VICTORY: Iowa Department of Natural Resources signs Clean Water Act

The federal Clean Water Act had never been enforced for factory farms in Iowa, which meant that runoff from factory farms was rampant. As a result, Iowa’s water quality was ranked 49th in the nation with 628 polluted waterway. The federal EPA stepped in due to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ inaction on Clean Water Act enforcement. Under the direction of Governor Terry Branstad and other corporate agriculture industry insiders, the Iowa DNR refused to sign the workplan to make Iowa comply with the Clean Water Act.

In response to the campaign and the organizing efforts of groups like Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, who got 1,700 signatures on a CREDO petition, the EPA and Iowa DNR signed a far-reaching Clean Water Act work plan agreement that will significantly change the way the state of Iowa enforces, inspects and permits factory farms