State officials will hold a public hearing next week to talk about a plan to hike the fines for those responsible for polluting Iowa streams and lakes and killing fish. Mike Murphy of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources says critics contend current fines aren’t enough punishment for those responsible for manure or chemical spills. He says they want to establish clear guidelines and criteria for valuing the lost of fish and other animals from pollution.The most-recent fish kill in Iowa happened in May near Estherville. Over 33-thousand fish were killed in Brown Creek and the West Fork of the Des Moines River by a manure spill from the John Greig farm.The fine for Greig was about nine thousand dollars under the old system. If the new rules had been in place, the fine would have been 20-thousand dollars. Murphy says the fines are based on the type of fish killed — for example, minnows are valued less than game fish. The public hearing July 2nd starts at 7 p-m and will be held simultaneously in 15 cities via audio/video hook-up on the Iowa Communications Network. Here’s a list of the 15 sites: Denison High School, Dubuque Senior High School, Mason City High School, Spencer High School, Webster City High School, Waterloo West High School, Davenport West High School, Cedar Rapids Metro High School, Iowa City Public Library, Ankeny Kirkendall Public Library, Council Bluffs Kanesville High School, Creston High School, Indian Hills Community College and Burlington High School.)
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