Clean Water Belongs to Us All

A Letter from the Committee to Save Bloody Run

Some places are special.  Bloody Run Creek is one of the best trout streams we have, and one of only 32 streams designated an Outstanding Iowa Water.  

Some actions cannot go unchallenged.  DNR’s approval of the nutrient management plan (NMP) for Supreme Beef, which sits near the headwaters of Bloody Run, was politically motivated, devoid from reason, and scandalous.

We are reaching out for your support in the Battle for Bloody Run.  We need to raise funds for litigation, water testing, and advocacy.  We also need to raise awareness to generate a strong and persistent groundswell that politicians will not be able to ignore.  Clean water belongs to all of us.  If we cannot protect the best we have, then nothing can be protected.  It’s time to take a stand.

As important as agriculture is to Iowa, there must be boundaries.  Why do we farm if in the process we destroy what is precious, scar the land and pollute the water?  There is a proper balance, but we are not there when an 11,600 head concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) is permitted to locate with impunity in a sensitive environmental area.

We have dutifully engaged in “the process” at every step since this operation was initially proposed in 2017 as part of a methane digester plan that has since failed.  Now it is just a huge CAFO producing millions of gallons of manure every year with nowhere to go except on the land.  We have played by the rules, respectfully raised our voices at each sanctioned opportunity, presented our arguments against this insanity using dispassionate technical reasoning, but also in passionate and very personal terms.  

Nothing has worked.  DNR staff normally reasonable, polite, and often receptive, turned on a dime in the afternoon of October 2, 2020.  At 12:00 noon on that day Supreme Beef was faced with withdrawing their nutrient management application or having it denied.  By 4:00 PM everything had changed.  Due to political pressure (yes, we have the evidence) a plan allowing 2700 head of cattle was approved along with a promise that the full 11,600 head of cattle could be approved later. 

No cattle were brought on site, however, and the plan subsequently was resubmitted for 11,600 head. More than 100 people submitted comments during the review process.  Ninety-nine in opposition, one in favor.  Along with their approval letter, DNR summarized the public comments in a truly Orwellian “responsiveness summary”.  As expected, passionate comments were simply brushed aside.  Calls to protect this fragile and environmentally sensitive area were deemed irrelevant.  Unexpected was the virtually complete rejection of well-reasoned legal and technical arguments presented by the Iowa Environmental Council, the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club, and concerned citizens with deep scientific, engineering, and even agricultural experience.  In many cases the DNR responses were topsy-turvy, in some cases simply word salad.  

A petition to the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission (EPC) for review of DNR’s decision was turned aside without consideration. An appeal for a special environmental review by the DNR Director using the “Directors Discretion” authority granted in the Iowa Administrative Code was rejected immediately, without action. That request for review was cosigned by 47 environmental and conservation organizations, state legislators, and concerned citizens..

Now we must go to court.  The filing will be based upon the Administrative Procedures Act allowing citizens to challenge state agency action or inaction that deviates substantially from the agency’s own rules.  The bar is high.  Courts grant agencies great discretion in the interpretation and implementation of their own rules.  However, this is not a case of subtleties.  DNR’s refusal to ensure that the nutrient management plan correctly estimates the manure nutrient content that by law must be agronomically applied to crop fields is a blatant abrogation of their duties.  Once the word salad and red herring explanations are stripped away, there is nothing left except the stark fact that DNR has decided to approve this plan…. Regardless.  Because they must.  The fix is in. 

The lead attorney is Wallace Taylor, representing the Sierra Club.  We expect other plaintiffs will join.  There will be the typical legal expense such as filing fees, deposition and discovery costs, and legal research and representation expenses.  Legal costs will be tens of thousands of dollars, depending in part on how many of YOU have professional legal skills you are willing to donate.  If you can assist in some manner, or want more information, please email info@savebloodyrun.org.  More specifically contact:

• Legal skills, please contact Wallace Taylor at: WTaylor784@aol.com.  
• Water testing skills, please contact info@savebloodyrun.org  
• Writing or photography skills, please contact Larry Stone at: lstone@alpinecom.net
• Media and video skills, please contact info@savebloodyrun.org.

The more legal and financial resources we have, the stronger the case we can make.  Please make a financial donation commensurate with your passion and budget.  At the moment, our fund-raising effort is logistically supported by CCCAN – Clayton County Conservation Awareness Network, a long-established 501C3 organization.  Donations should be sent to CCCAN, and identified as “Save Bloody Run”.