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When the Environmental Protection Agency tested the waters downstream from some Iowa feedlots, it found more E-coli and other pathogens than the agency would allow a wastewater treatment plant to discharge.
It’s a problem, one involving a region with many feedlots, creeks and rivers, and operators who are unsure exactly what the rules are.
The EPA has ordered improvements for feedlots it thinks are contaminating nearby water systems, including eight in northwest Iowa in August. Those feedlots housed between 300 and 1,000 head of cattle.
“There are a number of things on the radarscope, just in Iowa,” said Chris Whitley, a spokesman for the EPA region covering Iowa and Nebraska. “Over time, hopefully, we’ll be looking at fewer because more folks will be getting the message.”
The problem affects a lot more than just residents in northwest Iowa, Whitley said. Most of the facilities cited by the EPA are near waters that eventually flow into the Missouri River north of Omaha and Council Bluffs. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources classifies the Missouri in the metro area as environmentally impaired, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
“Everybody lives downstream, simple as that,” Whitley said. “And what goes on a hundred miles away or more upstream can have a direct impact on your water quality.”
The EPA is not as concerned with Nebraska. Iowa has more contaminated surface waters than the Cornhusker State, although feedlots are only one source of contaminants. The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality also has a better program of educating feedlot operators, said Karl Brooks, regional administrator for the EPA.
Nebraska is not immune, though, Whitley said. In May, a Kearney-area lot paid a $20,000 civil penalty for violations having to do with manure and wastewater from its storage lagoons.
The northwest Iowa feedlots were told to apply for EPA permits and install wastewater controls by Oct. 31, 2011.
The problem isn’t one of defiance, EPA officials said, but rather one of ignorance and interpretation.
“Most producers want to be in compliance,” Whitley said. “They want to be good stewards of the environment. They recognize that water quality impacts everyone and this is a necessary thing to do.”
That’s the case with Tracy Onken, owner of Tracy Onken Feedlot northwest of Carroll, Iowa. He was bringing his operation into line when the EPA took action. Onken believes that he is now in compliance but has not received EPA confirmation.
He had to hire a local company to help him figure out just what was required.
“We want to be in compliance with the Clean Water Act,” he said. “(We) need to understand what the rules are. We need more information.”
Terry Van Wyhe, the owner of a feedlot five miles northwest of Ireton, Iowa, said he, too, wanted to comply with the Clean Water Act, but the expense of doing so, and trying to meet the varying expectations of government agencies at the state and federal levels, was difficult for a smaller operation like his.
He said he spent $40,000 last year to meet federal requirements, according to state inspectors’ interpretation. He later learned that the EPA wanted more.
EPA officials admit that sometimes the regulations are interpreted differently by state and federal agencies. They are working to get a uniform interpretation by the myriad agencies overseeing farm operations.
Van Whye chuckled when someone wished him luck.
“I have a feeling the laws are going to change again next year,” he said, “and (we’re) not going to be complying again.”
Contact the writer:
444-3106, andrew.nelson@owh.com
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