Water

• Update on Supreme Beef

• Editorial – Why manure is contaminating Iowa’s waters

Pipelines

• CO2 Pipeline Update

Protecting the Environment

• Iowa Caucus Resolutions

• Save the date - May 4, 2024, Outing to Whiterock Conservancy

• Iowa Nature Summit

Plus

• Our Lunch and Learns on environmental topics

• Contribute to the Iowa Chapter

• Volunteer for the Iowa Chapter

• Calendar of events

• To see the archive of previous Iowa Chapter newsletters

• To see the White Pine Needle newsletter

  

Photo - aerial view of Supreme Beef.

Update on Supreme Beef

In November, 2023, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) approved a new nutrient management plan for Supreme Beef.  This plan, like others before it, is flawed and will result in the over-application of manure on farm fields.  The nutrient management plan is a document that lays out the amount of manure that can be applied to crop fields and identifies those fields, so that the manure can be used by the crops and will not run off the fields into water bodies.  The Sierra Club is considering its next steps. 

Supreme Beef LLC is beef cattle feeding operation, housing 11,600 animals, near Monona in Clayton County.  The operation has a manure storage basin that holds 30 million gallons of liquid waste.  It operates as an open feedlot because the animals are housed in an unroofed or partially roofed area.  DNR regulations say that if the animals are housed in a building that is at least 10% unroofed, it is an open feedlot. In the case of Supreme Beef, the 10% unroofed portion is the feed bunk. So the animals stick their heads out of the buildings to eat.  The cattle never leave the buildings to go outdoors.

Supreme Beef sits near the headwaters of Bloody Run Creek, one of the most treasured trout streams in Iowa.  It is also designated as an Outstanding Iowa Water.  Complicating matters is that Supreme Beef was built on karst topography.  Karst, which has fractured limestone and sinkholes, provides easy access for pollution to enter groundwater and aquifers. 

After the Department of Natural Resources approved a flawed nutrient management plan in 2022, the Sierra Club and Trout Unlimited successfully appealed the decision to Polk County court.  In the spring of 2023, a Polk County District Court judge ruled that the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) improperly approved that version of Supreme Beef’s nutrient management plan.  The DNR told Supreme Beef that they must submit a new plan.  Until that plan was approved, Supreme Beef was not authorized to empty any of its manure storage structures. 

A review of what happened next follows:

Following the October public comment period, the DNR gave Supreme Beef several chances to submit a valid nutrient management plan.  In spite of numerous corrections, the public was never given a chance to comment on what became the final plan.  It appears that this most recent NMP still has problems.

Unfortunately, after the permit was granted, Supreme Beef began emptying the manure storage structure.  What resulted is shown in the photo below.  Water pooled on the farm field, a clear violation of DNR rules.  Liquified manure is supposed to be knifed into the ground and should not be standing on the fields.

Supreme Beef is a poster child of what is wrong with the oversight provided by the DNR, from allowing confinements to be sited in fragile environments (karst, Outstanding Iowa Waters, trout streams) to not adequately monitoring the accuracy of the information entered on the nutrient management plans.

Editorial – Why manure is contaminating Iowa’s waters

by Pam Mackey Taylor

The Supreme Beef cattle operation is a poster child for what is wrong with how the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is administering, managing, and enforcing the confinement industry.

One would think that the DNR staff would thoroughly review a manure management plan (used for confinements) or a nutrient management plan (used for open feedlots) after a CAFO owner presents the plan to the DNR and before a permit is issued.  The Sierra Club’s work with Supreme Beef shows how wrong that assumption is.  In fact, the DNR’s failure means that the public must perform that checking and verification of the contents of the nutrient or manure management plans, if it is going to get done at all.  Then the public is expected to present their conclusions during the public comment period.

Unfortunately the public is not trained to examine all of the plans for accuracy.  Nor does the public have the time and capacity to examine all of the plans; that should be the job of the DNR staff.  Finally the public does not have the authority to demand information from the CAFO owner, information that would help determine the validity of the contents of the plan; but the DNR has that authority. 

In many respects, the submission of the manure or nutrient management plans results in almost automatic approval of the plans.

