Iowa lawmakers should listen to voters on water quality

As the state legislature prepares to end on schedule this year, the water quality debate continues to bubble to the forefront at the Capitol. But there is no need for further debate; there is only need for action.

As both Todd Dorman and guest columnist Dan Cohen wrote in The Gazette last week, the people of Iowa have already told their legislators that we want them to fund the Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund. We spoke loud and clear in 2010, when 63 percent of Iowans approved a state constitutional amendment creating the Trust Fund.

Since then, support for funding water quality improvement has only grown, with a recent poll from the University of Northern Iowa indicating that Iowans see it as a shared financial responsibility. The same poll found that more than 80 percent of Iowans were willing to pay additional taxes or fees to improve water quality.

Back in 2006, the legislature appointed a Sustainable Funding Committee to explore financing for our state's precious natural resources. Following four years of in-depth research, the Committee recommended legislation that would create a permanent, constitutionally protected trust fund. This was the fund that voters approved in 2010.

As a member of the original Sustainable Funding Committee, the results of the recent UNI study are not surprising to me. Anyone paying attention knows that water quality is important to Iowans. During the bipartisan, multi-stakeholder Committee's studies, we focused on this vital issue while also noting that concerns for our natural resources don't stop with water. We need to preserve habitat for our native species. We need to maintain the trails and parks that drive the outdoor recreation economy in our state, attracting visitors and retaining those who grew up here and want a healthy, beautiful environment in which to raise their families.

The Sustainable Funding Committee studied many possible funding mechanisms and determined that the best vehicle to raise the funds needed to preserve Iowa's natural resources would be 3/8 of one cent from the next state sales tax increase going into the Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund. This money is meant to enhance, not replace, existing funding for natural resources or other state priorities, as many of the ideas being floated at the Capitol this session have attempted to do. The people of Iowa voted for the Trust Fund. It is time for the legislature to do the same.

Sincerely,

' Lola Lopes, of Iowa City, is Professor Emeritus (Management & Organization/Psychology), University of Iowa. Comments: lola-lopes@uiowa.edu