Thanks Mike!  today's DM Register on Water Quality
Don't end DNR role in regulating water
The Raccoon River Watershed Association (RRWA) is opposed to transferring
authority for water quality programs from the Iowa Department of Natural
Resources to the Iowa Department of Agriculture (SF 500). The RRWA board
believes that transferring the authority and funding necessary to manage
water quality programs would not serve the long term interest of the
state.

It is clear to us that the Farm Bureau Federation is behind this move, as
it is behind attempts to stop the Environmental Protection Agency's
effort to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, and the dead zone in the Gulf of
Mexico at the federal level. The Farm Bureau is also attempting to
reverse the river anti-degradation rules that are now in place in Iowa.
It is clear to many in Iowa that Gov. Terry Branstad and the Farm Bureau
are working their plan to protect certain farm interests from
restrictions they think would impact profitability. The board and the
members of RRWA know it is time to protect the soil, water and animal
habitat that remain in Iowa from further degradation.

At this point in time, only the Farm Bureau, Iowa Department of
Agriculture and Land Stewardship and Branstad's DNR director have signed
on to this bill. Farm commodity groups are staying neutral.
- Mike Delaney, vice president, Raccoon River Watershed

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