Pipelines

• Take Action: Goldfield SCS Capture water permit should be denied

• Victory: Navigator Withdrew in Illinois

Water Quality

• Update on Supreme Beef

Protecting the Environment

• Iowa Cities/Counties Receive Climate Planning Grants

• Absentee voting underway

• Boards & Commissions Review Committee Fell Short

Plus

• Join us for interesting and informative Lunch and Learns

• 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

Goldfield SCS Capture water permit should be denied

Goldfield SCS Capture LLC is requesting 27.6 million gallons of water per year from the Mississippean Limestone Aquifer to aid in carbon capturing for Summit's CO2 pipeline.  There is an open comment period right now and an upcoming virtual public hearing on Tuesday, Oct 24 at 7pm CT. 

Here’s how you can take action to tell the DNR to deny Summit’s Goldfield water withdrawal request:

• Submit comments now by sending an email to michael.anderson@dnr.iowa.gov. Sample comments are below.  Public Comments are due October 24 by 9pm!

• Join the DNR Hearing by zoom  on October 24 at 7pm CT: 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81126029078?pwd=ayt2Ky9PMnRpZEN2ZkoyTXBxOFZLZz0

• Join DNR hearing by phone on October 24 at 7pm CT) by calling 309-205-3325.  The Meeting ID is: 811 2602 9078

Sample comments: You can copy/paste the comments below, edit or write your own comments. 

Goldfield SCS Capture, LLC request should be denied.

Goldfield SCS Capture, LLC filed a request for 27.6 million gallons of water per year from the Mississippian Limestone Aquifer.  We think this is a poor use of our water resources.  

The Goldfield SCS Capture, LLC request takes a public resource and gives it to a private entity for private gain.  This does not meet Iowa Code §455B.262(2) & (3) which states public waters are to be put to “maximum” beneficial use in the interest of Iowans and managed as sustainable resources to protect the uses into the future.

DNR should consider the water withdrawal requests from Summit Carbon Solutions, Navigator CO2 Ventures and Wolf Carbon Solutions as a cumulative request. We request a full survey of wells within a 2 mile radius to determine the impact of a water withdrawal on existing wells.  

Piecemeal requests from carbon pipeline companies do a disservice to Iowans as it is important to look at the projects as a whole, and even as an industry as a whole.  Summit is proposing to connect to 13 ethanol plants, Navigator to 20 ethanol plants and Wolf to 2 ethanol plants in Iowa alone.  We must examine these projects cumulatively as an industry to understand the true impacts of allowing CCS to utilize public water resources.

DNR should evaluate Iowa’s water resource priorities and determine that water for carbon capture and transport is not a good long term use of our groundwater or in the public’s interest.

In order to protect Iowa’s water resources for long-term availability as the Code requires, IDNR’s Water Allocation Program is guided by the following principles: all waters are considered public wealth and subject to the control by the state, public waters are to be put to (maximum) beneficial use in the interests of Iowans, and waters are to be managed as sustainable resources thereby protecting beneficial uses into the future.

The use of public waters for private companies that serve no beneficial purpose is wrong.  DNR should determine that Carbon Capture and Storage is not a beneficial use of public water.

VICTORY: Navigator Withdrew in Illinois

After a series of failures and setbacks along the proposed carbon pipeline route, Navigator withdrew their request for a permit in Illinois.  This is significant because Illinois is the location where Navigator proposed to sequester the CO2 from ethanol plants across the Midwest.

The filing read: "Consistent with recent filings in other jurisdictions, NHG has elected to reassess the route and other aspects of the Heartland Greenway Pipeline System, and the Application. Being cognizant of the ICC and intervenor resources, NHG seeks to withdraw its Application with the intent to reinitiate Illinois permitting, if appropriate, when NHG’s full evaluation is complete. Accordingly, Applicant will cease to prosecute its Application."

This is not the first time Navigator has been cornered into withdrawing their application.  In January 2023, Navigator saw the writing on the wall that the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) would likely deny their application due to a number of factors including not having easements and support from landowners and counties where they wanted to sequester the CO2.

