DES MOINES—Water-related contracts dominate the monthly Environmental Protection Commission’s meeting on Aug. 18.
Commissioners will meet by video conference at 10 a.m. To join by video, connect with https://meet.google.com/rqw-nksu-aak. To join by phone, call 216-505-9946, and enter the conference code of 208540651 followed by the pound (#) sign. The meeting is open to the public. There is no scheduled public participation. Written comments may be submitted up to one day before the meeting to Jerah Sheets at Jerah.Sheets@dnr.iowa.gov or to DNR, 502 E. Ninth St., Des Moines, IA 50319.
Up for commission approval is a contract amendment that will fund terraces and streambank protection to Silver Creek in Clayton County. The additional funding completes the multi-year project designed to improve in-stream fish and insect habitat by reducing sediment.
An overview of Iowa’s floodplain mapping program’s progress will precede a request for commissioners to approve contract amendments for floodplain mapping services. The amended contracts will help DNR meet the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s requirements for Flood Insurance Rate Maps. Funding comes from FEMA and will improve future maps and risk awareness with updated data and more precise engineering.
A related contract amendment aims at assisting the DNR in helping communities to understand and mitigate flood risks, fulfilling FEMA standards and guidelines.
Finally, a contract amendment with the Association of Boards of Certification will enable drinking water and wastewater operators to take their certification exams via remote proctoring. This option will help eliminate the backlog of exams that occurred after traditional testing locations became unavailable due to COVID-19.
In other action, commissioners will be asked to approve the annual water use permit fee required for all water use permits using 25,000 gallons or more of water on any day during the year. The proposed fee is $95 and is the same as last year.
Find the complete agenda at https://www.iowadnr.gov/About-DNR/Boards-Commissions.
Commissioners include: Ralph Lents, Menlo, chair; Harold Hommes, Windsor Heights, vice chair; Bob Sinclair, Sigourney, Secretary; Stephanie Dykshorn, Ireton; Amy Echard, Farmersburg; Lisa Gochenour, Logan; Rebecca Guinn, Bettendorf; and Howard Hill, Cambridge. Kayla Lyon is the DNR director.