When a manure management or nutrient management plan is presented to the DNR, it has become obvious that the DNR staff just look to see if boxes on the form are filled in.  There is no checking to verify that the numbers are correct and that the calculations are done correctly.  There is no verification that all of the pages are submitted.  In fact, the public was able to find missing pages for one of the Supreme Beef nutrient management plans and noted that in public comments about the plan.

There are a number of people who are hired by CAFO owners to complete the manure management plans.  If errors are detected, the DNR does not go back and insist that the person is trained so it does not happen again.  In fact, it appears that there is no double checking that previously submitted plans are correctly filled out and calculated.  That became obvious during a deposition of the person who was hired by Supreme Beef to write the nutrient management plan.  When confronted during the deposition about a series of errors, the person blurted out that they had always done the calculations like that for other nutrient or manure management plans.

Further, there is no verification that the fields being used to spread the manure are not being claimed by another manure or nutrient management plan.  By having the same fields on more than one plan, there is a huge risk in over-application of manure on the fields, manure that runs off into our rivers, streams, and lakes.

The system is broken.  The industry has learned that they can get away with poorly written plans and there is little likelihood they will get caught.  There is little wonder that manure is contaminating Iowa’s waters.

We need to insist our legislators provide funding for the DNR for oversight of the confinement industry, impose requirements on the confinement industry, and support policies that reduce pollution in our rivers, streams, and lakes.

CO2 Pipeline Update

Legislative Session:

As we near the start of the 2024 Legislative Session it is important to let our legislators know what we expect from them on important issues like the carbon pipelines. 

Last session, HF 565, the bill to limit use of eminent domain unless 90% of easements are signed voluntarily, passed the Iowa House but failed to move forward in the Senate.  HF 565 is still alive but we want our legislators to do more than pass a threshold.  We’ve identified glaring problems with carbon pipelines and the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) process.  Our legislators need to take action on carbon pipelines this session - no more excuses and no more delays.

Please sign this letter to legislators asking our Senators and Representatives to stand with 78% of Iowans who oppose the carbon pipelines and take action this session.

Sign and share the Letter to Iowa Legislators: https://bit.ly/DearSenatorsRepresentatives

Save the date for our Carbon Pipeline Opposition Lobby Days at the Iowa Capitol:

• Wednesday, January 10, 2023
• Thursday, February 8, 2023
• Tuesday, March 26, 2023

County Ordinances:

Zoning ordinances protect our homes, businesses and neighbors.  Ordinances give local governments the power to decide current and future land use, economic development, and protecting environmental areas.  Ordinances are local control of our own communities.  Summit, Navigator, and Wolf don't want us to have decision making power over our own lives. 

That's why Summit and Navigator sued a number of counties that have passed carbon pipeline zoning ordinances. This week a Judge from the Southern District of Iowa ruled against the Shelby and Story County ordinances. The ruling failed to account for many of our arguments and appeared to be very one-sided.

The Judge went further to say that Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) cannot implement siting and that all siting is safety.  This is in direct opposition to what PHMSA said in a letter to Summit, Navigator and Wolf.  PHMSA said, “While the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has exclusive authority to regulate the siting of interstate gas transmission pipelines, there is no equivalent federal agency that determines siting of all other pipelines, such as carbon dioxide pipelines. Therefore, the responsibility for siting new carbon dioxide pipelines rests largely with the individual states and counties through which the pipelines will operate and is governed by state and local law.”

The decision is something we can and should appeal.

This decision is just one ruling, from one judge, in one district.  We've had hurdles thrown in our way before and it didn't stop us then.  And this won't stop us now.  There is still a lot to come with county ordinances.  We need every county in Iowa to pass an ordinance!

We hope to hear if counties will appeal the bad decision soon.  And, Emmet County has a trial for their ordinance set for May 2024.  The Emmet County case is in a different district with a different judge.

Contact your Supervisors and tell them to stand strong.  Don't let Summit, Navigator or Wolf intimidate our local elected officials. 

Summit Briefs:

The Summit hearing wrapped up in November and now intervening parties and attorneys are working on Post-Hearing Briefs, due 12/29, to summarize the hearing and highlight the most important arguments.  Following Post-Hearing Briefs, parties will submit reply briefs, due 1/19.  Once all the briefs have been submitted, the IUB will review the entire docket and issue a decision - a process that should take weeks, even months.

