2 14 06 Skeleton Sheet
TO: JEANNE F. SCHNEIDER
CITY CLERK
YOU ARE HEREBY DIRECTED TO CALL A SPECIAL SESSION OF THE CITY
COUNCIL TO BE HELD ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2006, AT 6:30 P.M. IN
THE LIBRARY AUDITORIUM FOR THE PURPOSE OF DISCUSSING
VARIOUS FISCAL YEAR 2007 DEPARTMENTAL BUDGETS.
MAYOR,
o
CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL SESSION, FEBRUARY 14, 2006
COUNCIL MET IN SPrCIAL SESSION AT 6:30 P.M. IN THE L1B~RY AUDITORIUM ..'
PRESENT: MP;.YO~UOL, COUNCIL MEMBERSs'RAIG. CL~. CONNORS. JOplE'S,
LYNCH. MICI4ALSKI
CITY MANAGER MICHAE~AN MILLlGEN
ABSENT:
Mayor Buol read the call and stated this is a special session of the City Council called for the
purpose of discussing various City departmental budgets.
1. Discussion of Departmental Budgets
Civic Center Division 11'-3/. - c:. . C/" <;/
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y .01'::;'
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Ayes Nays
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Michalski
Ayes Nays
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POLLUTION'S IMPACT: That process is
quickened by excess pollution such as nitrogen
and phosphorus from sewage-treatment
plants, farm fields and yards. Huge algae
blooms can harbor health-threatening
organisms, and some algae in Iowa's greenish
waters can emit a toxin that can cause "'ake
itch," intestinal problems or worse, and harm
fish.
LOSS OF OXYGEN: As algae die, they suck
up oxygen, sometimes killing fish. As lakes or
rivers become more algae-choked, silted and
oxygen-deprived, they lose fish species other
than hardy bottom feeders such as carp.
would block the changes. Some fish don't reproduce in waters with silty
/ bottoms, where eggs can be damaged. That's
The rules come three decades after the 1972 federal Clean Water Act ""'part of the reason fish-stocking is frequent in
demanded that all rivers be protected for recreation and aquatic life, Iowa.
unless studies show that's impossible. Since that act became law,
Iowa has bowed to pressure from city sewage-treatment operators
who maintained the changes would cost too much. COnsequently, the
state is one of the last in the nation to protect waters so they are
"fishable and swimmable, It as required.
DesMoinesRegister.com
>
"OesMoines\ .il; i:'.COm
;:). _, ;t. ,. . .\
Published February 12, 2006
No clear solutions to state's tainted
water
By PERRY BEEMAN
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
Many Iowa rivers are seriously polluted - dying before their time -
and environmental rules that would force a massive new cleanup
effort promise to affect Iowans' pocketbooks, river outings and
fishing trips.
Pollution means Iowans pay higher water and sewer bills for
treatment costs.
Pollution means dark and sometimes smelly waters under John
Wenck's kayak as he paddles along the Des Moines River.
Pollution threatens to worsen the luck of the 500,000 people who fish
in Iowa each year, including fly-fisherman Steve Veysey, who has
fought hard to protect the cold-stream treasures of northeast Iowa.
The state spends $2.5 million a year to stock fish in lakes and rivers,
in part because some species don't reproduce well in the silt-
bottomed waters.
But change won't come without a fight.
Rules passed in January by state environmental regulators - after
eight years of debate - set new limits on pollutants such as bacteria,
which can threaten the health of people and animals, and ammonia,
which is toxic to fish and aquatic plants.
Last week, however, state lawmakers began discussing a bill that
Page 1 00
GARY FANDEL/THE REGISTER
Up to .nutn Treated sewage from Polk City's
lagoons pours into a pond that empties into
Saylorville Lake. City workers test the sewage
twice a week. Under new rules, the city expects
to have to send sewage to a mechanical
treatment plant that would reduce pollution, but
increase costs.
What happens when a waterway dies
Lakes and slow-moving rivers go through a
natural dying process over centuries.
""The impact of the new rules in Iowa would be wlde~ranglng.
