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A Closer Look: Jennifer Terry

Executive Director, Iowa Environmental Council

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Jennifer Terry grew up on a 240-acre dairy farm near Radcliffe, where she rode her banana-seat bike in her spare time. 

Like many souls searching for answers, looking for a non-widget-making job, yearning for a position in which every day is an adventure, she decided to study journalism in college. For reasons that we’re sure are close to her heart, she chose to major in communications studies at the University of Iowa. 

Later, at age 49, she got a law degree from the Iowa City school. Earlier, she worked for a pharmacy management company, but the law degree sent her into a progression of legal jobs.

Then, she landed a position with the Iowa Environmental Council, where she worked on agriculture issues, including water pollution tied to the nation’s largest corn crops. She had street cred from her dairy farm background, but she often asked pointed questions of members of the ag lobby.

In September 2015, she took a policy job at Des Moines Water Works, which was ramping up one of the nation’s most high-profile and viciously fought environmental fights in recent history. The utility filed a federal lawsuit in an attempt to push drainage districts — and by extension farmers — to reduce nitrate pollution that threatens the health and pocketbooks of Des Moines Water Works customers. The flap featured attack ads and death threats against water works chief Bill Stowe, unfounded claims of farmers ignoring pollution en masse, threatened boycotts of Des Moines business, accusations of violations of state open records law and a Pulitzer Prize — journalism’s highest honor — for Art Cullen, a Storm Lake journalist who fought to unmask the money behind the ag lobby’s efforts against the lawsuit.

Terry got involved in some somewhat testy exchanges on panel discussions, and generally has pushed the idea that more needs to be done to clean up Iowa’s green-and-brown waterways. 

A federal judge threw out the water works case because of previous rulings that protected drainage districts from damage claims of this sort — but the court didn’t rule on the central question of whether the drainage districts should be regulated under the Clean Water Act. 

Eventually, some Iowa Environmental Council backers asked Terry to consider replacing former state lawmaker and director Ralph Rosenberg, who had announced his retirement.

She got the job. She promises more pointed responses to some issues, not to take anything away from Rosenberg. She’s driven, her friends say.

We chatted with Terry about her plans.

Do you have any lingering thoughts about the water works lawsuit over nitrate pollution?

We were all disappointed in the results of the lawsuit. It really knocks the wind out of your sails. I can understand why the board didn’t want to proceed with an appeal. 

They never got to the Clean Water Act stuff (the question of regulating the drainage districts). They just said you can’t sue these people. That question is still out there.

Whomever wanted to approach it would have to come at it differently in Iowa. But there is interest, and they have been following it really closely in other Corn Belt states. There are other states in the Upper Mississippi (River watershed) that have tile drainage. Probably Illinois is the most heavily drained next to Iowa. Wisconsin and Minnesota have their share of problems. I think people will be carefully watching, and they may want to be in contact at some point about going forward. 

People kept saying, “hey, you don’t sue people.” Litigation is extremely complicated and costly and it takes forever. People don’t just do this on a lark. They tried everything over the past 25 years. This is what you’re left with — the court system. 

Sometimes these water issues are characterized as rural versus urban, and that’s not the case, because anybody who’s drinking from these waters and any of these rural watersheds needs to be concerned about water quality. So from an economic standpoint and public health (standpoint), all these things need to come together in what we do here. That is the way I see it. 

What are your goals for the council?

In the short term, we are working on what is coming at us in the next three months to two years. We are going to work on strengthening water quality. We are going to work on protecting solar tax credits. We are the only state to generate more than 36 percent of our electricity from wind. That just blows me away. We want to protect and expand those sorts of opportunities here. We will be looking at the bills that get introduced. 

In the long run — five, 10, 15 years from now — we want to look back and say, “IEC was instrumental in helping spread environmental values far and wide to the business and industry and tourism communities.” I think we have to resonate with people in all those sectors, not just among environmentalists. We want to resonate with young people, with grandparents who have grandkids, with business people, recreation people, habitat people. 

Does the board want you to be more or less aggressive in taking positions and being visible than the council has been in the past?

The board absolutely hired me to be a strong voice on environmental issues. We’re based on collaboration, but I will not back away from litigation. Our staff attorney and I are absolutely reviewing our watchdog function. In the coming year, we are going to make sure (environmental) permits are issued appropriately and that they are enforced appropriately by agencies. 

We will not be marginalized. We will not be ignored. Our members will be heard. That’s what I have written on a note on my desk.

We want our members to be curious, bold and tenacious. We want our members to speak out boldly. We want them to ask questions. Why is this rule being proposed? And then be bold about showing up at public forums and contacting legislators, running for office, engaging on renewable energy issues, engaging on water quality issues. Then we want people to be tenacious. We don’t want them to give up. 

We want to give voice to these people and empower our members. The other reason the board hired me is I tend to be a pitbull. I’m not going to give up. 

How are you are wired?
I have always been politely accused of being too direct. I think in this position, in this day and age when we’ve had historical rollbacks and delays on regulations at the (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) level, now is the time to mobilize. If you have never joined an environmental organization before, now is the time. We need to get stronger environmental protections and laws in this state, not weaker ones. 

I tend to be very tenacious, and I can stick with something for a very long time. I can use very many ways to achieve the goal, and I will be using all of them. 

My parents taught me to respect land and water and to speak up for people who are not being heard and to not give up. I want to protect the health and safety of Iowans, and their resources.