DES MOINES – The biennial groundwater status report and proposed rule changes are up for approval at the Dec. 18 Environmental Protection Commission meeting.
Commissioners will be asked to approve the 2018 groundwater report, which is focused on availability of groundwater. The report summarizes collaborative work by DNR and the Iowa Geological Survey over the past decade and the intent to work together on future aquifer modeling.
In other action, commissioners will be asked to approve DNR going forward with rule changes designed to clean up existing administrative rules, and update them to reflect three recent changes in state law:
- transferring the State Geologist and Iowa Geological Survey to the University of Iowa,
- adding an animal unit capacity for small fish in the animal feeding operations rules, and
- increasing the reimbursement cap for the Land Recycling Program.
The meeting begins at 10 a.m. in Room 116 of the Iowa State Capitol, 1007 E. Grand Ave. in Des Moines. The meeting is open to the public.
Please submit written comments to Jerah Sheets at Jerah.Sheets@dnr.iowa.gov or call 515-313-8909, or by mail to 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
Groundwater Status Report 2018
Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund – FY 2019 Intended Use Plan update
Contract with City of Des Moines – Easter Lake Southeast 14th Street Bio-Retention Cells
Notice of Intended Action – Chapters 50, 51, 53, 65, 72, 82, and 137 – Proposed Rule Amendment
Notice of Intended Action – Chapter 61 – Water Quality Standards (Stream Reclassifications via Use Assessment and Use Attainability Analyses – Batch #5)
General Discussion
- Petition for Rulemaking to Adopt Lake Nutrient Standards – History
Items for Next Month’s Meeting
- 23 – Joint NRC/EPC Meeting – Des Moines
- 23 – EPC Business Meeting – Des Moines
- 19 – 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; Lisa Gochenour, Logan; Howard Hill, Cambridge; Harold Hommes, Windsor Heights; and Bob Sinclair, Sigourney. Bruce Trautman is the acting director of the DNR.