An Omaha-based agribusiness with operations around the globe has agreed to pay more than quarter of a million dollars in fines and fees for a fertilizer spill last year in Dubuque.
The Iowa Capital Dispatch was first to report the resolution of the case. More than 400,000 gallons of nitrogen fertilizer spilled at a Gavilon facility in Dubuque that’s near a pond and hundreds of fish were killed.
State officials say most of the money from Gavilon will be used to build back the mussel population in Bee Branch Pond. A 2014 DNR assessment found 14 different native fish species in the pond, which is part of a popular fishing area in Dubuque, near the Mississippi River. According to a statement from Gavilon provided to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, the company has installed new equipment to detect spills at the site.