The Environmental Protection Agency has removed several rivers and streams from the Iowa Natural Resources Department’s list of impaired waterways, despite being contaminated with dangerous levels of nitrates.
An environmental coalition sued the EPA over the move but the agency has doubled down on its decision. Citing high nitrate levels caused largely by farm runoff, the advocacy group Food and Water Watch and the Iowa Environmental Council took the EPA to court over its failure to protect segments of the Cedar, Des Moines, Iowa and South Skunk rivers, meaning they will not be prioritized for developing cleanup plans.
Dani Replogle, staff attorney for Food and Water Watch, said the EPA offered a weak rationale for keeping these rivers off the list…