Posted by Jane Clark FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Larry McLellan October 26, 2001 515-247-4715 STATE MUST CLEAN UP POLLUTED WATERS Iowa Clean Water Act Litigation Settled Cedar Rapids, Iowa--After three years of litigation, the Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to fully enforce the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) in Iowa. Today, the parties in Save All Iowa Lakes Oxbows Rivers and Streams Inc. (SAILORS) vs. Environmental Protection Agency filed a proposed consent decree with the federal district court in Cedar Rapids. Three citizens groups, SAILORS, Mississippi River Revival and the Sierra Club filed lawsuits alleging that the EPA had failed to adequately enforce the Clean Water Act in Iowa. In 1998, Iowa identified 157 water bodies that were impaired by pollution in a biennial list required by the CWA. In previous lists, many of the same water bodies had been identified as impaired. After listing the impaired waters, the CWA requires Iowa to study the pollution problem on each segment, developing the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) of pollutants that are necessary to achieve compliance with water quality standards. "This is a victory not only for the people of Iowa who use these bodies of water for recreation," said Larry McLellan, co-counsel and attorney from Sullivan & Ward, "it's a victory for the citizens of other states affected by rivers that run through Iowa and into their states, such as the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers." Mr. McLellan cautioned "it is important to understand that this is the first step in a long process to clean up Iowa 's waters." Although the TMDL regulatory requirement has been in effect since 1978, Iowa had not completed any such studies when this litigation was filed in 1998. Under the Act, when a state fails to meet its obligations, the federal EPA is required to step in and complete the TMDLs. In this case, the EPA also failed to complete TMDLs. The consent decree filed with the court requires Iowa to complete TMDLs for all of the impaired waters on the 1998 list within a 10-year period. If Iowa fails to complete a TMDL by the required date, EPA has agreed to complete the TMDL within 18 months thereafter. The litigation has already reaped results. Spurred by this pending settlement, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources last year appointed William Ehm to be TMDL Coordinator, a position that previously did not exist. The governor requested and the legislature appropriated $5 million dollars to be used for water quality monitoring programs. The DNR completed four TMDLs on three impaired water bodies in 2000, and expects to complete 12 TMDLs by the end of 2001. (see DNR TMDL Web site http://www.state.ia.us/epd/wtresrce/files/tmdl_dev.htm) The settlement also specifically requires DNR to complete TMDLs for the Cedar River by December 2005 and for the Raccoon River by December 2008. Both are impaired by fecal coliform and nitrates. In addition, EPA has agreed to consider more closely certain segments of the Mississippi River, which until now has received little attention on Iowa impaired waters lists. For more information regarding this landmark decision, contact: Regina Thiry at (319) 296-1460 or Nick Frost at (319) 296-3298, officers of SAILORS, or Sol Simon, president of Mississippi River Revival at (507) 457-0393. These two groups are represented by Larry McLellan of Sullivan & Ward, P.C. in Des Moines (515-247-4715) and Jerry Anderson, an environmental law professor at Drake Law School. The Sierra Club was represented by Wally Taylor of Cedar Rapids. Student interns from Drake University Law School also assisted in the litigation. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For SC email list T-and-C, send: GET TERMS-AND-CONDITIONS.CURRENT to [log in to unmask]