ICCI Raises Environmental Questions About Flooding
By ICCI
The
recent floods in Iowa have drawn attention to the fact that the state's
waterways are some of the most polluted in the nation. Iowans shouldn't
have to wonder the toxic effects of floodwaters on their health and
their homes, and that is why Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement
(Iowa CCI) will address the need to clean up Iowa's waterways at its
July 18-19 Statewide Convention at the Hotel Fort Des Moines. More
information and registration can be found at http://www.iowacci.org
David
Osterberg, Executive Director of the Iowa Policy Project, will lead a
workshop at the convention that will give Iowans new ideas and
information for the fight to clean up Iowa's waters.
“The
floodwaters that have inundated Iowa this month point out the need to
ensure better water quality in the first place,” CCI member Lori Nelson
of Bayard said. “Health officials have repeatedly warned people that
the flood waters contain dangerous pollutants.”
CCI
members from all across the state have been fighting hard to get
government officials to clean up our waterways and hold factory farms
accountable for the pollution they create. In May, CCI members
petitioned the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' (DNR)
Environmental Protection Commission (EPC) to ban factory farms from
applying manure on frozen or snow-covered ground which when it melts,
runs off and contaminates waterways. CCI submitted this petition in
response to record levels of pollution in rivers and streams across the
state this spring.
“The DNR
and the EPC have a chance to do something about our polluted
waterways,” said CCI member Jack Troeger from Ames. “If they care
about our health, they should support our rule-making petition and ban
the application of factory farm manure on frozen ground.”
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