Des Moines Register
05-01-06
Deal allots $18 million for cleanup
Leaders intend to make milestone investment in quality
By PERRY BEEMAN
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
Iowa's polluted waterways will be targeted for an $18 million cleanup if
lawmakers approve what apparently would be the largest single appropriation of
its type in recent history.
Lawmakers from both parties decided well before the final days of the session
that they were prepared to make a major commitment to ridding Iowa's waters of
some fecal bacteria, fertilizer and silt.
Those pollutants harm fishing, make drinking water more expensive to treat, and
can threaten the health of fun-seekers. Iowa State University researchers
found that areas with good recreational offerings have faster-rising incomes.
Gov. Tom Vilsack, a Democrat, and legislative leaders from both parties included
the spending in a budget deal reached Thursday.
Vilsack had asked for $20 million in the first year of a three-year, $50 million
water-quality campaign — and he came close to getting his wish. If the House
and Senate approve the pact, the $18 million will help restore lakes, improve
sewage treatment plants and help farmers with soil conservation projects.
Long-time observers say the spending — along with other state and federal
programs — is a milestone as Iowa addresses waterways that are among the
nation's most polluted.
"The wrangling isn't whether to spend money on water quality, it's how much to
spend on water quality," said Charles Corell of the Iowa Department of Natural
Resources.
"There is no doubt about it," said Corell, the state's water quality chief. "This is a
great start. What is very obvious is that the Legislature is now committed to
improving water quality in the state and is putting its money where its mouth is."
A key was the dogged work of the nonprofit Iowa Environmental Council and
other groups, plus a change in the political climate in the Iowa Legislature.
Rich Leopold, the environmental council's executive director, said newly named
Senate co-leader Mary Lundby, a Republican from Marion, was instrumental in
cutting the deal.
Lundby, who could not be reached for comment, is fond of saying, "I want to see
clean water in my lifetime."
Said Leopold: "This is definitely a reaction to all the press, the water quality fight,
all coming together to make this a priority for legislators. I think we're turning a
corner. It's happening. The naysayers are being put aside."
The fight over new state rules intended to cut sewage pollution in rivers might
have helped, Leopold said. "You had this perfect storm of interest groups making
noise at a huge level," Leopold said.
Lawmakers had to do something, and they decided to let the rules go through
while helping cities pay for improvements to sewage plants.
Vilsack spokeswoman Jennifer Mullin said details about how to disburse the
money are being worked out.
Tentative plans call for $9 million for lake dredging and soil-conservation work in
areas such as Clear Lake, where local leaders already have done a lot of work to
prevent more pollution from running into the popular vacation lake. Another $5
million would go to local watershed projects across the state, and $4 million
would help small, financially strapped sewage-treatment plants upgrade to meet
new pollution limits.
"We are very happy to have this kind of investment in one of our most valuable
natural resources," Mullin said. "This is about improving water quality, making the
state a better place to live and play, and strengthening towns."
Joe Johnson, lobbyist for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, said the new money
will help as farmers continue to propose more erosion-control projects.
Government cost-share programs haven't kept up with demand, Johnson said.
"Farmers take a great deal of pride in the state of Iowa and in water quality," he
said.