State alleges environmental violations by Osage area property owner

The Iowa Attorney General's Office has filed a lawsuit accusing a woman of illegal dumping and burning violations at her property near Osage.The lawsuit, filed in Mitchell County District Court against Colleen Weber, asks the court to order a cleanup of the site and prohibit future violations.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has tried for years to get Weber to comply with environmental regulations.

He said the open dumping and burning of materials such as wood, metal, fabric, cardboard, furniture and food waste have occurred at the site over several years.

"Iowa law prohibits this kind of dumping anywhere other than at an approved sanitary disposal site," Miller said in a statement.

The DNR issued orders in 2005 to clean up the site and assessed a penalty of $1,500. Miller said the site still has not been cleaned up, despite numerous inspections by the DNR, and the penalty has never been paid.

The lawsuit asks the court to impose civil penalties of up to $5,000 per day for solid waste dumping violations and up to $10,000 per day for air quality violations.

The property is located about four miles east of Osage at the intersection of U.S. Highway 218 and Iowa Highway 9.

Weber could not immediately be reached for comment.