IEC Decries Settlement as "Grossly Inadequate" in Fifth-Largest Fish Kill in Iowa History

IOWA—This week, the Iowa Attorney General’s office announced a settlement with NEW Cooperative in Red Oak over a major fish kill event in March of 2024. NEW Cooperative left the valve on a fertilizer tank open for multiple days, resulting in 265,000 gallons of concentrated fertilizer being discharged into the East Nishnabotna River. This decimated not just the local ecosystem, but also a 50-mile stretch along the East Nishnabotna and Nishnabotna Rivers downstream. The fish kill only ended when the water reached the Missouri River. It made national news for its sheer scope and magnitude.  

An estimated 749,000 fish were killed, and the initial cost of the fish kill from the DNR was estimated at more than $225,000.  

Under the settlement, NEW Cooperative is ordered to pay just a $50,000 penalty and another $50,000 toward a “supplemental project with the Montgomery County Conservation Board.” 

“This penalty is grossly inadequate. It does not come anywhere close to righting the financial and environmental harms of one of Iowa’s most significant aquatic disasters in recent history,” said Michael Schmidt, General Counsel for the Iowa Environmental Council (IEC). “Agricultural and industrial polluters are already under-regulated in our state, and lenient settlements like this show that big industry is valued over water quality, wildlife, habitat, and health.”  

The Nishnabotna fish kill was unique in that it was near the magnitude of all fish kills in Iowa over the past decade.  

“The scale of the devastation is tragic. We assign economic value to the fish, but what about the other wildlife that depend on that water for food and habitat?” said Colleen Fowle, IEC Water Program Director. “The damage to soil health, aquatic plants, invertebrates, and all of the reptiles and mammals is incalculable.” 

As IEC stated at the time, we must demand more protective laws and rules that will prevent this type of event from happening again. We need stronger protections against pollution events like this, including increased requirements for containment barriers to prevent fertilizer and other farm chemical spills and discharges from reaching surface water. The DNR must have adequate funding and staffing to properly inspect for compliance with regulations and investigate and enforce violations. And penalties need to be severe enough to provide actual deterrence against violations, rather than being so menial that they are viewed merely as the cost of doing business in Iowa. ? 

“Fish kills are too common in Iowa, and as Iowans, we should not accept this disregard for the environment as the status quo,” Schmidt said. “Other states have implemented regulations that prevent the frequency and severity of these types of disasters. These events are preventable. Iowa leaders should have the willpower to enact policies that protect our waterways and hold polluters accountable when they inflict harm on our environment.”  

Nishnabotna Water Defenders, a partner of IEC, has planned a community meeting on August 10 in Red Oak in response to the settlement. “With this settlement announcement, it has become obvious to Nishnabtona Water Defenders that it is up to the community to monitor our water quality, so we are training teams of local community scientists to do just that. One of our main focus areas is teaching people to test the water and advocate for the health of our waterways,” said Terry Langan, Co-President of the Nishnabotna Water Defenders. The group’s Facebook page will have more information.  

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The Iowa Environmental Council is the state's largest and most comprehensive environmental alliance, comprised of diverse organizations and individuals working together to protect Iowa's natural environment. Through education, advocacy, and coalition-building, the Council raises awareness, generates action, and creates large-scale change. We work on federal, state, and local public policy issues to ensure a just, healthy environment and sustainable future for all Iowans.