Water is life, but it is not a promise

By CCI member Jeff Milks

On February 14th, a group of Citizens for Community Improvement members attended the monthly meeting of the Natural Resources Commission (NRC), in Des Moines.  Our purpose in attending was to encourage the (NRC) to deny the issuance of water permits to Summit Carbon Solutions for their proposed CO2 pipeline project.  11 people addressed the (NRC).  I found it interesting that neither “Public Comment “ nor “Water Permits” were listed on the agenda despite pre-arrangements for us to be there.

Commission members were polite and appeared to be concerned as we were speaking, but my take away was basically…no response.

It is important for everyone to understand the volume of water that these permits would approve.  The 13 original ethanol plants plus the 21 ethanol plants from the Summit/ Poet partnership would be projected to pull about ONE BILLION (not million) gallons of water from Iowa’s aquifers annually.  This would be in addition to the water already being used for the production of ethanol.  Is there a “Mexico City” scenario in our future?  That is just it.  No one knows for sure.

This would be just one more profane element of a very long list of things we could expect from the pipeline project, if approved.

It is also important for everyone to understand that WHEN (not if) there is a catastrophic failure it will likely be taxpayers, private citizens, and volunteers who will endure the brunt of this.  Despite disingenuous promises to the contrary, companies in the extraction business have a tendency to “vanish into thin air” after property, money, and resources have been exploited and squandered.  Or after they have created an insurmountable problem.

In order to gain a seat on the Natural Resources Commission, one would hope that a deep rooted respect for things like water, soil, trees, wildlife, and the like would be a fundamental requirement.  Much like the respect that one would have for a sentient being.  I hope this is true.

Want to do something about this?  Contact DNR Director Kayla Lyon and (NRC) members via their website.  Make your voice heard.  It matters.