The docket is the largest docket in IUB history.  Our organizing over the past two years to protect Iowa from hazardous carbon pipelines helped build the strongest case possible against the Summit project. 

South Dakota and North Dakota have already reviewed the projects in their respective states and found that Summit Carbon Solutions does not meet the burden of proof for reasons like failure to reroute around important areas, adherence to local zoning, errors in the application, missing important information and more.

All of the problems identified by South Dakota and North Dakota exists here in Iowa too.  Summit has not met the burden of proof, they failed to reroute, the application has errors and lacks critical information to keep our communities safe. 

When the IUB sits down to review the facts, it should be clear that Summit’s application must be denied.

Wolf - Easement offers in Iowa, withdrew in Illinois:

For the past year, it has felt like Wolf was sitting quietly on the sidelines, watching and learning from Summit and Navigator.  But Wolf has been moving forward with the Illinois regulatory process and recently suffered a major setback. In October, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) staff issued a letter stating that the Wolf Carbon Solutions project should be denied for many of the reasons decision makers in other states have denied carbon pipeline projects. 

On November 20, Wolf filed a request to withdraw their application in the ICC docket.  Wolf announced plans to reapply but this shows that Wolf may face the same problems as Navigator and Summit. 

Shortly after the setback in Illinois, Wolf moved forward with sending easement offers to landowners along the route in Iowa. 

Impacted landowners and community members acted quickly and organized pipeline opposition information meetings, attended by hundreds, in four impacted counties along the route. The opposition is strong and landowners along the route are committed to standing together and not signing easements. 

Please submit objections to the Wolf Carbon pipeline to the IUB here [Docket Number: HLP-2022-0002].

Sierra Club Iowa Chapter put together these Know Your Rights sheets to share with anyone who recently received an easement offer from Wolf Carbon Solutions.

• Landowners: Know Your Rights About Surveys, Land Agents and Easements

• Landowners: Know Your Rights About Eminent Domain FAQ Sheet. (share this with other landowners)

• Find out why counties should hire an independent inspector. (share this with your County Supervisors)

Navigator:

Navigator announced it was cancelling its Heartland Greenway carbon dioxide pipeline project on Oct. 20, 2023. 

Photo below: Jess Mazour speaks at the Sierra Club Colloquium, an annual gathering of Chapter Directors and Sierra Club Chapter lobbyists from around the country.  Jess was invited to speak about the Iowa Chapter's success in organizing landowners, neighbors, and others in opposition to the carbon dioxide pipelines.  Photo courtesy of Pam Mackey Taylor.

Iowa Caucus Resolutions

The Iowa caucuses will be held on January 15, 2024.  The Iowa Chapter is providing two resolutions that can be submitted - one on carbon dioxide pipelines and one on water quality.  To see a pdf of the resolutions, caucus resolutions .  Print these off and take them with you when you go to the caucus.

Save the date - May 4, 2024, Outing to Whiterock Conservancy

The Chapter will be having an outing to Whiterock Conservancy outside of Coon Rapids, Iowa, on May 4, 2024.  We are planning three hikes.  One hike will be a shorter, easier hike along the Raccoon River.  A second hike will last a couple of hours and will be a little more strenuous.  A third shorter hike will be on the trail that leads from the Visitor Center to the Garst homestead.  We will have hike leaders who can point out flowers and birds.  This will be in the prime of the song bird migration and the blooming wildflowers.

For those who want to spend more time at Whiterock, there are many activities you can do on your own - biking, hiking, camping, staying in one of the farm houses on the property, exploring the history of the Garst family, and more. 

Save the date - May 4, 2024 - and plan to join us on one of the hikes.  We will have more details in future newsletters.

Iowa Nature Summit

Five members of the Iowa Chapter Executive and three staff members attended the Nature Summit held on November 16 and 17 on the Drake University campus.  The Nature Summit brought together environmentalists and conservationists from across the state.  Speakers discussed issues related to wildlife, natural areas, and the outdoors. 

