Iowa Department of Natural Resources
 
March 27, 2008
For immediate release
 
1.      Recreational use of streams on EPC April 8 agenda in Carroll
2.      Long, snowy winter causes fish kill at Meyers Lake
3.      Economic impacts of recycling in Iowa report now available
 
RECREATIONAL USE OF STREAMS ON EPC APRIL 8 AGENDA IN CARROLL
 
MEDIA CONTACT: Karen Grimes at (515) 281-5135 or [log in to unmask]
 
CARROLL – Commissioners will be asked to approve the DNR’s final recommendations on state water quality standards at the Environmental Protection Commission meeting April 8 in Carroll. 
 
Iowa has a wide array of streams and rivers, varying from the nation’s largest river, the Mississippi, to small streams that people can cross in one step. Before 2006, many small streams received limited protection for aquatic life and no protection for recreation.
 
The DNR proposed the reclassifications based on the physical characteristics of the stream, on-site visits looking for evidence of stream use, and more than 2,000 public comments attesting to how the streams are used. Initial recommendations for 47 stream segments were revised after DNR staff considered public comments.
 
If approved, the rule would reclassify 295 stream and river sections, granting protection for children’s recreational use to 39 of them and protecting 241 for secondary contact such as wading, fishing, trapping or boating. The proposal would protect fish and aquatic life in all of the stream sections under consideration. 
 
In other action, commissioners may approve grants totaling $97,500 to expand and enhance Regional Collection Center services in Cass, Adair and Guthrie Counties. The centers dispose of hazardous materials such as toxic, corrosive, flammable or reactive substances. 
 
Another contract for commissioners to consider will support the Iowa Learning Farms Project with $98,512 to promote conservation tillage to farmers. The grant would help fund field demonstrations that illustrate the effectiveness of conservation practices on water quality.
 
The meeting will start at 9 a.m. at the Carroll County Conservation Board, 22676 Swan Lake Drive in Carroll. Public participation will open at 10:30 a.m.
 
Commissioners will tour POET Biorefining, 1015 Grant Ave. in Coon Rapids at 2:30 p.m. April 7 prior to the meeting. The tour will be followed by dinner at Charlie’s Restaurant at 6:30 p.m., at the corner of Hwy. 71 N and 18 Street. 
 
The full agenda for Tuesday is:   
 
·        Approval of Agenda
·        Approval of Minutes 
·        Director’s Remarks
·        Regional Collection Center Establishment Grant – Contract Recommendation
·        Contract - Provide Compliance Inspector Training and Continuing Education (Refresher) Courses to Iowa Licensed UST Professionals
·        Final Rule - Chapters 20, 21,22, 23, 25, and 33, Air Quality Program Rules - Updates, Revisions and Additions
·        Proposed Rule - Chapters 20, 21, 22, 23 and 33, Air Quality Program Rules –Updates, Revisions and Additions
·        Proposed Rule –113.2(8) of 567-Chapter 113 Sanitary Landfills for Municipal Solid Waste: Groundwater Protection Systems for the Disposal of Non-Hazardous Wastes

Final Rule – Chapter 61 – Water Quality Standards (Stream Reclassifications via Use Assessment and Use Attainability Analyses)
·        Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Project
·        Monthly Reports
·        General Discussion
·         Items for Next Month’s Meeting
§         May 13 - Urbandale
§         June 10 – Urbandale 
§         July 7-8 – Storm Lake – King’s Pointe Resort 
 
Look for more information about the agenda items on the DNR Web site under Commissions and Boards at www.iowadnr.gov. 
 
The members of the commission are David Petty, chair, Eldora; Charlotte Hubbell, vice chair, Des Moines; Suzanne Morrow, secretary, Storm Lake; Henry Marquard, Muscatine; Ralph Klemme, LeMars; Susan Heathcote, Des Moines; Paul Johnson, Decorah; and Scott Mahr, Coralville. The director of the DNR is Richard Leopold. 
 
# # # 
 
Long, Snowy Winter Causes Fish Kill at Meyers Lake
 
MEDIA CONTACT: Dan Kirby, DNR Fisheries, at (563) 927-3276.
 
EVANSDALE – The long Iowa winter has taken its toll on Meyers Lake.  The 26-acre lake sitting on the north side of Hwy. 20 and I-380 in Evansdale has experienced a fish kill due to oxygen depletion.  
 
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Manchester fisheries staff responded to calls on Tuesday of dead fish in the lake.  The investigation revealed dead bluegills, channel catfish, crappie, grass carp, largemouth bass, carpsucker, common carp, buffalo and gizzard shad.  
 
“We are confident this kill was due to oxygen depletion during a period of extended snow cover,” said Dan Kirby, fisheries biologist for the DNR in Manchester. The Waterloo metro area had accumulating snow totals among the top five in recorded history.  During periods of extended snow cover, lakes are susceptible to winterkill because light cannot penetrate into the lake which causes photosynthesis to stop and lowers the amount of oxygen in the water.  
 
 “We were not able to fully estimate the extent of the dead fish due to the remaining ice cover on the lake,” Kirby said. “Once the lake is totally ice free, we will revisit the site in an effort to fully estimate the number of dead fish, then this spring we will conduct fish surveys to determine the number and species of fish remaining in the lake.”
 
Depending upon the results of the fish survey, restocking some species may be necessary, Kirby said.  Of the estimated 2,800 dead fish, 2,000 were bluegills, 300 channel catfish and 200 largemouth bass.   
 
# # #
 
ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF RECYCLING IN IOWA REPORT NOW AVAILABLE
 
MEDIA CONTACT: Jennifer Reutzel, (515) 281-8672 or [log in to unmask]
 
DES MOINES —A study on the economic impacts of recycling in Iowa is now available. The report was completed in December 2007 and funded by the DNR. The study surveyed Iowa businesses and industries that were directly involved in the recycling industry. 
 
The report found that in 2005, the last full year of available data, the Iowa recycling industry generated more than $4.6 billion in direct-industrial output to Iowa’s economy and supported approximately 15,684 jobs. 
 
Previous reports on the Iowa recycling industry’s economic impacts were issued in 2001 and 1997. New in the 2007 study is an analysis quantifying the greenhouse gas emission reductions generated by Iowa's recycling industry, comparisons between results of the 2007 study with those preceding it, and an analysis of DNR program impacts on Iowa's recycling industry.
 
The full report is available online at www.iowadnr.gov/waste/recycling/ecoimpacts.html. 
 
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