h digitalfootprint web 728x90

Energy

DSC 6869

Does Minnesota serve as a model in water quality work?

The Des Moines Register reports that Minnesota’s work to improve water quality is seen as far more aggressive than Iowa’s. Minnesota has $100 million in dedicated spending on water quality each year, but officials still wonder when …

DSC 6869

IPR request for farmers’ conservation records denied

Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey and other farm leaders often praise the conservation work farmers do, going so far as to suggest those voluntary efforts are enough to solve Iowa’s water quality problems — a …

DSC 6869

Hrdlicka: Biofuel future bright despite EPA decision

Iowa’s biofuel industry will thrive despite a setback from an Obama administration decision Wednesday, especially with the promise of biorenewable chemical production, a key observer in Iowa said today.


Joe Hrdlicka, executive director of the…
DSC 6869

EPA’s call for small ethanol increase angers producers

Des Moines Register: The Obama administration on Wednesday proposed a modest increase in the amount of ethanol that must be blended into America’s gasoline supply next year, angering producers of the renewable fuel who wanted the …

DSC 6869

State panel moves to save communities cash — or ‘weaken’ water quality protection

A trio of business and government groups has asked the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission to change state rules in an effort to overturn environmentalists’ March court victory in a water quality case.

Depending on the…
DSC 6869

Water dispute trial rescheduled for 2017

A federal judge has rescheduled a trial that pits Des Moines Water Works against boards of supervisors in three northwest Iowa counties to June 26, 2017. The trial had been scheduled for August. In a …

27599

Newsmaker Q&A: Head of the waters

When I met Nate Hoogeveen years ago, he was a ponytailed kayaker who worked with a range of nonprofits on promoting river cleanups, better access to rivers for paddling, and using outdoor recreation as a …

DSC 6869

Pipeline company petitions IUB to begin work next week

Newton Daily News: Dakota Access LLC — the subsidiary of Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners that is developing the Dakota Access Pipeline — is seeking permission from the Iowa Utilities Board to begin construction as early as …

DSC 6869

Key air pollutants fall in Iowa

The state air quality bureau reports that new equipment, changes in process and other improvements have cut some of the most dangerous air pollution Iowa in recent decades. Since 1990, sulfur dioxide emissions have dropped …

DSC 6869

Nitrate spikes across Iowa

More than half of Iowa waterways had nitrate contamination above federal drinking water standard last week, the Iowa Water Quality Information System showed.


Some were at levels typically not seen until later in the year.…