DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – At the Iowa Environmental Protection Committee’s next meeting (May 22nd), the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will present a litigation report in which they ask the Attorney General to seek penalties relating to March 11th, 2024 fertilizer spill in Montgomery County. The Iowa DNR announced approximately two weeks later that the spill resulted in nearly all the fish being killed in a 50-mile stretch of the East Nishnabotna River to the Missouri border.

New Cooperative notified the Iowa Department of Natural Resources following the spill that approximately 1,500 tons of liquid nitrogen fertilizer (32% solution) had discharged into a drainage ditch. Officials say the release occurred due to a valve left open on an aboveground storage tank overnight. The fertilizer then traveled from the drainage ditch into the East Nishnabotna River.

According to the Iowa DNR’s litigation report, Iowa Code states that those liable for polluting water of the state are in violation of state law and should be liable to pay restitution for injury caused to a wild animal due to the pollution.

You can read the full litigation report HERE.