Environmentalists fear state and local officials will feel less urgency to improve water quality now that the Iowa Supreme Court has ruled drainage districts are immune from damage claims, said the Des Moines Register. The court ruling affects a federal lawsuit, expected to go to trial in Sioux City in June, by the Des Moines Water Works that blames drainage districts in three counties in northwestern Iowa for high nitrate levels in the Raccoon River.
Bill Stowe, chief executive of the water utility, said the lawsuit will go forward; a key question is whether drainage districts need permits under the federal clean water law. The utility draws water from the Raccoon River to supply 500,000 people in the Des Moines area. Excessive levels of nitrate drive up the costs of treating water for public supply, it says. The Supreme Court ruling said the legislature should decide the question of who pays for nitrate removal.
If the Water Works prevails in federal court, “the legal action could lead to regulating farm ground as a pollution point source in Iowa and perhaps across the country if legal fever spreads,” said DTN. “It could require farmers to pay for expensive permits for normal farm practices as well as restrict the use of fertilizer or other farm chemicals.”
State officials have encouraged voluntary conservation as the best path for reduction of harmful runoff. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey said the Supreme Court decision was a “significant loss” for the Water Works. “Clean water advocates worried the decision would reduce pressure on lawmakers to create substantial funding for water quality improvements — and efforts to set goals around reducing nitrogen and phosphorus levels,” said the Register.