Victory: CCI Member Actions result in High Fines for Factory Farm Polluter

Last week, we got some much-needed news: your calls and emails to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources resulted in them levying highest possible fine the DNR can assess to a factory farm polluter.

In early February, a methane digester in Lyon County owned by out-of-state biogas company Gevo spilled 376,414 gallons of liquid manure into surrounding waterways at WMD, a giant dairy factory. That's over 15,000 swimming pools worth of liquid manure!

WMD spilled toxic manure from their digester before even having permission to operate it! And then they spilled again less than two months later!

Enter CCI members, taking action. Nearly 350 members sent emails to the top legal staff at the DNR urging that this case be referred to our attorney general, Tom Miller, so Winding Meadows could be fined what they deserve. The chances of this case being referred were slim, but thanks to their perseverance and pressure, the Iowa DNR assessed the highest fine possible ($10,000) against WMD!

Even though this case was not referred to the Attorney General, as we requested, the DNR heard us loud and clear.

We know that without our taking action, this case would not have gotten the attention it deserved. WMD would have won a much lesser fine.

This spill should have never happened. Factory Farms and money hungry biogas companies act recklessly, but cases like Winding Meadows Dairy can turn into small wins--if we don’t give up.

And while we continue to fight for clean water, family farms, and a healthy environment, we need to hold polluters under our spotlight. Let us know if you’re smelling any bad news in your area (pun intended). Let’s show factory farms and Big Ag that Iowa is not their dumping grounds!!