Public Comments – Supreme Beef LLC Water Permit Renewal
Thank you to DNR for hosting the virtual public hearing Monday April 25. Lot’s of people shared great comments about reasons why this water permit should not be renewed. My WRITTEN comments were 37 pages. Click here to read them. If you send me your written comments, I’ll post them here.
Citizens have the right to submit comments in favor or in opposition to water withdrawal permits issued or renewed by the DNR. IAC 567-50.7(3). Use the material presented on these pages as you wish, but it is important that you tell YOUR story, in YOUR words. DNR must consider:
Q. Will the water use proposed by the permittee result in pollution? If so, then the request must be denied. IC 455B.267.2; 455B.261.4.
A. Yes. The beef production facility annually creates 30M gallons of a byproduct, manure, which is spread on fields in locations and amounts that will lead to pollution of groundwater and surface water.
Q. Will the water withdrawal requested negatively impact the quantity or quality of the aquifer? The aquifer is a shared public resource managed by the state. If so, then the permit must be denied. IC 455B.267.4.
A. Yes. The withdrawal of 42.3 MGY at peak rates of 232,000 GPD has the potential to affect water withdrawal for families and communities, especially during times of drought. Water quality will be affected by manure runoff into sinkholes, surface waters, and percolation through thin topsoil into karst. In addition, the earthen basin obstructs the FEMA Zone A floodway and will cause more floodwater to enter five known sinkholes on the property.
Q. Will the water use proposed by the permittee negatively affect the local public health or welfare? If so, then the request must be denied. IC 455B.267.4.
A. Yes. Constituents of the byproduct from the facility (manure) scheduled to be spread on highly erodible fields in areas of karst, include nitrate and bacterial pathogens. If these enter rural wells serious illnesses can occur. This has been quantified in 2021 epidemiological studies in a region of karst in NW Wisconsin. Clayton County still has more than 550 household and livestock wells (33%) that are less than 200 feet deep, and more than 1130 (68%) that are less than 300 feet deep. Shallow wells are especially vulnerable to contamination.
FACTS about Iowa Code and your rights! READ THIS PAGE FIRST
FACTS about water withdrawal needs
FACTS about the permit application and DNR’s 2017 approval summary
FACTS about the Supreme Beef LLC, Walz Energy LLC, and W6 Farms Inc.
FACTS about the floodway obstruction and sinkholes
FACTS about wells and well contamination
FACTS about Bloody Run Creek and the area
IMAGES and MAPS you may wish to include in your comments
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS you may wish to quote from or cite in your comments