This is a sample letter you can copy and email to the EPA. Use it to form your own letter, add additional comments or send as is. Email your comments no later than Thursday, December 19 to R7-WaterDivision@epa.gov. Thank you! 

 

Jeffrey Robichaud

Water Division

US EPA Region 7

11201 Renner Boulevard

Lenexa, KS 66219

 

Dear Mr. Robichaud,

 

I urge you to require the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to add the seven impairments the US Environmental Protection Agency identified as containing unhealthy and dangerous nitrate levels to 2024 Iowa 303(d) list of impaired waters.

 

Numerous water samples revealed these water segments affecting the Cedar, Des Moines, Iowa, Raccoon, and South Skunk Rivers had nitrate levels of 10 mg/L or higher.  So far the Iowa DNR is resisting their inclusion. To protect the public health of all Iowans, each segment should be assigned a Category 5 impairment and require a TMDL for the following reasons:

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( 1 ) The DNR is improperly applying the 10% rule to determine nitrate impairments. This rule uses a mathematical calculation developed by the EPA to designate a water as impaired if water samples reveal pollutants 10% of the time. While the EPA supports this rule for a variety of pollutants, it does not do so for nitrate due to its established toxicity.  

 

Consuming water laden with nitrate levels of 10 mg/L or more endangers public health. It can cause methemoglobinemia, blue baby syndrome, a fatal condition in infants. Studies link consuming high nitrate levels to colorectal, kidney, ovarian, stomach and thyroid cancers as well as birth defects.

 

Drinking water should never exceed nitrate levels of 10 mg/L one hundred percent of the time. The DNR’s methodology for measuring the nitrate levels using the 10% rule is faulty and irresponsible.

 

( 2 ) The DNR bases the removal or inclusion of impaired waters on the 303(d) list on annual cycles of water data monitoring. But that doesn’t take into account the inconsistencies of rainfall and drought over a period of several years. This is another flawed approach.

 

During drought years, rivers and streams flow less and conceal impairments. In wet years, as we saw this spring, rivers and streams that previously appeared unimpaired contain high levels of nitrate and phosphorus pollutants released by the heavy rainfall.

 

The DNR’s approach to adding an impaired waterway identified during a wet year then removing it during a dry year if impairments don’t appear present is inconsistent and problematic. It doesn’t provide an accurate picture of Iowa’s water quality nor does it enable watershed groups to accurately develop plans that can have a meaningful impact on mitigating polluted waterways.

 

The Iowa Environmental Council recommends the DNR use a 5-10 year window to evaluate impairments in waterways, a common-sense approach that would give a more accurate assessment of the presence of pollutants.

 

The DNR’s refusal to add these seven segments to the 2024 303(d) list does a disservice to Iowans. Half of Iowa’s waterways that undergo tests are impaired, and only half are tested every two years. This is an appalling state of affairs. At the very least, the Iowa DNR should add these waterbodies to the 2024 list and do a better job protecting public health.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

Your Signature