Disappointing waffle on water

THE GAZETTE’S EDITORIAL

You may have been reading news stories in recent months about the threat of water pollution from livestock operations built on or near karst topography.

Karst areas have a relatively thin layer of soil on top of bedrock. So surface water flows into groundwater more easily.

“Carbonate bedrock in karst regions dissolves over long periods of time to produce solution enlarged cracks, which creates a heightened risk of groundwater impacts from all kinds of activities on the surface including manure storage and application,” according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

“One specific concern in karst is the potential for sinkholes to form below manure storage structures, causing a catastrophic failure and allowing contaminants to flow directly into ground water,” the agency wrote.

So it’s little surprise that environmental groups in Iowa have been pleading with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to beef up restrictions on livestock operations locating on or near karst. And as of September, it looked like those groups had scored a victory. The DNR appeared poised to enact new rules requiring non-porous liners for manure storage and increasing the separation distance between storage and porous karst soils.

But in November, the DNR scrapped the new rules.

“DNR considered changes to the vertical separation provision, but the various stakeholders were unable to come to a consensus within the parameters and time frames required by Executive Order 10,” agency spokeswoman Tammie Krausman said in an email to The Gazette’s Erin Jordan.

Executive Order 10 is a Reynolds administration initiative to measure the cost and benefits of all administrative rules. In September, the DNR argued new restrictions were worth the cost.

“While there are costs in complying with the regulations, the benefit to the environment outweighs the cost,” the Iowa DNR wrote.

But, apparently, “stakeholders” did not agree. Who were these stakeholders? We don’t know for sure. But it’s a good bet agricultural interests opposed new restrictions, as they usually do.

Iowa is Exhibit A regarding the phenomenon of “regulatory capture.” That’s when regulatory agencies are taken over by the interests they regulate and no longer care about the common good. The DNR is directed by a former ag group lobbyist. The Environmental Protection Commission is dominated by members tied to farming. The governor who appoints the commission receives some of her largest campaign contributions from large-scale hog producers.

So, a fairly modest, common-sense rule gets scrapped. It’s long past time Iowans start demanding that our environmental protectors actually protect the environment.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com