Climate Change

• Department of Education Proposes Controversial Changes to Science Standards - Evolution and Climate Change under fire

• Iowa Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory

Protecting the Environment

• 2025 Legislature

• EPA Puts Major Rivers on Impaired Waters List

CO2 Pipeline Update

• Update on Summit CO2 Pipeline

Plus

• Lunch and Learns Fridays at noon

• Contribute to the Iowa Chapter

• Volunteer for the Iowa Chapter

• Calendar of events

• To see the archive of previous Iowa Chapter newsletters

Department of Education Proposes Controversial Changes to Science Standards - Evolution and Climate Change under fire

The Iowa Department of Education is proposing to remove "climate change" and "biological evolution" from the Science Standards for Iowa grade school and high school students.  Instead of being taught about climate change, the Department wants students to be taught about "climate trends", "change over time", and "natural warming and cooling" that has occurred throughout history.  Further, students would not be taught about evolution.  Students need to be taught the current science as to the earth's age.

The Iowa Department of Education sets standards for the curriculum for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade.  One set of standards is the Science Standards.  The standards lay out what students in each grade should learn as part of their science education. 

The whole point of science education is to ensure that graduating students are prepared for college or for entering the workplace.  That implies that students are given up-to-date current information about science.  The workplace that students will enter is global; the workers today must compete with workers across the globe.  Students who are not taught current information about science enter college and the workplace behind those who have a science education based on current scientific thoughts.

Originally, an advisory team of teachers and academics recommended that climate change and evolution remain in the updated science standards.  The team reviewed draft revisions to the standards and signed off on them.  After the team met and reviewed the draft, the Department of Education rewrote the draft science standards to remove the reference to evolution and to water down the classwork about climate change, and then posted the revised draft standards on the Department's website.  Furthermore, the Department of Education didn't bother to notify the team members that there were significant changes made to the draft science standards.  Members of the team blew the whistle about the changes that were made and how serious those changes were to science education in Iowa.

With that in mind, the Iowa Department of Education needs to scrap their proposed science standards and instead continue with the current standards about climate change, the earth's age, and evolution. 

What you can do

1. You can write to the director of the Iowa Department of Education and say that the Iowa Department of Education needs to scrap their proposed science standards.  This must be done by February 3.  Her email address is: mckenzie.snow@iowa.gov
2. You can write to the governor and say that the proposed science standards need to be scrapped.  You must use the governor's on-line tool at E-Mail  
3. You can make a comment on the proposed changes to the Science Standards by answering a detailed survey - link to survey.  Comments are due by February 3.

2025 Legislature

The Iowa legislature session began on January 13.  The session is scheduled to end on May 2 – the day when the legislators’ per diem expense money ends.  Often, the session runs a little beyond that.

You are welcome to write to your state senator and state representative.

• To find your state senator's email address, see https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/senate 
• To find your state representative's email address, see https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/house
• to find your state senator's or state representative's name, see https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find 

A few bills involving Iowa's environment and conservation have already been introduced.

• A bill has been introduced in the Senate that would restrict the forest and fruit tree reservations property tax exemptions to those folks who have homestead tax exemptions.  A person may live in a rental home, but still have property that has a forest and fruit tree reservation - that person would not qualify for a homestead tax credit and therefore would not quality for a forest and fruit tree reservation property tax exemption.  Ask your State Senator to oppose SF17. 
• A bill - SF43 - has been introduced in the Iowa Senate that would allow cities to pass ordinances that would require landlords to test radon levels in single-family residences that they are renting.  The test results would be provided to the city.  The bill sets up a retesting of radon levels every eight years if the radon levels are below four picocuries per liter and there is no bedroom in the basement.  If there is a bedroom in the basement, then the radon levels are to be tested every four years.  If the test is over 4 picocuries per liter, then a radon mitigation system must be installed and a radon test must be performed within 90 days of the installation unless given an extension by the city.  If a rental house already has a radon mitigation system, testing for radon will be done every 8 years.  Ask your State Senator to support SF43.
• A bill - HF82 - has been introduced in the Iowa House that would update the building codes to require passive radon mitigation in single-family and two-family homes.  Given the high levels of radon found within the state, it is sensible to require new residences to have radon mitigation systems already built in.  The best way to do that is to make installing passive radon mitigation required through the building codes.  Ask your State Representative to support HF82.
  

