Forwarded from Iowa Environmental Council by Jane Clark at
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The Iowa House of Representatives is considering a water quality bill this
week, probably TOMORROW, Wednesday, March 15. Contact your legislator
IMMEDIATELY to ensure that important changes are made to the bill.

Please send the enclosed sample letter (your personalized version of it) to
your representative as soon as possible. Send a cc of your letter to the
Iowa Environmental Council at <[log in to unmask]>.

Your legislator's email address is <[log in to unmask]>.
For example, <[log in to unmask]>. For other contact information,
visit <http://www.legis.state.ia.us/Members/78GA-members.html>.

For more information, contact Susan Heathcote or Linda Appelgate at the
Iowa Environmental Council at 515/244-1194.


SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Representative _________ :

Thank you for your focus on water quality this session.  It is heartening
to see the Iowa Legislature address this crucial issue for Iowa's future.
However, I am concerned that the bill that passed the Iowa Senate last week
contains provisions that could seriously hinder all of our efforts to
improve Iowa's water quality.

Of great concern are sections in SF 2371, the water bill called "I on
Iowa," that define "credible data" and how it will be used when water
quality is evaluated.  Under the bill, only monitoring data collected under
strict sampling protocols could be used to identify our impaired waters.

That language may sound great, but it would totally eliminate professional
judgment, observation, and other ways the Department of Natural Resources
identifies impaired waters.  For example, Ottumwa has nine locations where
storm and sanitary sewers are combined, which means that when there is a
heavy rain, raw sewage flows into the river. DNR officials have observed
human sewage (feces) discharging directly into the Des Moines River, so
they know that segment is impaired for swimming.

Another example is Little Wall Lake in Hamilton County where 80% of the
lake is
covered with aquatic vegetation, according to DNR fisheries staff
observations.  As a result,  DNR has reported the lake is impaired for
swimming and fishing.

Under this bill, direct professional observation of badly polluted waters,
such as the Des Moines River at Ottumwa or Little Wall Lake, could not be
considered as "credible data." and used to determine impairment.

Even if the Legislature appropriates $2 million for monitoring this year --
which I strongly urge you to support -- we can only afford scientific
studies on a small percentage of our 40,000 miles of rivers and streams and
115 publicly owned lakes.

Of course, it is vital to have excellent data and information when
determining impaired waters.  Part of that excellent information comes from
trained professionals and their evaluations and judgment.  Please delete
the sections of SF 2371 on "credible data" and substitute the Governor's
language that allows DNR to "develop a methodology for water quality
assessments [used for impaired waters listings] and assess the validity of
the data."

Thank you.


Sincerely,
YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS

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