From Polk City to Pomeroy, cities would scramble to reduce ammonia and bacteria In a sewage-plant construction spree that
could cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Many clUes say the spending won't be worth it, because 90 oercent of the Dollution is
coming from farms and yards unregulated by the new rules: --
But the move could boost 10wI's tourism industry because c1eanar waters Ira better recreational draws.
More then 30 yeer. of dirty WIIter
Political opposition and cost concerns for more than three decades have kept state environmental workers from moving Iowa
into compliance with Clean Water Act requirements.
The Environmental Protection Commission, a group of nine citizens appointed by the governor who establish policies on Iowa's
environmental-protection efforts, last month voted to increase protections for the rivers as the act envisioned.
-1:-
Iowa Is one of tha final six states to come into compliance with the federal act, said John Reyna of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's regional office in Kansas City, Kin. He couldn't name the others. Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska made the
move In the past several years.
"To my knowledge, there is no state that is out of compliance like Iowa is, It said Albert Ettinger, a Chicago lawyer who follows
aean Water Act cases and is representing Iowa environmental groups.
http://desmoinesregister.comlappslpbcs.d1l/artic1e? AID=/20060212/NEWS03/602120350/1 00 1&lead= 1&... 2/12/2006
DesMoinesRegi ster. com
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"For years, Iowa's rules have assumed that some rivers were too polluted to save. The Clean Water Act requires the opposite
assumption: That all rivers should be protected for recreation and aquatic life, unless research shows it can't be done.
Iowans missed out on a chance to get federal money for much of the sewer work because the state didn't set the required
standards in the 19705, when many other states did, Ettinger said.
"Iowa basically missed the gravy train," he said.
"1 have no idea what they were thinking in Iowa."
A .....jor political battle
Environmental activists such as Susan Heathcote began pushing the state eight years ago to revise its standards to comply with
the Clean Water Ad, the linchpin of the federal government's river-cleaning apparatus.
~ If lawmakers decide to block the state environmental commission's rules, groups such as the nonprofit Iowa Environmental
~ Council, for which Heathcote works, are likely to sue the EPA and demand that it enforce the Clean Water Act.
....
In similar cases, federal judges have consistently backed the tighter limits.
But in the past month, the state environmental commission's decision to pursue stricter water quality rules has renewed a
decades-long battle at the Statehouse. The rules drew an unusually high 381 written comments from residents.
Groups representing industries and municipalities last week began a campaign to try to block many of the requirements.
''This feels like another example of the department trying to move ahead on something that people are concerned about, and
then there is this ganging up on them," state Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, told a legislative committee.
It wouldn't be the first time the groups have successfully blocked the state from imposing stricter water-quality standards.
Although the state has tightened limits on some pollutants in the past decade, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has
withdrawn several proposals over the past decade or so under pressure from cities. However, the state now faces an almost
certain federal court battle if it doesn't set the new limits.
"What I hope is understood by all is the fact that ignoring this duty is not an option/, Iowa DNR Director Jeff Vonk wrote to
lawmakers last month before the legislative session began.
"Iowa's water-quality standards need to be revised to come into compliance with the federal Clean Water Act," or EPA will
decide the rules itself. That could mean higher fines and more bureaucracy for cities.
Water qUIIlity". broad impact on Iowans
Wenck, who paddles the Des Moines River a couple of times a week, even in winter, welcomes the new cleanup effort. He's
planning a trip down the entire Iowa length of the Des Moines to rally Iowans to treat their rivers with more care.
"Anything I can do to get people talking about kayaking and clean water," said Wenck, who is from Des Moines.
It's a serious debate in a state where rivers carry some of the highest levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in the world, according
to Iowa State University. The Raccoon River, a water source for the Des Moines area, on average carries bacteria at levels 14
times the federal limit for human contact - and routinely has concentrations several times higher than those recorded in New
Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit.
Clean up that bacteria, and Iowa could be a big tourism draw, said Nate Hoogeveen of Des Moines, a kayaker who wrote a book
about Iowa's rivers and who now works for the DNR.
