Court To Decide Who Should Pay For Nitrate Cleanup In Iowa

A water provider escalated its fight against farmers last week, taking the battle over who should shoulder the costs of pollution before the highest court in Iowa, where nitrates from crop fertilizers have pitted the agriculture industry against water suppliers in a protracted water-quality battle.

The case brought by Des Moines Water Works asked the Iowa Supreme Court to decide ”whether agriculture drainage districts have immunity from lawsuits and whether the water utility can seek monetary damages,” the Associated Press reported. “Water Works says it spent $1.5 million last year alone to remove nitrate from water to meet federal health standards.”

If Des Moines Water Works is successful, the controversial lawsuit could bring more “oversight and accountability for districts overseen by Sac, Calhoun and Buena Vista counties. Des Moines Water Works claims the drainage districts, established under Iowa law by counties to drain water from flat farm fields, operate as unchecked polluters by funneling nitrates and farm runoff that costs millions to remove into a main source of drinking water for central Iowans,” The Des Moines Register reported.

Des Moines Water Works argued that drainage districts should be held liable for nitrate pollution. Water Works attorney John Lande emphasized the impact of nitrate pollution on public health. “The court has historically recognized that human health has become a more important interest for the court to protect overtime than it was at the time that the court was developing drainage district immunity in the early 20th century,” he said, per the report.

"This case is about responsibility for nitrate pollution in the Raccoon River," Lande said, per the Register. "The drainage districts claim they have no responsibility, but the physical and legal reality is that drainage districts own and operate government infrastructure that pollutes the drinking water of 500,000 central Iowans."

The drainage districts point to precedent in their arguments against taking on new water quality costs. “The drainage districts assert that for over a century, the Iowa Supreme Court has held that they can’t be sued for a civil wrong due to their limited authority. Attorney Michael Reck told the court during oral arguments that it should stand by its previous rulings,” Iowa Public Radio reported.

“Iowa's approximately 3,000 drainage districts have been protected from paying such damages by more than a century of legal precedent that distinguishes them from other government entities, such as cities or counties,” the Register reported.

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