Two groups that support a moratorium on construction of new livestock confinements are filing a lawsuit against the State of Iowa — accusing state officials of failing to protect the Raccoon River from contaminants like farm chemicals and manure. Kimberly Stevens of Nevada is a member of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, one of the groups that’s filed the lawsuit.
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ICCI activist Brenda Brink of Huxley says the Raccoon River needs attention because it’s the source of drinking water for half a million Iowans.
She says its time to enforce limits on when and how much liquid manure and farm chemicals can be applied on farm fields.
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The other group filing the law suit is “Iowa Food & Water Watch.”
The lawsuit accuses state officials of abdicating control of the state’s waterways to “private interests.” A Des Moines Water Works lawsuit challenging how three northwest Iowa counties managed ag drainage into the Raccoon River was dismissed by a FEDERAL judge in 2017. This lawsuit is being filed in STATE court.