Leaders of the Des Moines Water Works say the Environmental Protection Agency was wrong to take parts of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers off of the impaired waters list.
The EPA last month reversed a decision under the Biden administration to target sections of the rivers for cleanup based on high nitrate levels.
The Des Moines Water Works Board of Trustees said in a Thursday statement it’s becoming harder to manage nitrates in the rivers to keep drinking water within legal limits.
Lawn watering in the metro area was banned for the first time this summer so that nitrate removal systems could keep up.
The EPA said in a statement it is sharing data on spring and summer nitrate levels with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and is working with the state to ensure water quality standards are met.
*The U.S. Department of Energy has proposed cutting hundreds of millions of dollars in its budget for renewable energy programs. Secretary Chris Wright discussed the agency’s approach during a tour of the Ames National Laboratory at Iowa State University.
Wright says he supports technologies that most contribute to U.S. energy.
“Wind, solar and batteries provide 3 percent of the United States energy, yet (are) the majority of the budget at the Department of Energy. That's just nonsensical,” he said.
The think tank Ember Energy reports wind and solar last year provided a combined 17 percent of U.S. energy, surpassing coal for the first time.
Wright says priorities for the agency include nuclear and next generation geothermal.
“We have to stabilize our electricity grid, we need to get away from the nonsense that somehow we're not going to use fossil fuels in the near future,” Wright said.
The Department of Energy removed the National Climate Assessments from its website earlier this year. Wright says climate change is a “true physical phenomenon,” but not the “world’s greatest problem.”
*State officials have confirmed the first case of West Nile virus in Iowa this year, as announced Thursday.
The affected person is between the ages of 41 and 60 and lives in northern Iowa.
West Nile virus is transmitted through infected mosquitos. Many people experience no or minor symptoms from the virus. But some can develop serious ones like high fever, headaches, disorientation and muscle weakness and should seek medical attention.
Last year, 21 Iowans were diagnosed with the virus resulting in one death.
