The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is proposing stricter rules for concentrated livestock feeding operations near karst soil — something environmental groups have been seeking for years.
The agency’s cost-benefit analysis — required by an executive order from Gov. Kim Reynolds on all existing state administrative rules — shows regulations on concentrated animal-feeding operations, or CAFOs, are needed to protect human health, reduce cities’ water treatment costs and preserve tourism.
“While there are costs in complying with the regulations, the benefit to the environment outweighs the cost,” the Iowa DNR wrote in an 83-page report issued in September.
The Environmental Protection Commission, an appointed board that provides policy oversight over Iowa's environmental protection efforts, on Nov. 21 approved a notice of intended action to replace Iowa Code Chapter 65 with new rules governing CAFOs. The agency is accepting public comment through Feb. 23 before voting next spring.
The nonprofit Iowa Environmental Council started asking for new rules in 2021, after the Iowa DNR approved a manure plan for Supreme Beef, an 11,600-head cattle feeding operation near Monona. The facility was built in karst terrain, where a manure spill could quickly seep through porous bedrock and contaminate groundwater or Bloody Run, a prized trout stream.
A Polk County judge overturned Supreme Beef’s plan earlier this year, which led to multiple revisions. The Iowa DNR approved a new plan Nov. 17.
The Supreme Beef feedlot near Monona, pictured March 29, received state approval Nov. 17 of a manure plan after a judge rejected a previous plan. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)
The proposed Chapter 65 calls for new requirements for CAFOs located in Northeast Iowa’s Driftless region, an unglaciated area with rocky terrain and karst soils.
No new CAFOs would be allowed within 5 feet of karst. Between 5 and 15 feet, a manure storage basin would be required to have a 5-foot continuous layer of low-permeability soil, nonsoluble bedrock or a 2-foot synthetic clay liner.
The Iowa DNR also would formally adopt a map showing the 100-year flood plain so citizens can make sure they aren’t proposing CAFOs in those areas.
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The Environmental Council asked the Iowa DNR last year to adopt flood plain maps, saying the agency had issued permits for CAFOs in the flood plain at least seven times since 2003 even though feeding operations are prohibited near waterways.
The Iowa DNR estimates CAFO owners each would have to spend $10,000 more to provide a thicker barrier between manure and soil in karst areas. Owners of small CAFOs aren’t required to get manure management plans.
There are no additional costs to the state, the analysis notes.
When asked to compare the costs and benefits of the changes to the cost and benefits of inaction, the Iowa DNR said “greater environmental harms would occur” without regulations.
“There would likely be increased medical costs due to poor water quality, including possibly an increased rate in cancer and birth defects,” the agency wrote. “The cost of water quality treatment by municipalities would likely also increase without proper regulations controlling the discharge of manure into waters of the state. Additionally, the lack of regulations would have an adverse impact on recreational and tourism activities in the state.”
Alicia Vasto, the water program director for the Environmental Council, said she was glad to see these statements from the Iowa DNR and for the agency to propose stricter standards for CAFOs near karst.
“There are some incremental changes in this new rules package, but it's nowhere near the kinds of regulation we need to see in this state to protect public health and quality of life for Iowans,” she said.
The Environmental Council this week published a report called the “Cost of CAFOS” that summarizes some of the ways Iowans pay for poor water quality.
“If the current amount of nitrogen pollution from farm fields and CAFOs continues, Iowans will be responsible for paying up to $333 million over the next five years to remove nitrates from drinking water,” the report states.
The council pointed to a 2019 analysis in the journal Environmental Research that showed nitrate may be linked to thousands of babies being born early or facing very low birth weight. Cancers attributed to nitrate are estimated to be higher in Iowa than in neighboring states, according to the nonprofit Environmental Working Group.
Iowa also stands to gain $30 million a year in tourism spending by improving water quality, according to an Iowa State University analysis cited in the Environmental Council report.
Vasto expects the Iowa DNR’s proposed rules, viewed as a compromise between environmental groups and ag advocates, will be approved, since they already have gone through earlier public comment periods and have gotten buy-in from the Governor’s Office.
