(Radio Iowa) – The State Environmental Protection Commission voted today (Wednesday) to refer the case of the New Cooperative fertilizer spill on the East Nishnabotna River near Red Oak to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. Bradley Adams, the attorney for the E-P-C, told commissioners the referral is justified after 265-thousand gallons of fertilizer got into the river. “A 50 mile stretch of the river became uninhabitable for aquatic life,” he says. He says frogs, snakes, mussels and fish died due to the contamination.

“D-N-R’s fishery staff estimated that in excess of 749-thousand fish were killed in Iowa’s portion of the East Nish. The kill extended into Missouri and only ended once the river met at the confluence with the Missouri River,” Adams says. Adams says the D-N-R penalty for this would be capped at ten-thousand dollars and that is why he recommends referral to the attorney general.

“A fish kill of this size equates to a high dollar restitution total, the state must ensure full financial recovery to mitigate the harm that was caused to East Nish,” Adams says. “Ongoing needs also include monitoring and sampling which the Attorney General’s Office can secure on more favorable terms the Department. In short, a higher amount of leverage is required to ensure that efforts to mitigate the release and restore the East Nishnabotna progresses at a satisfactory rate.”

New Cooperative spill

The valve was left open and that was not noticed as the hose was clogged, but the material came out after the clog broke. New Coop general manager Dan Dix spoke to the Commission before the vote. “Our company has always operated under the philosophy we strive to do the right thing, for the customer, the employee, and they want you to know that this is the first time in 50 years company has been in existence that we’ve dealt with this type of issue. Unfortunately, it was simply due to a mistake,” he says. Dix says the Fort Dodge-based company did everything it could to mitigate the damage after discovering the issue.

“We take this matter very seriously and hope that our actions during the cleanup show everyone our dedication to doing the right thing,” Dix says. Michael Schmidt of the Iowa Environmental Council also spoke. “We believe this is the type of case that should be referred for elevated enforcement action through the agency’s office because the Department of Natural Resources administrative cap of 10-thousand dollars in penalties has not changed since 1992, and that level of penalty would not reflect the seriousness of this case,” he says.

DES MOINES – Following days of heavy rainfall, flash flooding and Tuesday’s severe storms, multiple Iowa wastewater treatment plants have reported discharging untreated or partially treated wastewater.
These discharges can result from heavy precipitation, power outages and storm damage, among other things.
Since April 1, the Iowa DNR has received reports of 131 discharges at wastewater treatment facilities due to heavy precipitation, with 44 of those being reported in the last five days. Heavy rain can overload wastewater collection systems, which are underground sewer pipes that carry sewage to a treatment plant. Aging or poorly maintained sanitary sewer systems are particularly vulnerable to influxes of storm water.
With sewage pipes overwhelmed, excess water has nowhere to go, and can back up into basements through floor drains. Bypassing can lower the water level in the collection system, keeping sewage from backing up into basements, which could present health risks.
DNR staff continue to monitor these situations and will provide assistance to impacted communities.
It is highly recommended people and pets avoid these areas and stay out of flooded and elevated waterways due to safety concerns.
For more information on wastewater discharges and flooding updates, contact your local DNR Environmental Field office. You can find the office for your region at: https://www.iowadnr.gov/fieldoffice

“Ultimately the enforcement action taken by the A-Gs office must reflect the grave impact of the fertilizer spill and the effects on the East Nishnabotna River,” Schmidt says. The E-P-C voted unanimously to refer the case to the Attorney General.