It’s a rare event when a government entity asks permission to reduce fees, but that is what the Iowa Department of Natural Resources plans to do. The agency will ask the governor-appointed Iowa Environmental Protection Commission on May 17 to approve new fees for businesses with air-quality permits. The fee would be set at $67.50 per ton of emissions, down from $70. The change comes as emissions are projected to rise 3.8 percent, meaning more fee collections, and because DNR cut expenses by 4.5 percent. The commission also will consider a long-sought agreement to bring Muscatine into compliance with the Clean Air Act by controlling sulfur dioxide emissions from Grain Processing  Corp., Muscatine Power and Water and Monsanto Co.