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Summit pipeline permit hearing will start two months earlier than first expected
A final permit hearing to consider Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed carbon dioxide pipeline will start two months earlier than initially expected, according to a procedural schedule set Friday by the Iowa Utilities Board. The change came after a shake-up in leadership on the board. Former chairperson Geri Huser was adamant in March that the weekslong […]
Drought projections shift again, with relief for western Iowa
Newly released drought outlooks predict that dry conditions in Iowa will continue to worsen through the end of June but that drought will ease in western Iowa in the following months. The federal Climate Prediction Center has changed its view in recent weeks about what the future holds for the state’s ongoing drought, which in […]
Invasive plant species found at popular southeast Iowa lake
The state is poised to spend tens of thousands of dollars to treat Lost Grove Lake with an herbicide to kill an invasive plant, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Eurasian watermilfoil is a spindly plant with feather-like leaves that has rooted in the southeast Iowa lake. It was discovered about a month […]
Southeast Iowa biodiesel plant stops production
A biodiesel refinery in Crawfordsville that was capable of producing about 10 million gallons of the fuel each year has ceased operation. “We would have loved to have kept it going, and we really tried — we just need more certainty,” said Roy Strom, chief executive of W2Fuel. To keep the facility in operation would […]
Amid drought, El Niño has arrived
The Pacific Ocean near the equator has warmed sufficiently to reach El Niño status, with hopes the weather pattern change will eventually help lift Iowa from its longstanding drought, according to the National Weather Service. Dry conditions have expanded in recent weeks. Almost all of Iowa is abnormally dry, and 43% of the state is […]
Judge rejects pipeline company’s request for land entry
A carbon dioxide pipeline company did not properly notify a pair of northwest Iowa landowners before it sought to survey their farmland, a state district court judge has concluded. In a recent ruling, Judge Roger Sailer rejected Navigator CO2 Ventures’ request for an injunction to facilitate the Woodbury County land survey, but he also said […]
DNR: Producer expanded hog confinement without notifying state regulators
For two years, a hog confinement just northeast of Ankeny operated with up to seven times the number of animals than what its owner told the Iowa Department of Natural Resources was inside the facility, according to a recent departmental order. Brad Moeckly admitted to the DNR in October 2021 that the rural Elkhart confinement […]
Only 2 Iowa counties remain without ash borer detections
The emerald ash borer was recently discovered in Plymouth County in northwest Iowa — the 97th county to have a detection since the beetle was first confirmed in Iowa more than a decade ago, according to state officials. The insect is native to Asia and was likely transported to the United States in wooden packing […]
Des Moines soybean processor fined $20K for years of excessive air pollution
A long-time producer of soybean meal and vegetable oil in Des Moines repeatedly emitted too much air pollution after it expanded its facility several years ago, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company agreed to pay a total of $20,000 to the state and to install new equipment to correct the problem […]
Pipeline company wants permit decision in Iowa by year’s end
The Iowa Utilities Board should determine whether or not to grant Summit Carbon Solutions a permit for its multistate carbon dioxide pipeline by the end of the year, an attorney for the company argued Tuesday. “Iowa was the first state in which an application was filed,” said Bret Dublinske, a Des Moines attorney who represents […]
Farm fields suffer from heat and dryness
Iowa crop conditions and pastures deteriorated last week amid hot and dry conditions, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report on Monday. Last week averaged about 8 degrees warmer than normal, State Climatologist Justin Glisan reported, and despite heavy rain in certain areas, the state got about two-thirds of its typically expected rainfall. “In […]
Manure-laced water flows into creek after grassed waterway was removed
An unspecified amount of manure mixed with water, which had been pumped onto a field north of Sioux City, flowed into a creek last week because a grassed waterway was removed, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The contamination did not result in a fish kill, and there were no visible environmental impacts […]