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Calendar of
Events
Get in some outdoor time.
Our Sierra Club Groups in Iowa regularly plan outings and other
activities. Select a Local Group in the My backyard dropdown menu
and get details of the outings groups have planned.
The Iowa Chapter developed a survey to find
out what our members and supporters are interested in. This will help us better
understand how to contact you when your issue arises. We'd love to hear
about what matters most to you, what issues you're involved in, if you have
time to work with us, and more!
Please
take a few minutes to complete our survey.
Volunteer Page
News
about volunteer activities and upcoming projects. Click here
for more information.
News Releases
Read recent Sierra Club news releases.
Web Archives
Information that has been moved off
the front page.
 2009
Legislation
Are you interested in what is going on with our lawmakers in Des Moines? See the Legislation that is of interest to you, your environment, and your community.
Find out more...
Follow the chapter's priority
issues here... Last updated
11/10/2009
Manure Spills and Fish Kills
Find out where the latest
manure spill and/or fish kill occurred here...
Fish
Advisories Posted
The Department of Natural Resources has
posted fish consumption advisories for nine sites. Find out where
they are here...
Bypasses
Excess
rainwater or snow melt need somewhere to go. Often, the sewage
bypasses a treatment plant thus preventing sewage from backing up into
basements. Facilities are required to report bypasses
caused by mechanical failures to the DNR within 12 hours of onset or
discovery. Facilities do not have to immediately report bypasses from
precipitation events, but must include them in their monthly operating
report to the DNR. Click here
to see the most current information about your city's bypass history this
year.
The Green
Life
Tips
for living well and doing good.
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Annual Dinner held October 31
The Sierra Club Iowa
Chapter's Annual Dinner, Awards Celebration and Silent Auction was held October 31, 2009, in Davenport at the Best Western
Steeple Gate Inn.
Davenport's Alderman at Large Gene Meeker served as keynote
speaker and talked about what Davenport is doing as a Cool City and the
city's future plans.
Awards were given to individuals who have done outstanding work to
protect Iowa's environment. See who won this year's awards here...
ExCom Planning Retreat
The Iowa Chapter Executive
Committee held a planning retreat in August at the Iowa Great Lakes.
Although the committee members and staff made time for fun, the group
worked very hard to plan for 2010 and beyond. See pictures from the
two-day retreat here...
Comments Needed on Missouri River
The United States Army Corps of Engineers, the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, a Recovery Committee of
stakeholders, basin tribes and states, and other federal and state
agencies are studying how to restore the Missouri River to a more
natural condition. Find out more here...
Outstanding Iowa Waters List
The Administrative Rules Review Committee
(ARRC), a legislative oversight committee, directed the Iowa Department
of Natural Resources (DNR) to develop a regulatory analysis regarding DNR's
proposed Outstanding Iowa Waters list included in the antidegradation rule
package.
The OIW list includes six lakes in
Dickinson County (including Lake Okoboji pictured below) and 32 stream
segments in northeast Iowa.
DNR concluded that dischargers
proposing to add pollution to Outstanding Iowa Waters would result in not
more than $50,000 per year (the difference between paying for a general
use permit as they do now, to paying for an individual permit), that the
costs related to limits on new or expanding wastewater discharges into
OIWs from municipalities or industries is "not expected to be overly
burdensome;" and there may also be increased economic development as
a result of marketing benefits associated with waters classified as
Outstanding Iowa Waters.
 The
DNR also acknowledged the economic benefits might be realized by increased
tourism, increased recreational uses of the waters, and protection of
these resources for future generations.
See the proposed list of Outstanding Iowa Waters here...
and maps of the Outstanding Iowa Waters in Dickinson
County and Northeast Iowa.
The
ARRC will discuss the regulatory analysis at its November 10
meeting. Please consider contacting the ARRC members and let them
know that you want your waters protected.
Learn more about the Clean
Water Act
Support
America's Red Rock Wilderness Act
The
red rock canyonlands of southern
Utah
is one of our nation's most magnificent wild landscapes.
Dominated by towering buttes and red sandstone plateaus, the
great
Colorado
and
Green
Rivers
have sliced deep, winding canyons.
Unfortunately, this spectacular landscape is threatened by oil and gas
drilling and abuse by off-road-vehicles.
America's
Red Rock Wilderness Act would give
wilderness designation to more than 9 million acres of our federal public
land in southern Utah, protecting this landscape forever.
Find out more here...
Iowa's
Impaired Waters List
The Department of Natural Resources
released its preliminary 2006 impaired waters list -- the latest available
and the Environmental Protection Agency approved the list in July 2008. About 135
new waterbodies have been added to the list from 2004.
The total of 366 impaired waters reflects
an increase in water and biological monitoring, not necessarily an
increase in pollution. The list also includes 92 waters that remain
impaired, but have a water quality improvement plan written.
Read more here...
View
Iowa's Draft 2006 List of Impaired Waters
View
Iowa's Final 2004 List of Impaired Waters
Sewage
Bill Right to Know Passes House
The
Sewage Right to Know bill (HR 2452) passed the U.S. House of
Representatives on a voice vote June 23. If passed by the Senate and
signed by the president, this bill will require publicly owned treatment
works to monitor their systems for spills and then alert the public when
there is the potential to affect public health. There are currently no
such requirements nationwide. These new requirements will be incorporated
into discharge permits. Iowa currently requires treatment
facilities to notify the Department of Natural Resources spills caused by mechanical failures to the DNR within 12 hours of onset or
discovery. Facilities do not have to immediately report bypasses from
precipitation events, but must include them in their monthly operating
report to the DNR.
The Iowa Chapter of Sierra Club's members are
approximately 6,000 of your friends and neighbors. Inspired by nature, we
work together to protect our communities and the planet. The Club is
America's oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental
organization.
Sierra Club® and
"Explore, enjoy and protect the planet"® are registered trademarks
of the Sierra Club. © 2008
Sierra Club. The Sierra Club Seal is a registered copyright, service
mark, and trademark of the Sierra Club.
Last updated 11.10.2009
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2008
Floods
The Iowa floods devastated tens of
thousands of Iowans. Click
here
for flood recovery resources, photographs and links to why we are
experiencing such severe storms.
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