State reduces fine after contamination kills 50K fish

Iowa environmental regulators reduced a fine that stemmed from a large fish kill last year in Eastern Iowa after the owners of the culpable farm operation appealed.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources initially levied a $10,000 administrative fine — the highest allowed by law — against a corporation owned by Patrick and Tracy Hammes, who live in rural Batavia, along with a penalty of $11,339.89 for restitution.

That initial order in March was unilaterally determined by the Iowa DNR, with the potential for appeal. The Hammeses did appeal and negotiated a $3,000 reduction of the fine, according to state records.

As part of that agreement, the Hammeses waived any further right to appeal. Further, they have complied with aspects of the previous order to identify all drains at the farm site and to develop a plan to prevent future creek pollution.

The problem was reported in September 2022 to the Iowa DNR when someone saw dead fish in Dry Creek in Buchanan County, about 6 miles northwest of Coggon.

An investigation identified a nearby fertilizer storage site owned by the Hammes as a likely source of the creek contamination. Liquid ammonia fertilizer is stored there, and runoff from the site could wash into drains that go into underground tiling in fields.

That tiling empties into a small waterway that flows to a pond and the creek. The Iowa DNR believes the pond, which is formed by a dam, developed a high concentration of ammonia nitrogen. That pond water was abruptly released into the creek when the dam was breached during a reconstruction project.

State tests of the remaining pond water found it had an ammonia nitrogen concentration of 490 parts per million, which is more than 100 times the concentration that is regarded as safe for aquatic life.

An Iowa DNR officer estimated that about 50,700 small fish died in a 6-mile stretch of Dry Creek.

This article first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch.