Sierra Club Iowa Chapter Calls on EPA to Step In on East Nishnabotna Spill
Des Moines, Iowa. Sierra Club Iowa Chapter Director Pam Mackey-Taylor sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 Administrator requesting EPA to engage in enforcement actions against NEW Cooperative, Inc.
“With the current Environmental Protection Commission and the state Attorney General, we are not confident that the state will pursue adequate punishment for this egregious violation of the Clean Water Act. The amount of fertilizer released in this spill is breathtaking. Likewise, the amount of fish killed is breathtaking. This is not a simple accident. This is a very serious release of a pollutant.” Said Pam Mackey-Taylor. “In Iowa, the normal penalty is restitution for the killed fish along with a civil penalty. We believe that a large civil penalty and criminal action is appropriate.”
Between March 9 and March 11, 2024, an open valve leaked 265,000 gallons of liquid nitrogen fertilizer which traveled to the East Nishnabotna River. Over 790,000 fish were killed in Iowa and Missouri, including catfish, bass, sunfish and other living animals like frogs, snakes, mussels, and plants along the river.