Recent Blogs - 2019

posted on Friday, December 13, 2019 Newly elected IEC board member Kevin Griggs shares his reasons for providing leadership to the Council and his visions for Iowa's future.

posted on Monday, November 4, 2019 Drake University recently announced it earned a Bronze STARS rating demonstrating Drake's commitment to environmental sustainability. According to the announcement on Drake's website, Drake, just like the rest of Iowa, needs to make water management and nutrient reduction an important goal, says Megan McDowell in this guest blog post.

posted by Angelisa Belden on Friday, November 1, 2019 The leaves are changing, the temperatures are dropping- even snow is falling in Iowa! Here at IEC, that means we're turning our attention to the Capitol in preparation for the next legislative session.

posted by Michael Schmidt on Friday, October 11, 2019 The Iowa Utilities Board just wrapped up a three-day hearing on the proposed changes to electric rates for Alliant Energy's Iowa affiliate, Interstate Power & Light. Alliant filed a request in March to increase its rates by $203.6 million per year. Because the regulatory process can be difficult to track, we're providing a look into what happened.

posted on Friday, October 4, 2019 A recent analysis by the Iowa Environmental Council showed that implementation rates of voluntary conservation practices set forth in the 2013 Nutrient Reduction Strategy are slowing. Under current time modeling, the IEC analysis shows it would take hundreds of years or more before we achieve the necessary goals. It is time for all farmland owners to do more and do it quickly.

posted by Angelisa Belden on Wednesday, September 11, 2019 Submitting op-eds or LTEs is an effective tool for addressing climate, water, and energy issues. Learn some simple tips to help you prepare and submit a piece for publication.

posted by Alicia Vasto on Friday, September 6, 2019 It's time to put our money where our mouths – and our boats, fishing poles, and splash pads – are. Mandatory conservation practices to reduce pollution at the source, adequate funding for water quality monitoring and enforcement by the DNR, and significant progress with the Nutrient Reduction Strategy are just a few of the measures we are calling for to clean up and preserve Iowa's waters

posted by Alicia Vasto on Friday, August 30, 2019 Any conversation about water quality in Iowa inevitably boils down to the fact that the largest industry in Iowa – agriculture – is not subject to most water quality regulations. Why is that? What is unique about the agriculture industry?

posted by Ingrid Gronstal on Wednesday, August 14, 2019 As a water quality professional, I know all too well the risks that harmful algae blooms carry for those of us just trying to cool off and enjoy ourselves at the lake. For our pets and our children, those risks can be particularly high.

posted by Nathaniel Baer on Thursday, August 8, 2019 The Iowa Environmental Council and Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) filed testimony from five expert witnesses last week identifying a wide range of significant concerns with Alliant's proposal. One of our biggest findings: coal no longer makes economic sense in Iowa.