A dispute between a cattle operation and a protected trout stream in Iowa may be heading to court.
Supreme Beef seeks to run a +10,000 cattle, feedlot operation in Clayton County, Iowa. However, Bloody Run Creek is concerned about how manure will affect the nearby stream.
Last year, Supreme Beef’s plan was approved by the state for over 2,000 head of cattle. However, the company later revised its request and upped the cattle count to over 10,000. That plan was approved in April of 2021.
During a hearing, The Iowa Department of Natural Resources stated that Supreme’s management plan meets regulations.
Bloody Run Creek is a highly coveted fishing spot, as well as a protected water source. The state’s Department of Natural Resources even called it an “outstanding Iowa water.”
This dispute has been going on for years.
Now the two organizations are looking at an appeal after the DNR director declined to review the approval of the feedlot. Kayla Lyon, DNR direcotr, says that she does not have the authority to overturn the approval.
“We are considering asking a court to review the DNR decision,” a lawyer with the Iowa Chapter of Sierra Club stated, according to KWWL.
“I have been advised by the Department’s Legal Service Bureau and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office that subrule 65.103 (5) lacks statutory authority. The Department would be exceeding its authority under Iowa Code chapters 459 and 459A by conducting an alternative evaluation of the NMP,” Lyon states, The Gazette reported.
However, the Iowa Environmental Council’s attorney disagrees and says that the department “again refused to protect the environment.”
According to the Des Moines Register, a group against the feedlot stated, “Some agricultural operations subject to DNR’s permitting authority must be restricted from areas where the risk posed to water quality and the environment is just too high.”