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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 10, 2018
MEDIA CONTACT: Tim Hall, 515-725-8298, Tim.Hall@dnr.iowa.gov.
DES MOINES —As most Iowans noticed, this was an
unusual start to spring in April, exceptionally cooler and drier than normal.
This April was the coldest on record, and the 13th driest on record, according
to the latest Water Summary Update.
April’s precipitation of 1.5 inches was about half the
normal amount for the month. Previous wetter than normal months have offset
this dry month, and the state is within an inch of normal rainfall for the
year.
“April was very dry and very cold across the state, but a
return to normal rain in May should alleviate most drought concerns going into
the summer,” said Tim Hall, Hydrology Resources Coordinator for the Iowa DNR.
Concerns
remain for shallow groundwater conditions across southern Iowa, and this
continued dryness is reflected in below-normal streamflow in several areas in
south central Iowa. The month of May begins a stretch of the normally wettest
three months of the year in the state, where Iowa normally receives about 14
inches of rain, or about 40 percent of its annual rainfall. This contrasts with
December, January, and February, when the state only receives an average of 3.3
inches of precipitation, or about nine percent of annual moisture.
For a
thorough review of Iowa’s water resource trends, go to www.iowadnr.gov/watersummaryupdate.
The
report is prepared by technical staff from Iowa DNR, the Iowa Department of
Agriculture and Land Stewardship, IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering, and the U.S.
Geological Survey, in collaboration with Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency
Management Department.
MEDIA CONTACT: Jerah Sheets at Jerah.Sheets@dnr.iowa.gov or 515-313-8909.
DES MOINES—A presentation on water monitoring will head up
the Environmental Protection Commission’s May 15 business meeting.
The meeting begins at 10 a.m. in Room 116 of the Iowa State
Capitol, 1007 E. Grand Avenue in Des Moines. The meeting is open to the public.
Please submit requests to speak to Jerah Sheets at Jerah.Sheets@dnr.iowa.gov or at 515-313-8909. Public comment will
follow the presentation.
Several changes to the Iowa Administrative Code dealing with
used oil and regional collection centers for household hazardous wastes are up for commissioners’
approval. The proposed updates will ensure consistency under Iowa laws and U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency’s rules.
Commissioners will be asked to approve several contracts,
including the following designed to:
- Protect drinking water at the source
- Inspect specific small public water supplies in
Black Hawk, Cerro Gordo, Johnson, Linn and Scott counties
- Provide manure applicator certification training
and testing materials
- Audit participants of the Solid Waste
Environmental Management Systems program as they work to reduce the
environmental impacts of solid waste disposal.
In other action, DNR will ask commissioners to grant an award
to Region XII Council of Governments to deliver the Iowa Waste Exchange
program, designed to match unwanted materials with those who can use them.
Commissioners have an appointment at 11:30 a.m. to
consider referring Recycling Services LLC of Atlantic, and Jason and David
Wright, to the Attorney General’s office for enforcement due to alleged
illegal disposal of trade wastes and other violations of Iowa law.
The complete agenda follows:
- Approval of Agenda
- Election of Officers
- Approval of the Minutes
- Monthly Reports
- Iowa’s
Water Monitoring Program Overview
- Public
Participation
- Director’s Remarks
- Notice of
Intended Action: Chapter 119-Used Oil and Used Oil Filters; Chapter 123 –
Regional Collection Centers and Mobile Unit Collection and Consolidation
Centers; Chapter 144 – Household Hazardous Materials Education; Chapter 211 –
Financial Assistance for the Collection of Household Hazardous Materials and
Hazardous Waste from Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generators; Chapter
214 – Household Hazardous Materials Program
- Contract
with Iowa Association of Soil Conservations
District Commissioners, dba Conservation Districts of Iowa
- Contracts
with Black Hawk, Cerro Gordo, Johnson, Linn and Scott
County Health Departments
- Contract with
Iowa State University
- Region XII Council of
Governments - Grant Awardee for delivery of the Iowa Waste Exchange program
- Contract Amendment # 2 to
Contract 16ESDLQBGOLD1 with Region XII Council of Governments
- Referral to the Attorney
General Jason and David Wright, dba Recycling Services LLC
- General Discussion
- Items
for Next Month’s Meeting
- June
19 – EPC Business Meeting – Des Moines
- July
17 – EPC Business Meeting – Des Moines
The complete agenda
and item briefs are available on the DNR website.