In general, we do not know what bills will be coming before the legislature until they are actually introduced.  Even so, we have an idea of some of the bills, including:

• Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP), a state law enacted in 1989, provides the framework for funding to protect Iowa’s natural areas, soil conservation, water quality and historical resources.  REAP is expiring in 2026 – that needs to be extended beyond 2026 while keeping the funding formulas as they are currently.

• Every year, the bottle deposit law comes before the legislature.  We support expansion of the bottle deposit law to include more containers, plus raising the deposit to 10 cents.  We also support the legislature naming the study committee members who will be reviewing the most recent changes to the bottle deposit law and how they have negatively affected the consumers.

• The Sierra Club always asks for adequate funding to support the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, including parks and recreation as well as environmental protection, and fully funding REAP at $20 million.

• The tax revenue will be reduced as the recent changes in income tax rates become effective, so there will be efforts to shrink the budget and the size of government.  The Sierra Club will monitor these changes.

• Every year we see efforts to restrict solar and wind siting.  The Sierra Club supports the build-out of wind, solar, and battery storage as long as the siting is done properly.

• Pipelines – we expect pipeline opponents to introduce bills that change how pipelines can be permitted in Iowa.

Feel free to visit with your state legislators about these issues. They may have open houses or coffees where members of the public are invited to discuss issues with them.  The legislators often participate in forums which you are welcome to attend.

• To find your state senator's email address, see https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/senate 
• To find your state representative's email address, see https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/house
• to find your state senator's or state representative's name, see https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find 

 EPA Puts Major Rivers on Impaired Waters List

The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officially put seven segments of the Cedar River, Des Moines River, Iowa River, Raccoon River, and South Skunk River on the impaired waters list (the list is also called the 303(d) list) because they are polluted with nitrate and nitrite.  Nitrate and nitrite are toxic to humans.   The segments of the rivers were used for drinking water.

The impaired waters list, which is created by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) every two years, identifies the rivers, streams, lakes, and wetlands that are polluted.  The EPA is responsible for approving the impaired waters list that is created by the DNR.

EPA told DNR that they were using the wrong method to determine if a water body exceeds the water quality standard for nitrate and nitrite in surface waters used for drinking water.  The correct method is to use each test to determine if the nitrate, nitrite, or nitrate plus nitrite was higher than the water quality standard.  The DNR was using a statistical method to determine the amount of nitrate and nitrite in those rivers used for drinking water.  That method allowed the DNR to avoid listing the waters on the impaired waters list.

Even worse, EPA told DNR about the problem during the open comment period on the draft list.  DNR ignored EPA’s comments and submitted the 2024 impaired waters list without listing the Cedar River, Des Moines River, Iowa River, Raccoon River, and South Skunk River on the impaired waters list.   

EPA also told the Department of Natural Resources that they failed to include test data from several other sources.  One of those sources is the Iowa Water Quality Information System which includes data from Iowa’s Institute for Hydrologic Research and U.S. Geological Survey.  Another set of data that was not included is the volunteer data in the Clean Water Hub.

Iowa’s Credible Data Law defines what information can be used in creating the 303(d) list, but EPA said that “data excluded from the state’s analysis must be based on a technical, science-based rationale and not rely solely upon Iowa’s ‘Credible Data Law’”.

Another important item in the decision was that EPA is in discussion with the DNR about prioritizing the development of TMDLs, especially the priority the DNR is placing on which TMDLs are worked on first.  This is a significant development. 

