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Proposed legislation would strip Iowa’s watershed management authorities of water quality efforts
State ag officials, Iowa DNR propose revisions to Iowa Code, emphasizing soil health
Feb. 8, 2024 5:20 pm, Updated: Feb. 9, 2024 11:42 am
DES MOINES — An Iowa House study bill presented by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship emphasizes the importance of soil health in the state.
It also would handicap watershed management authorities, critics said.
During a Thursday subcommittee hearing, Department of Agriculture ag officials led conversations about House Study Bill 674, which was crafted with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The 35-page bill was introduced to the Legislature on Wednesday, intending to “streamline” the divisions’ processes in Iowa Code, said Haley Hook, an Iowa Ag Department legislative liaison.
Hook and Susan Kozak, the department’s division director for soil conservation and water quality, fielded questions and concerns about the legislation.
Water management
Chief among the concerns is how the legislation would impact Iowa’s water management authorities — agreements between cities, counties, and soil and water conservation districts to coordinate water quality improvement and flood mitigation efforts with landowners in watersheds.
Iowa has around 30 watershed management authorities that cover more than 40 percent of the state.
The new bill proposes changing the name “watershed management authority” to “watershed management partnership.” Kozak said the change would be “easy” for the organizations and not require many resources.
“I think the idea of that name change is to include more people in the partnership,” Rep. Norlin Mommsen, R-DeWitt, said at the subcommittee hearing. “I mean, it is psychological, if you want to say that. I think sometimes ‘authority’ scares people, but a ‘partnership’ includes people. It’s as simple as that.”
The proposed legislation also strikes through water management authorities’ ability to assess water quality in their watersheds, instead narrowing their duties to educating about flood risks.
Any water quality projects the authorities work on would be limited to the practices included in the Nutrient Reduction Strategy or the Iowa DNR’s stormwater management manual. Any funding made available to the authorities would be solely designated for flood mitigation.
“I believe from discussions with the DNR and (Department of Agriculture) staff, we weren't sure that watershed management authorities with its makeup of citizens and different groups from cities and counties … Do they have that knowledge to assess water quality?” Kozak said. “We had questions on their ability to do that assessment. How would they do that?”
When asked if any watershed management authorities had asked for these changes, been consulted about these changes, or had been dedicated any funding from the Legislature in the past, the Ag Department representatives said no.
“I would suggest that, if we’re going to mess with that code chapter without consulting them, maybe as a trade-off, we could offer them some dedicated funding,” said Rep. Chuck Isenhart, D-Dubuque.
Both of the Ag Department representatives mentioned that, if cities and counties want to pursue other types of water quality work, they can enter into other 28E intergovernmental agreements.
Soil health
The bill also would insert numerous references to soil health into Iowa Code.
“Historically, we've always thought of soil conservation,” said Jim Gillespie, an assistant commissioner in the Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District. “It's critical, I think, that we get that soil health piece in there” to emphasize the importance of carbon sequestration and soil ecosystems.
Other notable parts of the bill include:
- Establishing a prairie seed harvest program within the Iowa DNR to help with prairie restoration.
- Eliminating a requirement for the state ag department to implement a statewide farm management demonstration program. Kozak said that program hasn’t been funded for years and no longer exists. Instead, the department would put the funding toward Iowa Learning Farms at Iowa State University.
- Repealing a section of Iowa Code establishing the state’s watershed planning advisory council, which is intended to review research and make recommendations for protecting water resources. Hook said the decision aligned with Gov. Kim Reynolds’ review of Iowa’s boards and commission. The council was not consulted.
- Eliminating the state’s bluffland protection program and its revolving fund, which were enacted in 2015 to buy and protect blufflands along rivers. The ag representatives said the program was no longer being utilized, with the most recent activity in 2018. The program and fund otherwise would be eliminated July 1, 2030. Several subcommittee attendees suggested putting this allocation in other soil- and water quality-related projects instead of putting it back in the general fund.
DNR undecided
Todd Coffelt, a legislative liaison for the Iowa DNR, said the department is currently undecided about the bill, even though he said there were “conversations” during the drafting of the bill.
“At this point in time, we typically have the rule of thumb that we do not comment on proposed legislation,” he said.
Ahead of next week’s funnel, Mommsen suggested the legislators move the bill out of subcommittee on the condition that it “needs a lot of work.”
“I'll give you my word … that we will make sure when it hits the floor, it’s something we all three can be proud of,” he said. “I think as a group, we can partner and come up with something much more streamlined.”
It passed out of subcommittee with a 2-0 vote, from Mommsen and Rep. David Sieck, R-Glenwood, voting yes Isenhart abstained, saying he didn’t support the bill.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture, Isenhart told The Gazette, had been “working on these revisions for a year, so why we were given 24 hours notice to look at them was a head scratcher.”
Brittney J. Miller is the Energy & Environment Reporter for The Gazette and a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.
Comments: (319) 398-8370; brittney.miller@thegazette.com
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