Iowa DNR reviews new manure plan for Supreme Beef feedlot

An 11,600-head cattle feedlot near Monona is again seeking a permit to dispose of manure after a judge threw out a previous plan.

A half-dozen people — some who have opposed Supreme Beef’s plans since 2017 — spoke against the feedlot’s new proposed nutrient management plan at a virtual public hearing attended by nearly 40 people Tuesday.

Opponents raised many of the same concerns, including inaccurate manure calculations, an earthen basin in porous topography and the risk of runoff into a treasured trout stream.

“This new nutrient management plan is the result of the Sierra Club’s successful litigation,” said Wally Taylor, of Marion, general counsel for the Sierra Club’s Iowa chapter. “Here we are and I don’t think we’ve made any progress.”

The Sierra Club sued Supreme Beef and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in September 2021 after the Iowa DNR in April 2021 approved the feedlot’s nutrient management plan for up to 11,600 cattle. Trout Unlimited later joined Sierra Club in the lawsuit. The suit said the state based its approval on faulty data provided by Supreme Beef and that the facility will produce far more manure than it claimed.

Polk County Judge Scott Rosenberg sided with the nature groups in April and sent the decision back to the Iowa DNR. The agency told Supreme Beef Owner Jared Walz in May that until a new plan was approved by the agency, no manure could be removed from the site.

Steve Veysey, a retired Iowa State University employee and water quality advocate, said Tuesday the amount of manure Supreme Beef proposes to apply to nearby farm fields would take more than 4,000 acres, yet the plan lists just over 2,200. There also are errors in the feedlot’s calculations, he said.

Pam Mackey-Taylor, director of the Sierra Club’s Iowa chapter, asked the Iowa DNR to review all of Supreme Beef’s numbers.

“The DNR needs to check all the calculations and numbers on the paperwork submitted by Supreme Beef and verify all the information is correct,” she said. “Don’t just take Supreme Beef’s word for it.”

Michael Schmidt, general counsel for the Iowa Environmental Council, said Supreme Beef proposes overapplication of manure in an area with karst terrain, which is porous and allows pollution to quickly filter into groundwater and nearby streams. The feedlot is in the watershed of Bloody Run, a trout stream.

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“It poses a threat to water quality in this ecologically unique region,” Schmidt said of the feedlot.

No one at the public hearing spoke in favor of the new nutrient management plan.

The Iowa DNR said it would like to have written comments by Monday, but will accept them until a decision is made. Email comments to Kelli.Book@dnr.iowa.gov. The agency has until Sept. 3 to make a decision.

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