DNR rule change to weaken enforcement to be considered Tuesday

This  story appeared in the Des Moines Register on Monday, January 14: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20130114/NEWS10/301140021/1007/news05 

DNR rule change to be considered

State environmental panel will hear controversial plan to allow letters to be issued for minor infractions

by Perry Beeman, Des Moines Register

A state panel on Tuesday will consider a request by manufacturers and agricultural operations to change the way the Iowa Department of Natural Resources enforces environmental regulations.The proposed rules, the first of their kind, were drafted at the request of an Iowa Association of Business and Industry committee headed by Muscatine firm Grain Processing Corp.’s top environmental staffer.The Iowa attorney general’s office is suing GPC over a series of environmental violations. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also has cited the firm for violations, and ranked it as Iowa’s 12th-biggest source of pollutants in the most recent federal Toxics Release Inventory, based on companies’ own reports. The debate over the proposed rules is one of the state’s hottest in years. DNR officials say the rules would simply formalize in state code procedures that have long been used under both GOP and Democratic governors.William Ehm, the state’s top environmental protection officer, said the change would not diminish the DNR’s authority. Rather, he said, it would emphasize that minor infractions that don’t threaten public health or the environment can be handled informally and without sanctions by issuing a “letter of noncompliance.” That option doesn’t exist formally under the current system.“It offers our field staff some flexibility on how they deal with things,” said Ehm, who oversees DNR’s enforcement staff. “The reason this is coming from the business community is they are the ones that get the most backlash. Those companies want to be able to say ‘we’re addressing all these environmental problems.’ ”But the proposal has raised concerns among some environmental groups, who fear it could encourage the DNR to take a gentler approach toward polluters.DNR has issued fewer administrative orders against environmental offenders during the first two years of Gov. Terry Branstad’s current term than in the three years that preceded his return to office, records show.DNR spokesman Kevin Baskins said enforcement actions often fluctuate because of factors such as staffing levels, weather and general knowledge of environmental laws. But changes in administrations tend to have little effect, he said.When Branstad returned to office in 2011, the number of administrative orders — which address some of the more serious offenses — fell from 200 in 2010 to 113, then rose to 132 last year, records show.Orders given to livestock confinements dropped to 22 last year, less than half the number issued before Branstad returned to office. There were 56 issued in 2010, the last year of former Gov. Chet Culver’s administration.One explanation for the difference, Baskins said, is that as Iowa’s hog producers grow more familiar with the requirements they’ve been better able to bring their operations into compliance.Among the staunchest critics of the plan is Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, which says the rules change would result in a “least restrictive” approach to enforcement. The group notes that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency criticized the DNR last summer for being lax in enforcing its confinement regulations.“They should be strengthening their enforcement, and (instead) they are weakening it,” said CCI organizer David Goodner. “The DNR mission statement is to protect the environment. You don’t call the police department the law compliance department. It’s the law enforcement department.

”The DNR has received 909 public comments on the matter — 86 percent of them opposed to the change. Opponents also heavily outnumbered supporters at the four public hearings held across the state.“We need strong deterrents to motivate violators to prevent more pollution — and they surely have little reason already,” Laura Kozin of Des Moines wrote in one of the letters submitted to the agency. “Watering down the rules is not the answer for our water.”

But Tiffin farmer Russell Meade applauded the move.“I want to know that DNR is looking to help with solutions when working with farmers, rather than first looking for an opportunity to penalize them,” Meade wrote. “DNR’s rules are complex, and it is often difficult to know DNR’s interpretations and expectations. I believe these new rules encourage DNR to find the best common sense approach to working with Iowans while enforcing environmental rules.”Michael Ralston is president of the Association of Business and Industry, which represents some of the state’s largest manufacturers, firms that together employ a fifth of Iowa’s workers.Ralston said those who pollute the environment or threaten public health should face the full brunt of enforcement actions.“They should be hammered,” Ralston said. “They must comply with the laws.”But environmental managers at some companies face sanctions — such as losing a pay raise or bonus — if their employer receives so much as a notice of violation for a minor infraction, Ralston said. The new noncompliance letters would give DNR a chance to address minor issues without taking such action.“Let’s concentrate on things that actually improve the environment,” Ralston said. “We all agree that egregious instances of noncompliance or things that endanger public health should be dealt with swiftly and with enforcement, and this rule still allows it.”The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation also supports the new rules.“Many minor violations result in no environmental or natural resource impact, because they are either administrative in nature or because the person responded quickly and appropriately to avoid environmental impacts,” wrote Farm Bureau attorney Christina Gruenhagen. “While penalties and administrative orders act as a deterrent in some situations, inadvertent mistakes or accidents are more often than not beyond one’s reasonable control.”Branstad spokesman Tim Albrecht said the rule change would help the DNR continue to protect public health and safety while clarifying the agency’s compliance and enforcement options. That would benefit all Iowans and encourage job growth, particularly at small businesses, he said.“Small businesses are the greatest generators of job growth and are also disproportionately burdened by regulations,” Albrecht said. “When adopting regulations to protect the health, safety and welfare of the people of the state of Iowa, state agencies should seek to achieve statutory goals as effectively and efficiently as possible without imposing unnecessary burdens that reduce jobs and hurt job growth.”

BY THE NUMBERS

Barbara Lynch, DNR’s bureau chief of field services and compliance, doubts the proposed rule will significantly change the number of enforcement actions.Over the past five years, DNR has averaged:* 180 administrative orders issued for serious violations.* 2,000 notices of violations for lesser infractions.* 45,000 to 50,000 business contacts for technical assistance, inspections and investigations.