Iowa Department of Natural Resources

 

April 9, 2009

For immediate release

 

1.     EPC to meet April 21

2.     DNR to unveil river trash sculpture on Earth Day 

3.     ADM discharges to Cedar River

 

EPC TO MEET APRIL 21

 

MEDIA CONTACT: Tammie Krausman at (515) 281-8382 or [log in to unmask]

 

DES MOINES - In April, the Environmental Protection Commission will depart from its normal meeting date on the second Tuesday of the month. 

 

Instead, the regular meeting will be held at 10 a.m. April 21 at the DNR Air Quality Building, 7900 Hickman Road in Urbandale. Public participation is scheduled for 10:30 a.m.

 

The complete agenda can be found on the DNR's Web site at www.iowadnr.gov/epc/index.html 

 

# # #

 

DNR TO UNVEIL RIVER TRASH SCULPTURE ON EARTH DAY

 

MEDIA CONTACT: Brian Soenen at [log in to unmask] or (515) 205-8587.

 

DES MOINES - What was once an eyesore is now becoming an object of beauty. Trash dredged from the Winnebago, Shell Rock and Cedar rivers last August by hundreds of volunteers on the DNR's annual Project AWARE river cleanup event will be celebrated on Earth Day - not as trash, but as art.

 

On April 22, the public is invited to view the sculpture from 11:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m. in the main lobby atrium of the Wallace State Office Building, located at 502 East Ninth St. in Des Moines. Artist David Williamson and DNR staff will be available during this time to greet visitors, answer questions, and most importantly, gather public input to complete the project.

 

Rather than a finished piece, the unveiling will reveal a sculpture-in-progress, and your help is requested to complete the final transformation of the trash into finished sculpture. As a collaborative effort amongst cleanup volunteers, everyday citizens, and artist David Williamson, more public input is needed before this metamorphosis can be complete.

 

"Due to the collaborative nature of this project, we encourage visitors to join us on Earth Day to add their thoughts," Williamson says. "With the sculpture about 60 percent complete, this is a great opportunity to welcome public input and the exchange of ideas that are so crucial to this type of project."

 

As part of a multi-year project known as The River Gates of Project AWARE, the sculpture is not only an interpretive piece that honors the work of volunteers, promotes environmental stewardship, and tells the story of Project AWARE, but it has also been designed for use as a security gate for the DNR building at the Iowa State Fair.

 

Along with the sculpture, music created through a similar collaborative effort will also be performed, and sculptures from previous years of Project AWARE will be on display.

 

For more information, please visit www.iowaprojectaware.com <http://www.iowaprojectaware.com/>  or contact Brian Soenen at [log in to unmask] or (515) 205-8587.

 

# # #

 

ADM DISCHARGES TO CEDAR RIVER 

 

MEDIA CONTACT: Mike Wade at (563) 927-2640 or [log in to unmask]

 

CEDAR RAPIDS - A power failure Wednesday morning at the Archer Daniels Midland Company's plant in Cedar Rapids caused an overflow from the cooling tower. 


About 200,000 gallons of cooling water reached a tributary to Prairie Creek, which eventually flows to the Cedar River. 

 

The cooling water did not go through a process that reduces chlorine. Consequently, chlorine levels exceeded the maximum level of 0.053 parts per million that is listed in the company's discharge permit. The plant reported that the cooling water had chlorine levels of one to two parts per million.

 

"However, no significant impact to the streams is expected, because this is below the level of chlorine that you would normally get in tap water," said Mike Wade, an environmental specialist with the Manchester DNR field office. 

 

Power had been restored and the plant was operating normally about two hours after the discharge began.

 

The DNR will issue a notice of violation to the plant for exceeding the effluent limits on their discharge permit, called an NPDES permit.

 

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