NEW Co.’s accidental release of of 265,000 gallons of nitrogen-based fertilizer from a facility in Red Oak killed 750,000 fish in the East Nishnabotna. The case is an ‘extreme outlier’ among fertilizer spills and one that calls for a larger penalty than the maximum $10,000 that can be enforced by regulators, an Iowa DNR attorney said.
Inspired by COVID-19 rapid tests, a Minnesota startup developed a kit that amplifies the DNA of a fungus spreading among oaks weakened by drought. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources hopes to use information gathered from these kits to isolate infected trees.
A 2023 state report determined most of Iowa’s state parks have restrooms, shelters and cabins that are not accessible to people with disabilities.
It’s rare for the DNR to ask the AG’s office to step in on enforcement. And the Environmental Protection Commission, a nine-person, governor-appointed board that oversees environmental polices at the DNR, doesn’t always follow staff recommendations.
Regulators say they’ll seek enhanced penalties after widespread fish kill
In addition to seeking higher penalties for offenders, the letter to the DNR asks the agency to work with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to review rules related to agricultural chemical storage to see if they are adequate to protect Iowa waterways.
Among the new initiatives in next year’s budget are increased salaries for judges, funding for a new state Division of Special Education, and funding to increase accessibility at Iowa’s state parks.
Iowa would have 18 fewer law enforcement officers under an alignment plan the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is using to phase out park rangers. The DNR says this move will consolidate all law enforcement staff and won’t harm safety in Iowa’s 69 state parks. Some state park advocates disagree.
Also, nicotine vapes that are not approved by the feds would be banned from sale in Iowa under a bill also moving in the House
About 10 employees of a Keokuk company might have been exposed to airborne asbestos when they demolished several buildings northwest of that town last year, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Rangers at Iowa’s 69 state parks all will gradually be classified as conservation officers assigned to one or more counties, rather than assigned to a specific state park or parks, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources confirmed.
It is the biggest fish kill in Iowa in at least a decade and the fifth-largest on record, according to state data.
An equipment failure at the city’s wastewater plant lift station caused the sewage to flow into a storm drain leading to the river, the Iowa DNR reported.
A DNR fisheries biologist who evaluated sections of about 50 river miles over the course of four days following the southwest Iowa fertilizer spill, reported that he found no living fish. He also noted there were numerous dead frogs, snakes, mussels and earthworms.
Many of these beloved public spaces aren’t accessible to people with disabilities. In some cases, it’s because the parks were built decades before federal accessibility standards were enacted. But even some new state park features are not fully accessible, a former state official said.
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