"If we were able to have very clean water, Iowa would be a river destination for many people," Hoogeveen said. "But people
need to be able to to be comfortable that they don't face a health threat. You stop on a sandbar for lunch, wipe your hands on
your ankles and start eating, and you may have a problem."
Clean water can be good for business and for quality of life, too.
An Iowa State University study found that areas with strong recreation offerings have faster-rising incomes - a sign that
businesses find the area to their liking. Another ISU study, this one of Clear Lake - a top Iowa vacation destination - found
that people would increase their visits to the lake if it were cleaner. The study also found that lake visitors considered water
quality more Important even than the distance to the lake or the other activities in the area.
Environmental debate for the ages
Wayne Gieselman, the state's environmental protection chief, called this one of the biggest environmental debates in state
history.
"Virtually everyone will be affected," Gieselman said. That's because 1,500 sewage treatment plants in cities, mobile-home
parks, subdivisions and at industrial plants will have to upgrade or at least change their operations to meet the rules. Residents
pay through water and sewer bills, which could rise $35 to $40 a month in many towns.
Polk City administrator Gary Mahannah is looking at an $8 million plan to hook his growing Des Moines suburb to the Des
Moines regional sewer system. Polk City's old sewage lagoons feed treated waste into Saylorville Lake. The water that flows Into
the lake meets current standards, but likely would not meet new limits.
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DesMoinesRegister.com
Page 3 00
.
'The tab for the conversion, without figuring in interest or annual expenses, would be roughly $2,800 for each person in the
town, spread over an undetermined amount of time.
The rules also would affect animal confinements and feedlots, some of which face legal actions for fish kills and stream pollution
that occurred during the past couple of months, Vonk said. The rules would not affect grain farms and other agricultural
operations that account for 90 percent of river pollution in Iowa, according to Vonk's DNR staff.
But Vonk said the state needs stricter water quality rules to begin the cleanup, while working with farmers to glt them enrolled
in voluntary conservation programs that can help cut runoff pollution.
Substandard sewage treatment Aneeds to stop, A Vonk said. "This sets us down a path of doing something about it. I'
CI_n rivers: Worth the c~t?
Opponents, including retired Ames engineer Harris Seidel, contend that the cost of up to $1 biOlon or more to upgrade sewage
treatment plants is not worth the marginal improvement it will create in water quality.
The Iowa League of Cities, the Iowa Rural Water Association and various farm groups are concerned that the rules will end up
costing Iowans too much because of expensive sewage-treatment plant upgrades.
Julie Smith of the Iowa League of Cities Slid municipalities want to help clean waterways, but without breaking the bank.
Those concerns have made a splash at the Statehouse for years.
State Rep. Sandra Greiner, R~Keota, who chairs the House Environmental Protection Committee, said the state has been held
back by tight budgets and concerns over taxpayers' wallets. "A lot of it was the budget crunch," Greiner said.
Iowa faces a tough call, Greiner said.
''There is a considerable risk to human health," she said. "We need to find a way to help communities get where they need to be
without breaking the bank or the bank accounts of their citiZens."
Another key lawmaker, Sen. Mary Lundby, R-Marion, told the government associations to meet with environmentalists to work
out a compromise.
"I'd like to see clean water in my lifetime," Lundby said.
rowa: _I"" to political p._ure?
One environmental scientist sBld the reasons Iowa hasn't cleaned its waters are cleer.
"I chalk it all up to politics," said Richard Kelley, a state laboratory worker who has studied water quality here for 25 years.
"Iowans never want to M the first or last In anything; they want to be set in the middle in everything," Kelley said. lOIn water
quality, historically, they've been much more attuned to tolerating pollution than protecting the natural resources. They've
never been able to make the link between high water quality and economic development,"
The cost of doing nothing Is high, Kelley said.
"You are not going to get recreation without a clean environment,. said Kelley.
"No one wants to go skiing on a mud flow," Kelley said. "You pay for the fact that people who do know the difference are not
likely to come here and expand a business or raise a family, or start a new business."
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