Newsroom For Tag "nitrate pollution"

IEC and 12 environmental groups petition EPA to protect drinking water for Iowans

posted 4/16/2024
Today, the Iowa Environmental Council and numerous environmental and public health partners petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to take action to protect Iowans from unsafe drinking water. The petition calls for immediate action under the Safe Drinking Water Act to remediate nitrate contamination in Northeast Iowa drinking water sources.

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New report reveals true costs of CAFOs in Iowa

posted 11/14/2023
Iowans are shelling out hundreds of millions of dollars to treat their drinking water and pay for treatment of life-threatening health care issues caused by nitrate pollution from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in the state, according to a new report published by IEC.

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IEC releases new infographics outlining need for Numeric Nutrient Criteria

posted 7/28/2023
Nutrient pollution from fertilizer (excess nitrogen and phosphorus) is the state's most severe water quality problem. The Clean Water Act requires states to set water quality standards limiting the these types of pollutants and offers two approaches: narrative and numeric. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) currently uses relies on narrative criteria for fertilizer pollution control. IEC shares new infographics that illustrate why this is harming our waters.

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IEC launches website Iowa's Declining Decade

posted 5/26/2023
As Iowa's Big Ag groups celebrate a 'Defining Decade' this month, IEC unveiled our new website 'Iowa's Declining Decade' marking the tenth anniversary of the state's Nutrient Reduction Strategy. DecliningDecade.org cuts through big ag propaganda and reminds Iowans of how little progress is actually being made on the state's pollution reduction goals through the taxpayer-funded NRS.

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IEC reacts to Legislature's Ag and Natural Resources Budget changes

posted 4/26/2023
The Iowa legislature passed an Agriculture and Natural Resources budget that reduces funding for nutrient pollution research and adds changes borrowed from the unpopular anti-public lands bill that stalled earlier in the session. IEC shares thoughts on the changes and their impacts.

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Annual Gulf Hypoxia Task Force meeting short on results

posted 12/15/2022
The Gulf Hypoxia Task Force held an annual meeting this week to review and update progress on the 12-state initiative to reduce nutrient (fertilizer) pollution. IEC participated in the meeting virtually, and shares recommendations and observations from the task force gathering.

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CAFO regulations - Details make a difference when it comes to siting

posted 9/26/2022
IEC petitioned for revisions to animal feeding operation (AFO) siting rules last year, but the Environmental Protection Commission denied the request in part because DNR promised to initiate a more comprehensive rulemaking in 2022. DNR has released proposed updates to the state's AFO rules, with mostly tweaks. But Iowa's dismal water quality needs more than tweaks.

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IEC calls for action to reduce nutrient pollution

posted 8/29/2022
The Iowa Environmental Council released a report calling on state agencies to take action after nearly ten years without progress under the state's Nutrient Reduction Strategy (NRS). The report, The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy: Ten Years and No Progress, calls for a timeline and changes in policy to achieve the state's pollution reduction goals.

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Mississippi River named among America's Most Endangered Rivers of 2022

posted 4/19/2022
American Rivers today named the Mississippi River one of America's Most Endangered Rivers® of 2022, highlighting the threats that habitat destruction and pollution, combined with climate impacts, pose to millions of people across the basin.

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EPA's Fertilizer Pollution Policy Memo: What's Missing

posted 4/11/2022
EPA issued a new fertilizer pollution policy memo on April 5, 2022. IEC digs into the memo's key points and responds to the findings.

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