Des Moines Waterworks lawsuit dismissed

A federal district judge has dismissed in its entirety the Des Moines Water Works’ lawsuit against the Sac, Calhoun and Buena Vista drainage districts in northwest Iowa. The federal Clean Water Act claim was dismissed for lack of standing considering the drainage districts’ limited status under Iowa law.
According to reaction from the Iowa Corn Growers association following the ruling: “This is good news for our state. The lawsuit has been a distraction to the implementation of Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy, which was started in 2013,” the group said in a statement released. “This favorable outcome will allow Iowa farmers to continue to advance our efforts of improving soil and water conservation without the inflexibility of burdensome regulations.”
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey echoed those comments.
“The dismissal of this lawsuit is very welcome news and takes away an unnecessary distraction from the collaborative efforts underway to improve water quality in Iowa,” Noerthey said. “Iowa farmers, landowners, cities, businesses, homeowners and many other partners are taking on the challenge of improving water quality and we are seeing exciting results.  There is still a lot of work to be done, but I truly believe that by working together, we can make big strides.”
Both parties acknowledged that work continues to be needed and done to continually improve water quality in the state.
As farmers, we want the safest, best quality water for Iowa. We believe a positive, collaborative approach is key to improving our state’s water quality,” said the ICGA. “The Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) and our farmer-members will continue to use cooperation and collaboration in proactively improving our water quality. Through our work with the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance, the Soil Health Partnership and our many other partnerships, activities, and programs, we are helping accelerate the adoption of practices outlined in the Nutrient Reduction Strategy.”
Northey concluded, “Since the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy was released in 2012, we have worked hard to reach out to farmers and all Iowans to encourage them to try one new thing to address water quality. We remain committed to building on the momentum that has been established and continuing to advance our collaborative, research based approach to address this important issue.”
For more information on how Iowa Corn is leading the way on water quality, go to www.iowacorn.org/water.

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204 N. Mill Street
Lake Mills, IA 50450

Office Number: (641) 592-4222
Fax Number: (641) 592-6397

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