Iowa Department of Natural Resources
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The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (Iowa DNR or IA DNR) is a department/agency of the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
formed in 1986, charged with maintaining state parks and forests, protecting the environment of Iowa, and managing energy, fish, wildlife, land resources, and water resources of Iowa.


History

The DNR was created by the 71st General Assembly in 1986 under
Terry E. Branstad Terry Edward Branstad (born November 17, 1946) is an American politician and former diplomat. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979 before serving as governor of Iowa fro ...
, member of the
Republican Party of Iowa The Republican Party of Iowa (RPI) is the affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), United States Republican Party in Iowa. The State Central Committee is chaired by Jeff Kaufmann. The RPI operates the Republican side of the Iowa cauc ...
, by combining four previous state agencies: Water, Air, and Waste Management; parts of the Iowa Energy Policy Council; the Iowa Conservation Commission; and the Iowa Geological Survey Organization. Directors of the DNR since its formation in 1986 have been * Larry J. Wilson, 1986-1999, Chief of Iowa Conservation Commission *Paul Johnson, 1999–2000 M.S in Forestry *Lyle Asell, 2000 (acting), B.S. Fish and Wildlife Biology, Governor Vilsack *Jeffrey R. Vonk, 2001-2006, Wildlife Management, B.S. Forest Biology. *Richard Leopold, 2007-2010, naturalist *Roger Lande, 2010-2012, lawyer * Chuck Gipp, 2012–2018, dairy farmer *Kayla Lyon, 2019–present


Organization

The DNR has 1,170 full-time equivalent employees. It is headed by a governor-appointed director, which as of May 2012 has been Chuck Gipp. The DNR has three service divisions: Conservation and Recreation, Environmental Services and Management Services. There are two governor-appointed citizen commissions that decide on policies and administrative rules: the Natural Resource Commission that oversees fish, wildlife, parks and forestry issues; and the nine-member Environmental Protection Commission that oversees water, land and air quality issues.


Environmental Protection Commission

The Commission consists of nine commissioners. Of these at least 5 members have been identified in 2014 based on public records, to have a
conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...
when it comes to stricter environmental protections, particularly the enforcement of the Clean Water Act. *Nancy Couser owns feedlots and confinements housing 5,200 cattle. *Cindy Greiman, whose husband owns feedlots and confinements housing 3,794 cattle. *Brent Rastetter owns two confinements housing 9,200 hogs and is the CEO of Quality Ag Builders Inc., a company that builds confinements and manure pits. He is a major Branstad campaign donor. *Max Smith owns a hog gestation factory farm that houses 4,117 hogs. *Gene Ver Steeg, former president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, owns confinements housing 20,000 hogs and had a manure spill at one of his operations in fall 2013. An April 2013 Wall Street Journal article quoted him saying that "Clean Water Act regulations were a waste of money".


Division of Environmental Services

As of 2013 it consisted of five bureaus: ''Water Quality, Air Quality, Land Quality, Field Services and Compliance'', and ''Iowa Geological and Water Survey''. Field Services staff inspect permitted facilities, annually reviewing permits for more than 200 confined animal facilities, approximately 5,500 manure management plans, permitting more than 450 solid waste facilities and writing more than 2,000 air permits.


Water Quality

Iowa water quality assessments have been developed only since 1992. In 2013, the Iowa Geological and Water Survey published a "Survey of Iowa Groundwater and Evaluation of Public Well Vulnerability Classifications for Contaminants of Emerging Concern". The most commonly found contaminant was pesticides in 41% of samples, with as many as 6 pesticide compounds together, and mostly chloroacetanilide degradates.
Glyphosate Glyphosate (IUPAC name: ''N''-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) is a broad-spectrum Herbicide, systemic herbicide and Crop desiccation, crop desiccant. It is an organophosphorus compound, specifically a phosphonate, which acts by inhibiting the plan ...
was not detected, and its metabolite was only detected in two of 60 wells (3%) at the detection limit of 0.02 μg/L. In 35% of 63 samples pharmaceutical compounds were found. Of the 14 drugs, six were above the method reporting limit, the highest of which was
acetaminophen Paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen, is a medication used to treat fever and mild to moderate pain. Common brand names include Tylenol and Panadol. At a standard dose, paracetamol only slightly decreases body temperature; it is inferior ...
. One in five of the wells contained microorganisms, most frequently
pepper mild mottle virus ''Pepper mild mottle virus'' (PMMoV) is a plant pathogenic virus that occurs worldwide on species of field grown bell, hot and ornamental pepper species. It is caused by members of the plant virus genus ''Tobamovirus''- otherwise known as the tob ...
(PMMV), GII
norovirus Norovirus, sometimes referred to as the winter vomiting disease, is the most common cause of gastroenteritis. Infection is characterized by non-bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. Fever or headaches may also occur. Symptoms usually deve ...
, both human and bovine
polyomavirus ''Polyomaviridae'' is a family of viruses whose natural hosts are primarily mammals and birds. As of 2020, there are six recognized genera and 117 species, five of which are unassigned to a genus. 14 species are known to infect humans, while othe ...
, and
Campylobacter ''Campylobacter'' (meaning "curved bacteria") is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria. ''Campylobacter'' typically appear comma- or s-shaped, and are motile. Some ''Campylobacter'' species can infect humans, sometimes causing campylobacteriosis, a d ...
. As of 2014, the Iowa Geological and Water Survey no longer appears in the DNR organization chart, as its eight scientists became part of the Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research (IIHR) Hydroscience & Engineering at the
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
. As of 2016, the most recent Iowa's impaired water list is from 2014. It contained 571 waterbodies with a total of 754 impairments.


