Iowa Department of Natural Resources Environmental Services Division For Immediate Release July 27, 2007 1. Iowa landowners have until early August to extend expiring CRP contracts 2. Fairfield and Burlington have wastewater discharges on Friday. IOWA LANDOWNERS HAVE UNTIL EARLY AUGUST TO EXTEND EXPIRING CRP CONTRACTS MEDIA CONTACT: Kelly Smith, DNR, at (515) 281-6247 or Bruce Cordes, FSA, at (515) 254-1540 Extension 481. DES MOINES – Iowa landowners have the opportunity to extend their existing Conservation Reserve Program contracts if they contact their local Farm Service Agency in early August. This offer applies only to landowners whose CRP contracts expire on Sept. 30, 2007. “We are encouraging landowners to apply that first week in August so that we can ensure the acreage can be re-enrolled before the current contracts expire,” said Vickie Friedow, FSA Chief Conservation and Compliance Specialist. Two types of contracts are eligible for extension: · Landowners with expiring general CRP contracts on 125,268 acres of Iowa farmland may be able to re-enroll portions of these fields in a new continuous CRP contract. · Landowners with expiring continuous CRP contracts on approximately 18,455 acres are also eligible for re-enrollment. “This is the only opportunity for people with existing general or continuous CRP contracts that expire this fall to re-enroll,” said Kelly Smith, coordinator of the DNR’s private lands program. She added that producers who did not re-enroll or extend their general CRP contracts last year could enroll the environmentally sensitive portions of those fields, such as restored wetlands or stream corridors, into the continuous CRP. “That way they could farm the best farmland coming out of the general CRP contract, but continue to protect water quality by maintaining restored wetlands, filter strips or bottomland hardwoods in continuous CRP,” Smith said. The offer should be particularly appealing because rental rates have recently increased, and continuous CRP pays maximum soil rental rates. Smith said that producers with the most marginal land should carefully evaluate their choices. “Although putting land into corn right now looks very lucrative, producers should be aware that they still need to follow a conservation plan and that these acres coming out of CRP are less productive and often more difficult to farm,” she said. Producers with land eligible for the continuous sign-up may, in some cases, be eligible for special incentives on some acres. Offers for continuous CRP are automatically accepted, provided the land and producer meet eligibility requirements. These offers for continuous sign-up are not subject to competitive bidding. Continuous sign-up contracts are for 10 to 15 years. For help in developing an offer for a CRP contract, contact your local Farm Service Agency office or visit with a DNR private lands biologist or forester. For technical assistance, contact the District Conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service or online at http://www.ia.nrcs.usda.gov/. To find the biologist or forester in your area, go to http://www.iowadnr.com/wildlife/files/plbios.html or http://www.iowadnr.com/forestry/private.html. For more information about CRP, visit your local USDA Service Center or online at http://www.fsa.usda.gov. # # # FAIRFIELD AND BURLINGTON HAVE WASTEWATER DISCHARGES ON FRIDAY MEDIA CONTACTS: Paul Brandt or Jim Sievers at (319) 653-2135. WASHINGTON – A mixture of rainwater and untreated sewage discharged at several manholes around the city of Fairfield following rainfall Thursday night into Friday morning. The discharge began at approximately 3 a.m. Friday, where the wastewater flowed to Crow Creek, a tributary of Cedar Creek. The flow stopped sometime Friday morning, with approximately 104,750 gallons entering the creek. The city is working on identifying and eliminating sources of storm water into the sanitary sewer system in order to reduce these types of bypasses from occurring. The city also released approximately 100 gallons from its Stone Street Lift Station location Thursday afternoon after a pump malfunctioned. The discharge is not due to rainfall, and the untreated sewage did not reach Iowa waters. Treatment plant officials stopped the wastewater discharge shortly thereafter and limed the affected area. The City of Burlington also discharged about 155,500 gallons of mixed rainwater and untreated sewage to the Mississippi River after a rain storm Thursday night. The sanitary sewer overflow began at about 2:45 and ended about 9:45 a.m. Friday. The city plans to install two large storage tanks to be completed in the fall of 2008 which should eliminate the sanitary sewer overflows. -30- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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 To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp