OK new distance rules for livestock operations Balance interests of producers, neighbors. REGISTER EDITORIAL BOARD Bitterness between livestock producers and neighbors is a fact of life in rural Iowa. That's because state law puts few restrictions on where animal-feeding operations can be located, even prohibiting county zoning of the industry. Homeowners are stuck with the stench and health concerns. When a big confinement is proposed near a tourist attraction, the only recourse is public protest. Legislators are considering a bill to address some of these problems, and they should pass it, while realizing more needs to be done. http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070315/OPINION03/703150374/1110 ----------------------- Zoo plan wins board's preliminary approval About 20 people address conservation officials on the project Wednesday, expressing a mix of views. By JASON CLAYWORTH REGISTER STAFF WRITER The latest Blank Park Zoo expansion proposal gained preliminary approval from Polk County conservation officials Wednesday, placing the deal on track to become finalized within the next month. The heavily discussed plan centers on the zoo's request to move the majority of a $50 million expansion onto about half of the 120-acre Fort Des Moines Park, which is next door to the current 22-acre zoo. http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070315/NEWS05/703150404/-1/archive -------------------- Culver replaces 4 environmental commissioners By PERRY BEEMAN REGISTER STAFF WRITER Iowa Gov. Chet Culver has nominated four new state environmental commissioners, including two with farm backgrounds and two with ties to environmental groups. Culver chose to replace all four commissioners up for reappointment: Lawyer Donna Buell of Spirit Lake, farmer Jerry Peckumn of Jefferson, organic farmer and soil scientist Francis Thicke of Fairfield and former Iowa Citizen Action Network leader Lisa Davis Cook of West Des Moines. http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070315/NEWS10/703150402/-1/archive ------------------------- Flying J faces cleanup costs, fines following pollution leak Officials want maintenance records, ponder penalties By JARED STRONG REGISTER STAFF WRITER Efforts by Flying J Travel Plaza to prevent more petroleum-contaminated water from reaching Walnut Creek have satisfied Clive city officials. But two questions remain more than a week after officials discovered the truck stop's detention basin near Interstate Highway 35/80 leaked an unknown amount of polluted water into the creek: http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070315/NEWS/703150313/-1/archive --------------------- Neila Seaman, MPA Director Sierra Club, Iowa Chapter 3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280 Des Moines, IA 50310 [log in to unmask] 515-277-8868 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/