It’s the DNR’s job

There's a drive under way at the Statehouse to move water quality and watershed improvement efforts out of the Department of Natural Resources. They would, instead, be placed under the umbrella of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

Gov. Branstad supports the bill, and it's already cleared two committees in the Republican-controlled Iowa House. Backers contend the measure would “streamline” water programs.

But environmentalists contend that for all the DNR's faults, this shift would be a step backward that could jeopardize important projects and programs. We agree, and we urge lawmakers to abandon the bill.

The legislation smacks of retribution against an agency that has taken its lumps, fairly and unfairly, over the years. This is not part of some major new initiative to improve water quality or manage watersheds with hopes of controlling flooding. The bill doesn't come with beefed up spending or fresh ideas.

This is about taking money and authority from an agency the House majority dislikes and giving it to one it likes better. That's not a good enough reason to tinker with critical programs. We've seen no evidence presented that the bill will make water any cleaner or flooding any less likely. And it's worth noting that many of the DNR rules and regulations now faulted by lawmakers were first approved by lawmakers.

We question whether the ag department, charged with supporting and promoting Iowa agriculture, should be in charge of policing water quality. Efforts to improve waterways and better manage watersheds aren't always popular with agricultural interests, as the DNR has discovered. We think the ag department's current role is inconsistent with the role of a water regulator.

Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey is a thoughtful advocate for soil and water conservation. But there's no guarantee that future secretaries will be in his mold. And we don't think Iowa's water quality chief should be elected in a contest where one sector, farm commodity groups, has so much influence on the outcome.

We think the current cooperation between the DNR and the Department of Agriculture is a better arrangement.

Nearly three years after the flood of 2008 smacked Cedar Rapids, we've seen very little Statehouse movement toward comprehensive watershed management efforts that could reduce the threat of flooding. We're still waiting for lawmakers to get serious about this issue. Rearranging bureaucratic deck chairs is not getting serious.