Members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI) believe that a significant amount of this water pollution comes from factory farm manure runoff.  Although the DNR recognizes Iowa's poor water quality and the impact that factory farm pollution contributes to it, the DNR, as the leading government agency in Iowa that enforces regulations on factory farms, continues to permit new factory farms all over the state.

For example, in a well-publicized and controversial factory farm fight last fall, the DNR allowed two 7,500-head hog factories to be built in Dallas County near the Raccoon River.  By permitting these two hog factories, the DNR has allowed an already-impaired waterway and drinking water source to the entire Des Moines metro area, the Raccoon River, to become more polluted.  The DNR claimed that, although they realized the potential water quality impact, they did not have the legal authority to deny these facilities.

“The DNR claims they need more legal authority to be able to deny factory farms, like the two in Dallas County, that are a huge potential to pollute Iowa's waters,” said Matt Peters, Iowa CCI member and family farmer from Dallas County.  “If this is true, the people of Iowa, public officials and the DNR need to fight to make sure the DNR has more authority to deny factory farm permits.  Our waters can't take any more factory farm pollution. Clean water is a right none of us should be forced to forego.”