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The agency’s cost-benefit analysis — required by an executive order from Gov. Kim Reynolds on all existing state administrative rules — shows regulations on concentrated animal-feeding operations, or CAFOs, are needed to protect human health, reduce cities’ water treatment costs and preserve tourism.
“While there are costs in complying with the regulations, the benefit to the environment outweighs the cost,” the Iowa DNR wrote in an 83-page report issued in September.
The Environmental Protection Commission, an appointed board that provides policy oversight over Iowa's environmental protection efforts, on Nov. 21 approved a notice of intended action to replace Iowa Code Chapter 65 with new rules governing CAFOs. The agency is accepting public comment through Feb. 23 before voting next spring.
The nonprofit Iowa Environmental Council started asking for new rules in 2021, after the Iowa DNR approved a manure plan for Supreme Beef, an 11,600-head cattle feeding operation near Monona. The facility was built in karst terrain, where a manure spill could quickly seep through porous bedrock and contaminate groundwater or Bloody Run, a prized trout stream.
A Polk County judge overturned Supreme Beef’s plan earlier this year, which led to multiple revisions. The Iowa DNR approved a new plan Nov. 17.
Karst areas get extra protections
The proposed Chapter 65 calls for new requirements for CAFOs located in Northeast Iowa’s Driftless region, an unglaciated area with rocky terrain and karst soils.
No new CAFOs would be allowed within 5 feet of karst. Between 5 and 15 feet, a manure storage basin would be required to have a 5-foot continuous layer of low-permeability soil, nonsoluble bedrock or a 2-foot synthetic clay liner.
The Iowa DNR also would formally adopt a map showing the 100-year flood plain so citizens can make sure they aren’t proposing CAFOs in those areas.
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The Environmental Council asked the Iowa DNR last year to adopt flood plain maps, saying the agency had issued permits for CAFOs in the flood plain at least seven times since 2003 even though feeding operations are prohibited near waterways.
The Iowa DNR estimates CAFO owners each would have to spend $10,000 more to provide a thicker barrier between manure and soil in karst areas. Owners of small CAFOs aren’t required to get manure management plans.
There are no additional costs to the state, the analysis notes.
When asked to compare the costs and benefits of the changes to the cost and benefits of inaction, the Iowa DNR said “greater environmental harms would occur” without regulations.
“There would likely be increased medical costs due to poor water quality, including possibly an increased rate in cancer and birth defects,” the agency wrote. “The cost of water quality treatment by municipalities would likely also increase without proper regulations controlling the discharge of manure into waters of the state. Additionally, the lack of regulations would have an adverse impact on recreational and tourism activities in the state.”
Nitrate pollution costs Iowans
Alicia Vasto, the water program director for the Environmental Council, said she was glad to see these statements from the Iowa DNR and for the agency to propose stricter standards for CAFOs near karst.
“There are some incremental changes in this new rules package, but it's nowhere near the kinds of regulation we need to see in this state to protect public health and quality of life for Iowans,” she said.
The Environmental Council this week published a report called the “Cost of CAFOS” that summarizes some of the ways Iowans pay for poor water quality.
“If the current amount of nitrogen pollution from farm fields and CAFOs continues, Iowans will be responsible for paying up to $333 million over the next five years to remove nitrates from drinking water,” the report states.
The council pointed to a 2019 analysis in the journal Environmental Research that showed nitrate may be linked to thousands of babies being born early or facing very low birth weight. Cancers attributed to nitrate are estimated to be higher in Iowa than in neighboring states, according to the nonprofit Environmental Working Group.
Iowa also stands to gain $30 million a year in tourism spending by improving water quality, according to an Iowa State University analysis cited in the Environmental Council report.
Vasto expects the Iowa DNR’s proposed rules, viewed as a compromise between environmental groups and ag advocates, will be approved, since they already have gone through earlier public comment periods and have gotten buy-in from the Governor’s Office.
Iowa DNR proposes tougher rules for CAFOs near karst
The agency’s cost-benefit analysis -- required by an
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