US EPA sweeps Iowa’s water crisis under the rug

Image Credit: Food and Water Watch

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has denied a Clean Water Act “de-delegation petition,” which has been under consideration for more than 11 years. Iowans and environmental advocates say that the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is neglecting its duties.

“EPA’s petition denial is a whitewashing of Iowa’s ongoing failure to regulate factory farms,” says Tarah Heinzen, Senior Staff Attorney at Food & Water Watch, which has represented Iowa CCI on the petition for several years.

“EPA has given these facilities carte blanche to pollute Iowa’s waterways. This decision is just one more reason why Iowa’s leaders must step up an enact a moratorium on factory farms.”

In 2012, the EPA issued a preliminary report in response to the petition, finding that the DNR was not complying with the Clean Water Act, and released a critical report finding that the Iowa DNR:

1. Did not have an adequate factory farm inspection program;
2. Was not issuing permits to polluting factory farms when required; and
3. Did not assess adequate fines and penalties when violations occur.

The report confirmed what Iowa CCI had been saying for years: the DNR was not doing its job implementing […]

Full article: US Environmental Protection Agency sweeps Iowa’s water crisis under the rug