Fertilizer truck rollover causes fish kill near Wadena

A fish kill this week in Fayette County was caused by fertilizer from a tipped truck, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday.

The Iowa DNR responded Monday afternoon to a truck rollover about 2 miles south of Wadena. The truck owned by Nutrien Ag Solutions of West Union carried about 40,000 pounds of fertilizer when it crashed, with some of the fertilizer going into a tributary of Brush Creek.

Investigators found dead fish and high ammonia levels in the stream, the agency said.

Nutrien Ag dammed the stream, diverting clean stream flow as crews worked to clean up the spill. The state monitored cleanup and continued the investigation Tuesday. Fisheries staff were on site checking to see the effects of the fertilizer downstream, the Iowa DNR reported.

The agency said it will consider appropriate enforcement actions.

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