DES MOINES--Contracts, including an innovative research project to visualize and work toward a sustainable Iowa, are on the Nov. 20 agenda of the Environmental Protection Commission.
Iowa’s solid waste and recycling laws passed 30 years ago. Traditionally waste management looks at product disposal. Commissioners will be asked to approve a contract to establish a vision for Iowa waste management that considers environmental impacts at each stage of a product’s life, and a detailed plan to engage stakeholders in developing that plan. Sustainable materials management could include evaluating water and energy use, reducing air pollution or minimizing resource depletion before items are disposed.
In other action, DNR will ask commissioners to approve two contracts to develop storm water education campaigns designed to raise awareness of how rainscaping can improve soil and water quality in the Des Moines metro area and the Coralville-North Liberty corridor.
Also up for EPC approval is a revised state implementation plan for air quality. The plan shows the DNR has the programs, rules, and statutory authority to meet requirements of the federal Clean Air Act pertaining to the 2015 federal ozone standards.
An additional rule proposal would simplify air quality emission reporting requirements and reduce DNR’s costs by transitioning the largest 280 pollutant-emitting industries to more efficient electronic reporting.
The EPC will meet at 10 a.m. in Room 116 of the State Capitol, 1007 E. Grand Ave., Des Moines. The meeting is open to the public.
At 10:30 a.m., commissioners are tentatively scheduled to consider referring Thomas Chris Dodge & Ronald Schintler (Tirefly) of Parnell to the Attorney General for illegal tire and solid waste storage.
Please submit and written comments to Jerah Sheets at Jerah.Sheets@dnr.iowa.gov or 515-313-8909, or DNR, 502 E. Ninth St., Des Moines, IA 50319 by noon the day before the meeting.
The complete agenda follows:
- Approval of Agenda
- Approval of the Minutes
- Monthly Reports
- Acting Director’s Remarks
- Contract with Burns and McDonnell
- Contract with Polk County SWCD for The Rain Campaign: Rainscaping the Des Moines Metro
- Contract with City of Coralville for Raising the Urban Soil Health IQ in the Lower Iowa River Watershed
- State Implementation Plan (SIP) Revision for Ozone
- Notice of Intended Action: Air Quality Regulatory Certainty Rules Part 3 - Chapters 20, 22, 23 and 25
- Referral to the Attorney General
- General Discussion
- Items for Next Month’s Meeting
- Dec. 18 – EPC Business Meeting – Des Moines
- Jan. 23, 2019 – Joint NRC/EPC Meeting – Des Moines
- Jan. 23, 2019 – EPC Business Meeting – Des Moines
The complete agenda and item briefs are available on the DNR website.
Commissioners include: Ralph Lents, Menlo, chair; Joe Riding, Altoona, vice chair; Rebecca Guinn, Bettendorf, Secretary; Mary Boote, Des Moines; Nancy Couser, Nevada; Howard Hill, Cambridge; Harold Hommes, Windsor Heights; and Bob Sinclair, Sigourney. Bruce Trautman is the acting director of the DNR.