Shortly after withdrawing the application in January 2023, Navigator reapplied.  Since then Navigator has been trying to gain support in possible sequestration areas and along their proposed route with no success, resulting in the most recent withdrawal.  

Navigator has officially put their project on hold in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and was denied by the Public Utilities Commission in South Dakota.  There are also reports of Navigator laying off employees.

Despite these major victories, we can’t let our guard down.  Navigator could reapply with a different route or another pipeline may take over some of the route or something else. We  just don’t know what could happen next.  We have to keep up the fight to make sure no carbon pipelines are approved in Iowa!

Now is a great time to call your County Supervisors and tell them to pass a carbon pipeline zoning ordinance.  People over pipelines!

Update on Supreme Beef

On September 13, 2023, Supreme Beef submitted another nutrient management plan.  This version is flawed, just like the prior versions.  At this point, we are waiting for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to review the nutrient management plan.  We hope that the plan is rejected.

In the meantime, the Department of Natural Resources has forbidden Supreme Beef from emptying its manure storage structures until they have an approved nutrient management plan.  All the while, the 11,600 beef cattle continue to produce manure every single day.

Supreme Beef LLC is cattle feeding operation in Clayton County.  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. 

Sierra Club is concerned that the over-application of manure, as prescribed by the nutrient management plan, will put the trout stream at great risk of being polluted by manure.

At the heart of the feeding operation is an earthen lagoon with a plastic liner that is built on a floodplain.  The integrity of the lagoon can be breached by running floodwaters, which would lead to manure being released.

It is not clear if the manure being stored in the lagoon will be dry manure, only liquid wastewater, or a combination of liquids and solids.  This matters since the level of nutrients will vary based on what is being stored.  It is the level of nutrients which determines the rate that the manure can be applied to the crop fields.  Too much manure leads to the manure running off the fields and into Bloody Run Creek.

The lack of clarity about how the manure is stored affects the calculations running throughout the latest nutrient management plan submitted to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Another risk is that Supreme Beef is built in karst terrain, which consists of bedrock that is fractured.  The fractures act like a straw which draws surface water into the groundwater and aquifers.  Excess manure can easily run through the fractures in the bedrock.  That would contaminate drinking water wells.

It is very clear that the earthen lagoon built in the floodplain does not follow the DNR regulations.  Sierra Club told DNR that the earthen lagoon needs to be removed.

Below is an aerial view of the Supreme Beef confinement operation.

Absentee voting underway

Absentee voting has begun for the school board, city council, and mayor races.  Election day is November 7, 2023, from 7am to 8pm.

Over the last few years, the state election laws have changed.  One of the biggest changes has been that all ballots cast by mail must be received at the auditor's office by the close of the polls on November 7.  Another change is that the polls close at 8pm.

Mayors and city council members can have a huge impact on the environment, including increasing the use of clean energy, supporting clean water initiatives, creating outdoor public recreation areas, expanding recycling programs, and working on environmental justice. 

 Although many people take little notice of the school board elections, the school board can make decisions that have a huge impact on climate change, including energy use within the schools. 

Iowa Cities/Counties Receive Climate Planning Grants

The Environmental Protection Agency awarded grants to three Iowa cities and their surrounding metro areas to fund climate change pollution reduction plans.  The $1 million grant for Des Moines will include Polk, Dallas, Guthrie, Jasper, Madison, Story, and Warren counties.  The Cedar Rapids and Iowa City grant of $2 million will include Linn, Jones, Benton, Johnson, and Washington counties. 

The next steps are to engage in planning projects to reduce climate change.  The draft plans are due on March 1, 2024.  Next year, additional money grant money will be available to implement the plans. 

Money became available for Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and Iowa City when the state of Iowa rejected a $3 million grant to plan for climate pollution reduction.  The money was being offered to every state by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.  Iowa joined Florida, South Dakota, and Kentucky in refusing to participate in the program.

