 through the Statehouse during the lame-duck session. The proposed …

Environment

play sound

By Sarah Melotte and Elizabeth Miller for The Daily Yonder.Broadcast version by Shanteya Hudson for Georgia News Connection for the Public News Servic…


Worker-owned businesses are 25% more likely to stay in business while helping to improve economic and racial equity, according to the Massachusetts Center for Employee Ownership. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Union workers fighting for a fair contract at Recreational Equipment, Inc. Boston are drawing support from the state's growing worker co-op community…

Social Issues

play sound

Four east Texas communities will share more than $1 million in grant money to upgrade their radio infrastructure systems. The grants are funded by …

Each year, immigrants add $54 billion to Colorado's economy. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

As President-elect Donald Trump doubles down on promises to round up and deport the nation's 11 million undocumented immigrants, the city of Castle …

Environment

play sound

The federal Department of the Interior has awarded the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission more than $800,000 for recovery efforts for Ame…

Environment

play sound

From cow waste to clean energy, Michigan will soon have a couple of new state-backed digesters to get the job done. Last Tuesday, the Michigan …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021