About half of the complaints to the state’s environmental field offices are made anonymously. (Photo courtesy of Iowa DNR)
A bill that received early support in the Iowa Senate on Thursday would require someone who reports a potential violation to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to provide their name, which the department would reveal to the potential violator if it investigates.
Sen. Tom Shipley, R-Nodaway, said Senate Study Bill 3103 is meant to stop frivolous, anonymous complaints to the DNR, along with those that target certain facilities such as livestock feedlots and confinements. The bill was advanced by a three-person subcommittee Shipley led Thursday morning for further consideration in the Senate.
“We know there are organizations out there who file complaints just because they don’t like that industry,” said Shipley, who has raised cattle. “Let’s just be honest, they don’t want that industry to exist in Iowa, and they’ll be happy to do anything to make it difficult for those people.”