The Sierra Club has been involved in protecting Iowa's natural areas, advocating for wildlife habitat, encouraging officials to work on removing pollution from Iowa's lakes, streams, and rivers.  This conference showed us that others also support protecting Iowa.  It gave Sierra Club leaders and staff an opportunity to network and to present our values and issues to other like-minded Iowans.

The next legislative session will be challenging to those who care about nature.  Funding for the Department of Natural Resources has been inadequate for many years.  There will be increased pressure as the Governor continues advocating for reducing the income tax to zero, which will reduce state government revenues.

Pictured below are Pam Mackey Taylor, Jess Mazour, Tom Reardon, Mike Tramontina, Margaret Whiting, Tom Rosburg, Valerie Vetter, and Emma Colman.

Lunch and Learns

Every Friday at noon, we do a Lunch and Learn livestream.  See us on Facebook at "Sierra Club Iowa Chapter".  These will be recorded so you can watch them anytime.  Topics will be selected based on what is happening during the week and will be announced the day before the livestream.  During the legislative session, we cover issues coming before the Iowa legislature.

In case you missed our past webinars and lunch and learn sessions, you can still see them. 

• Watch "Iowa Climate & Clean Energy Lobbying Report", December 15, 2023
• See "Carbon Pipeline Update", December 8, 2023

Volunteer for the Iowa Chapter

Almost everything we do is done by volunteers like you.  If you would like to volunteer for the Iowa Chapter, please let us know by sending an E-mail to Iowa.chapter@sierraclub.org.  Or sign up by using the online form.  There are many opportunities for you to make a difference:

• making phone calls

• developing graphics for banners and flyers

• working on legislative issues

• working on elections

• fundraising

• organizing events

• joining an issue committee 

If you would like to join our legislative action team, sign up here.  Keep on top of what is happening at the Iowa legislature.  Be alerted when you should contact your legislators about pending legislation.

Sierra Club - working every day on Iowa’s environmental problems

Sierra Club is Iowa’s oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization.  Not only that, we are the best bet in the state for achieving bold solutions to Iowa’s environmental problems.

We work in the courts, before Iowa’s public agencies, and in the halls of the legislature.  The Iowa Chapter's effort to protect the environment takes financial support.  The Chapter receives very little financial support from the national Sierra Club.  Can we count on you for a donation to ensure even more victories?  Your contribution will be put to work here in Iowa on issues that affect every day Iowans – water quality, clean air, protection of Iowa's soil, parks and natural areas, and a strong democracy.  The Iowa Chapter is relentless in fighting back bad legislation that affects every one of us. 

Your non-deductible contributions make it possible for us to fight bad legislation and to promote good legislation.  We appreciate your past and on-going support of these efforts.  You can make a non-deductible donation with a credit card.   A non-deductible donation supports the Chapter's effective, citizen-based advocacy and lobbying programs.  If you prefer, a non-deductible check can be written to the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter and mailed to:

Treasurer
Sierra Club, Iowa Chapter
PO Box 1058
Marion, IA 52302

You can also make a tax-deductible donation with a credit card.  Tax-deductible activities are limited to public interest education, research and legal actions.  A deductible check can be written to the Sierra Club Foundation with “Iowa Chapter” written in the memo line.

Thank you for your support.

Donate your used vehicle

As the Sierra Club Foundation's Iowa Chapter continues to raise charitable funds to support its work in Iowa, won’t you consider participating in our vehicle donation program?  Our partners over at CARS have made the process of donating your unused or unneeded car, truck, motorcycle, boat or RV easy, efficient and secure.  They’ll take care of everything from picking up your vehicle to sending you a tax receipt for your generous gift.  To learn more about The Sierra Club Foundation's Iowa Chapter vehicle donation program, please call 844-674-3772.  Or visit our webpage to get started today!

Sierra Club Foundation promotes climate solutions, conservation, and movement building through a powerful combination of strategic philanthropy and grassroots advocacy. The Foundation is the fiscal sponsor of Sierra Club’s charitable environmental programs.

For more information 

Planned giving . . . naming the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter in your will 

Ensure your environmental legacy by naming the Iowa Chapter in your will or trust. These gifts cost you nothing now. You can hold onto your assets for as long as you need them.

Thank you for supporting our work!