Sources

Erin Jordan, “$2 million federal award will help regional climate planning”, Cedar Rapids Gazette, October 13, 2023

Erin Jordan, “C.R., Iowa City, Des Moines to seek $1 million climate planning grants”, Cedar Rapids Gazette, April 29, 2023

Boards & Commissions Review Committee Fell Short

The Boards and Commissions Review Committee issued its final report and filled in some of the details left out of its earlier report.  The overall theme was that the recommendations would shrink the size of the administrative state.  The report calls boards and commissions the fourth branch of government, at the same time it grouses that the boards and commissions are unaccountable to the executive branch officials, claims that they are accountable only to themselves, and states that the courts rarely overturn board decisions.

The Review Committee was set in motion by the Iowa Legislature.  Their charter was to review all the state boards and commissions and make recommendations on the future existence of the body.  The Iowa legislature will implement the recommendations through future legislation. 

The Review Committee report was 590 pages long, most of which was the appendix.  Out of 256 boards and commissions, the Review Committee recommended reducing the boards and commissions to 145.  Currently the governor appoints about 1,000 members of the public to serve on the boards and commissions while the other public officials appoint about 1,100.  As a result of the Review Committee recommendations, about 450 fewer citizens will be serving on the boards and commissions.

Much of the report focused on reducing the licensing of professions and removing barriers of entry into the workforce.

It is troubling that the Review Committee is recommending eliminating the law that establishes gender balance on boards.  That law was passed because government boards and commissions were mostly comprised of men.  A diversity of voices makes decisions and recommendations stronger.  Having a seat at the table matters when decisions are being made.  Some boards and commissions have difficulty balancing their members, such as those dealing with professions that are pursued by mostly men or mostly women.  If there is a problem finding gender balance, then the rules could be changed to allow a non-balanced board after a significant search for board members. 

The recommendations appear to reduce and restrict the public access and input in the decision-making process.  It also is an attempt to reduce public oversight in how our agencies are functioning.  These recommendations appear to consolidate power within the governor’s office, where decisions are made behind closed doors with as little public input as possible and where the only people who have input are the lobbyists and friends of the governor. 

Iowa has had a long history of using boards and commissions to advise and guide how our government functions. The state of Iowa benefits from having members of the public serving on the boards and offering their expertise, often without compensation

The Sierra Club does a significant amount of work before boards and commissions.  The Natural Resources Commission and the Environmental Protection Commission came under fire because they have authority to make changes to the proposed budgets of the Department of Natural Resources.  The Review Committee was concerned that these commissions could increase the budget for items that the DNR officials did not want to increase or were directed not to increase.

The Sierra Club is concerned that the State Preserves Board is going to become an ad hoc advisory board to the Natural Resources Commission.  The Preserves Board makes decisions on protecting Iowa's best quality native habitat with the highest level of protection - a preserve.  They Preserves Board members are professionals working on habitat issues and wildlife issues.  This should not become an ad hoc advisory board. 

Furthermore, the Review Committee is recommending reviewing the boards and commissions every four years to decide if they should continue.  If the legislature does not approve continuation, then the board or commission will cease to exist.  That mass review is a waste of taxpayer money.  Arbitrarily sun-setting a functioning board is not conducive to ensuring that government functions well.

Although this may seem like a wonky exercise, it is obvious that the recommendations will have far-reaching impacts on everyday Iowans and how state government is able to respond to the problems and issues that we are facing, such as clean water, healthy air, and government regulations that work for all of us.  That is, if the legislature acts on the recommendations. 

The work of this committee was unsatisfactory.  The legislature should not implement the recommendations of the Boards and Commissions Review Committee. 

What you can do

Let your state legislators know that the Boards and Commissions Review Committee failed to adequately perform their review of the state’s boards and commissions and ask that the legislators not implement the changes recommended by the Review Committee. 

To look up your senate member, see www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/senate

To look up your house member, see www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/house

To find your legislators, see www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find

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. 

• View "Another victory! Now we need to protect our water.", October 13, 2023
• See "We are winning against carbon pipelines!", October 6, 2023
• Learn about "Reducing the Administrative State", September 29, 2023
• Listen to "Carbon Pipeline Safety Update", September 22, 2023
• You Tube recording of Dan Flores' speech discussing his book Wild New World: The Epic Story of Animals and People in America at the annual meeting, September 16, 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.

Photo below is the Mississippi River near Guttenberg.

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!