Legal fees are already approaching $2 million in the potentially landmark suit by the Des Moines Water Works against three counties in northwest Iowa over nitrate pollution in the Raccoon River, says the Des Moines Register. The Iowa Farm Bureau and Iowa Corn Growers Association offered financial aid to Buena Vista, Sac and Calhoun counties following their decision to sever a relationship with the private nonprofit Agricultural Legal Defense Fund.
In its suit, the Water Works says federal clean-water laws should apply to agricultural runoff because drainage districts in the three counties amount to a “point” source of pollution. The utility says it has to pay millions of dollars to remove nitrates from river water that is the source of drinking water for 500,000 people in the state capital and nearby towns.
Iowa Farm Bureau president Craig Hill said the lawsuit “has the potential to adversely impact every Iowa farmer and farmers throughout the United States.” Agricultural runoff generally is not regulated by the government. The counties have spent $1.1 million in legal fees and the Water Works about $800,000 to date. County supervisors are to consider the offer of financial help next week, said the Register.