Commissioners include:
Ralph Lents, Menlo, chair; Joe Riding, Altoona, vice chair; Nancy Couser, Nevada;
Mary Boote, Des Moines; Howard Hill, Cambridge; Harold Hommes, Windsor Heights;
Rebecca Guinn, Bettendorf; and Bob Sinclair,
Sigourney. Bruce Trautman is the acting director of the DNR.
MEDIA
CONTACT: Wendy Hieb, DNR, at Wendy.Hieb@dnr.iowa.gov or 515-725-8405.
DES MOINES – The DNR will hold a public
stakeholder meeting to answer questions and collect public comments on the
renewal of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) wastewater
general permit for water well construction and service discharges.
The stakeholder meeting is scheduled for
3 p.m. on May 24 in Conference Rooms 4 East and West on the fourth floor of the
Wallace State Office Building, 502 E. Ninth St. in Des Moines.
Well
Construction and Well Service Discharges General Permit 6 (GP6) will expire on
Feb. 28, 2020. The Iowa DNR proposes to initiate rulemaking to renew the permit
for a third five-year term. The proposed GP6 is nearly identical to the current
general permit except for some clarifications.
A draft showing the proposed changes is
available online at www.iowadnr.gov/Environmental-Protection/Water-Quality/Private-Well-Program/Construction-Discharge-GP6.
People may ask questions on the proposed
permits and make oral comments at the public meeting, or may submit written
comments through May 31 to Wendy Hieb, Iowa Department of Natural Resources,
502 E. Ninth St. Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0034; fax at 515-725-8202; or by email,
including the commenter’s name, to Wendy.Hieb@dnr.iowa.gov.
MEDIA
CONTACT: Lori Hanson, DNR, at 515-725-9525 or Lori.Hanson@dnr.iowa.gov
for Title V permits; or Sarah Piziali, DNR, at 515-725-9549 or Sarah.Piziali@dnr.iowa.gov
for construction permits.
DES MOINES – The DNR Air Quality
Bureau has the following draft permits up for review. The permits help protect
Iowans’ health and the air where we live. DNR’s permitting staff review the
applications to ensure facilities comply with state and federal air quality
standards. The public has the right and is encouraged to comment on draft
permits. DNR considers public comments before finalizing the permits. Submit
comments in writing to the assigned permit writer before 4:30 p.m. on the last
day of the public comment period.
Title
V Operating Permits
Title V Operating permits are
reviewed and re-issued every five years. Facilities with a Title V permit have
the potential to emit large amounts of air pollutants compared to other
facilities. The five-year reviews are a federal requirement and ensure adequate
monitoring is included in the permit. The DNR plans to issue Title V
Operating Permits for the following
facilities. Find permit details at www.iowadnr.gov/titlev-draft.
Portable
Facilities, No Specific Counties
Ram Development, A portable
Facility.
The initial application was
submitted to operate their existing Refuse Systems - Incinerator
Operation facility. The public comment periods ends June 9.
Linn
County
Diamond V Mills, LLC, 436 G Ave. N.W., Cedar Rapids
The renewal application was
submitted to operate their existing animal feed additive manufacturing facility. The public comment period ends June 9.
Construction
Permits
DNR engineers review and issue construction
permits to facilities before they build new or modified sources of air
pollution. The public may review the following air quality construction permits
available online at www.iowadnr.gov/airpermitsearch.
Chickasaw County
Homeland
Energy Solutions, LLC, 2779 Highway 24, Lawler
Project No. 18-109,
Installation of a wet scrubber and three yeast propagation tanks
Public
comment period ends June 9
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