Iowa DNR Gets Last Chance To Avoid EPA Takeover

Des Moines Register:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has given the Iowa Department of Natural Resources five years to inspect nearly 8,000 livestock facilities under a preliminary plan aimed at preventing a federal takeover of the program.
That is one of the details in an elaborate “work plan” the EPA has negotiated with the DNR, which enforces the Clean Water Act in Iowa on behalf of the federal agency.
But the three environmental groups that prompted the action still have concerns over whether the DNR will have enough workers to get the job done. And the organizations want to make sure that new permits the state agency grants those facilities aren’t full of loopholes, said David Goodner, a staffer at Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement.
CCI, Sierra Club and the Environmental Integrity Project in 2007 petitioned the EPA, asking the federal agency to consider taking over enforcement of the 1972 U.S. Clean Water Act. At the same time, it blasted the DNR for failing to adequately control pollution, including spills, from large livestock confinements.
In the past, the DNR has maintained that the facilities don’t need federal permits that control discharges because state law prohibits any releases into waterways. And the major livestock organizations here have agreed with that analysis.
But after a series of court decisions and environmental group petitions kept the issue hot, the EPA now is ordering the DNR to make sure those permits are issued. And the resources department has said it will ask the Legislature for money to hire more inspectors, perhaps 13.
Critics, including the nonprofit Iowa Environmental Council, have noted that would only restore staff previously cut, not add firepower.
Goodner said the EPA will have to keep the heat on the DNR, which he claims is too friendly toward agricultural interests. He said CCI and its petition partners want the DNR to write tough permits that can be revoked for repeated environmental violations.

An industry-friendly state regulatory agency?  I'm shocked.  Too much ag industry influence in Iowa?  Nah.  Regulatory capture is one of the major weaknesses of the federalist argument.  It is much easier to buy off the state folks than the feds.  The state folks can see the economic benefits of ignoring pesky regulations that make businesses do things right.  What are the odds that DNR will get the job done right in the next 3 years?