The DNR is responsible for creating a total maximum daily load (TMDL) for those waters on the impaired waters list.  A TMDL is a calculation for how much pollution can be put into the water body and still maintain water quality standards.  Along with the TMDL calculation, DNR creates a Water Quality Improvement Plan which lays out what is required to bring the water body back into compliance with water quality standards.   

Earlier this year, Sierra Club filed a dedelegation petition asking EPA to remove Iowa’s authority to administer the Clean Water Act.  Among the reasons for the dedelegation was that DNR was not prioritizing the development of the TMDLs.  Some of the water bodies on the impaired waters list have been on the list since 2006 and 2008, with no TMDL having been prepared.  Some of the waters dating back to 2006 and 2008 are designated as Outstanding Iowa Waters. These waters are entitled to extra protection. But DNR has designated them as low priority for preparing TMDLs. This is a clear violation of the intent, if not the specific language, of the Clean Water Act, which says that the priority ranking must be made “taking into account the severity of the pollution and the uses to be made of such waters.” These waters, given their status and their high social impact as trout streams, are not given their proper priority to the scoring system.

Because 95% of Iowa’s land is farmed, the largest contributor to the nitrate and nitrite problem is manure and commercial fertilizer that runs off farm fields.  The cycle begins when plants do not absorb all of the fertilizer and manure that was applied to the fields.  Rain and snow melt transport the excess nitrate and nitrite off the fields and into rivers, streams, and lakes.

The DNR must do better.  The Iowa Chapter will continue being a watchdog over the DNR and its enforcement of the Clean Water Act.

Sources:

United States Environmental Protection Agency Region 7, 2024 Response to Comments for EPA's Partial Approval/Partial Disapproval of Iowa's Clean Water Act Section 303(d) List of Water Quality Limited Segments Still Requiring TMDLs, December 30, 2024

United States Environmental Protection Agency Region 7, 2024 Decision Document, Iowa's Clean Water Act Section 303(d) List of Water Quality Limited Segments Still Requiring TMDLs, November 12, 2024

Dedelegation Petition – see August, 2024, Iowa Sierran newsletter

Photo: the Cedar River at Palisades-Kepler State Park.

 Iowa Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources recently released the "2023 Iowa Statewide Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Report".  The report showed those emissions decreased .75% since 2022, with the largest decreases coming from residential, commercial, and industrial fossil fuel combustion; power plants due to a decreased generation of electricity from coal; and industrial process.  Those reductions were offset by an increase in emissions from mobile combustion due to an increase in vehicle miles traveled. 

Iowa largest emissions come from the agriculture sector - 29% of Iowa's greenhouse gases emissions are from agriculture.

Of the greenhouse gases emitted in Iowa,

• 29% come from the agriculture sector – livestock and crop production, enteric fermentation from cattle and other ruminant animals, and manure management
• 28% are from residential, commercial, and industrial fossil fuel use
• 16% from power plants
• 18% from transportation
• 6% from industrial processes
• 2% from waste production, such as landfills and wastewater treatment plants
• 1% are emitted during the transmission and distribution of natural gas

In order to reduce the effects of climate change, the emissions of greenhouse gases need to decline significantly. 

The Sierra Club has been diligently working on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Iowa. 

The Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club has been working on reducing emissions from the agriculture sector, including issuing several policy documents

• Soil Health, executive summary
• Soil: Grounding Us in Transformative Systemic Change
• 5 Principles of Soil Health
• See video on "The 5 Principles of Soil Health"

The Beyond Coal Campaign has been working on shuttering coal plants in Iowa, resulting in the large reductions of emissions from that sector.  

The Sierra Club is actively promoting the use of electric vehicles and the installation of more charging stations.

We will continue this work in 2025.

Source

“2023 Iowa Statewide Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Report”, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, December 30, 2024

Lunch and Learns Fridays at noon

Fridays 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.  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.

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.

Photo: camping by Jess Mazour.

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!