Division of Conservation and Recreation Services

The division assists in wildlife population surveys, provides conservation information to the public, and conducts hunter, boater, ATV and snowmobile safety programs. The division formerly consisted of seven bureaus: A 'Fisheries Bureau', a 'Wildlife Bureau' managing of public land for recreational use, a 'Forestry Bureau', a 'State Parks Bureau' a 'Land and Waters Bureau', an 'Engineering Services Bureau' and a 'Law Enforcement Bureau' where conservation officers enforce laws related to fish, wildlife, boating, snowmobiling and all-terrain vehicles. , the division had only six bureaus, because the ''Engineering Services Bureau'' and the ''Land/Waters Bureau'' merged to ''Engineering Land/Waters''.


Forestry Bureau

It provides technical assistance to Iowa tree, forest and prairie owners and businesses with forestry and prairie management planning, cost-share programs and education. The bureau manages more than of forests for timber, wildlife, watershed protection and recreation. It operates state nurseries in
Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University (ISU), with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary medici ...
and
Montrose, Iowa Montrose is a city in Lee County, Iowa, Lee County, Iowa. The population was 738 at the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town is located on the Mississippi River. It is part of the Fort Madison–Keokuk, IA-IL-MO Micropolitan ...
producing 4 million tree and shrub seedlings annually at low cost to the public for erosion control, wildlife habitat and reforestation.


Parks Bureau

The 'Parks Bureau' operates and maintains 84 parks and recreation areas with trails and cabins for camping, picnicking, swimming, boating and fishing. It is responsible for more than 90 state preserves set aside for their natural or cultural significance and supervises programs in recreation planning and resource protection.


Budget

The department receives less than 1 percent of the state’s general tax appropriations since it was founded, "routinely ranking among the lowest states in per capita spending on environmental protection". The DNR's annual budget as of 2013 was $213 million. Of that, only 6.7 percent is appropriated from the state general fund with the remainder from sources such as non-general fund appropriations, fees and federal funds. The general fund is critical, with about 35 percent used to leverage federal dollars and more than 50 percent used for state parks and state forests operation. The remaining 15% serves to bridge other funding sources that make up the operating budget.


Criticism and lawsuits

In 2011, three environmental groups sued the
US EPA The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
to bring DNR's
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations In animal husbandry, a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO), as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is an intensive animal feeding operation (AFO) in which over 1,000 animal units are confined for over 45 days a ...
(CAFO) program into compliance with the
Clean Water Act The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Its objective is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters; recognizing the responsibiliti ...
. In January 2015, the
Des Moines Water Works The Des Moines Water Works (DMWW) is a publicly owned, municipal water utility with its headquarters in Water Works Park. It was founded 1871 southwest of downtown Des Moines, Iowa, along the Raccoon River and provides water to half a million ...
declared its intent to file a lawsuit against three Iowa counties
Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to: Places Canada *Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista” *Buena Vista, Saskatchewan *Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...
, Sac, and
Calhoun county Calhoun County is the name of several counties in the United States of America named after U.S. Vice President John C. Calhoun: * Calhoun County, Alabama * Calhoun County, Arkansas * Calhoun County, Florida * Calhoun County, Georgia * Calhoun Cou ...
where groundwater water tests had shown
nitrate Nitrate is a polyatomic ion A polyatomic ion, also known as a molecular ion, is a covalent bonded set of two or more atoms, or of a metal complex, that can be considered to behave as a single unit and that has a net charge that is not zer ...
levels as high as 39.2 mg/L, which was 4 times the federally required
Safe Drinking Water Act The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the principal federal law in the United States intended to ensure safe drinking water for the public. Pursuant to the act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to set standards for drinking w ...
limit of 10 mg/L as the DNR continued not to enforce the Clean Water Act.


See also

*
List of law enforcement agencies in Iowa This is a list of law enforcement agencies in the state of Iowa. According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics' 2008 ''Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies,'' the state had 392 law enforcement agencies employing 5,830 sworn poli ...
* List of State Fish and Wildlife Management Agencies in the U.S.


References


External links

* {{authority control State agencies of Iowa State environmental protection agencies of the United States Natural resources agencies in the United States 1986 establishments in Iowa