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Water quality dominates Environmental Protection Commission meeting

  • 12/10/2020 11:56:00 AM
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DES MOINES— The Environmental Protection Commission will address water quality and solid waste achievements at its Dec. 15 teleconference meeting.

Commissioners will meet by video conference at 9:30 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.

At the top of the agenda, intended use plans for the third quarter of the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund are up for the commission’s approval.

Then DNR staff will present highlights from 10 years of the Environmental Management System’s achievements in reducing environmental risks from solid waste management. Commissioners will also receive the EMS annual report, due on Jan. 1.

In other action, commissioners will be asked to approve a contract for groundwater monitoring with the University of Iowa’s State Hygienic Laboratory. The contract focuses on groundwater quality at 55 wells in the Dakota Aquifer, which is the primary source of drinking water for farms and municipalities in northwest Iowa. The contract calls for another 54 wells to be monitored for statewide trends in water quality.

Lake water quality monitoring is also up for approval, under a proposed contract with Iowa State University. The contract will fulfill requirements of the federal Clean Water Act, collecting and analyzing water samples from 132 publicly owned lakes. The lakes are sampled for water chemistry, nutrients, plankton composition, algal toxins and clarity three times during the 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; Rebecca Dostal, Traer; Stephanie Dykshorn, Ireton;  Amy Echard, Farmersburg; Lisa Gochenour, Logan; Rebecca Guinn, Bettendorf; and Howard Hill, Cambridge. Kayla Lyon is the DNR director. 

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