Iowans ask for formal probe, higher fines for ‘unprecedented’ fertilizer spill that killed 750K fish in East Nishnabotna River

Iowans from 18 counties are asking state agencies for a formal investigation of an “unprecedented” fertilizer spill that in March killed 750,000 fish in a Southwest Iowa river.

A letter signed by 63 people asks the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to pursue “penalties and civil actions,” including referring enforcement to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office, which can pursue bigger fines.

“The extent of this pollution event is unprecedented and requires the attention of all Iowans,” Neil Hamilton, a Drake University emeritus professor of agricultural law, wrote in the letter dated Monday. “The devastation of life in over 50 miles of the river, including the death of 750,000 fish as reported by your dedicated staff, is difficult to even comprehend.”

Around March 9, someone at the NEW Cooperative in Red Oak left open a hose valve that leaked about 265,000 gallons of liquid nitrogen fertilizer into a drainage ditch that went to the East Nishnabotna River. An employee noticed the spill March 11 and alerted the Iowa DNR.

“The fertilizer spill near Red Oak in Montgomery County earlier this month killed nearly all the fish in an almost 50-mile stretch of the East Nishnabotna River to the Missouri border,” the department reported March 28.

At lower levels, nitrogen fertilizer can deplete water of oxygen, killing wildlife.

“However, this was such a large amount of chemical, it more than likely killed the fish from acute toxicity … killing cells at the gills,” John Lorenzen, an Iowa DNR fisheries biologist, told the Iowa Capital Dispatch. He also saw dead frogs, snakes, mussels and earthworms. “I’ve never dealt with a situation like this before.”

Cleanup included building a levee west of the co-op and pumping polluted water into holding tanks, as well as removing contaminated soil. The Iowa DNR reported March 28 that staff were determining the “next steps” for enforcement action and restitution for lost aquatic life.

Department spokeswoman Tammie Krausman said Thursday its “final enforcement decision will be made as early as mid-May.”

The Iowa DNR can pursue civil penalties of up to $10,000, but the Iowa Attorney General can pursue penalties of up to $5,000 per day, per violation, for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit holders.

In addition to seeking higher penalties for offenders, the letter asks the Iowa DNR to work with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to review rules about agricultural chemical storage to see if they are adequate to protect waterways.

“If your investigation identifies gaps or inadequacies in the rules or their enforcement we expect you to propose protective measures so the potential for another incident like this is eliminated,” Hamilton wrote.

Signers of the letter include people from Cass, Clayton, Crawford, Dallas, Guthrie, Greene, Johnson, Linn, Mitchell, Montgomery, Muscatine, Page, Polk, Pottawattamie, Story, Warren, Wayne and Winneshiek counties.

The Sierra Club Iowa Chapter on April 8 asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to step in on enforcement of the fertilizer spill, fearing the state would not “pursue adequate punishment for this egregious violation of the Clean Water Act.”

The EPA so far has not responded, President Pam Mackey-Taylor said Thursday.

Download: Nish letter signed final (002).pdf

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