The Iowa DNR heard public comments Tuesday on a new manure management plan for a large cattle feedlot in Clayton County near the headwaters of the Bloody Run Creek, which is a trout stream.
Supreme Beef’s first plan was reversed by a Polk County judge, and Michael Schmidt with the Iowa Environmental Council questioned the details of the new plan.
“Supreme Beef has given no basis for a manure nutrient concentration so low without having a larger volume. These are inconsistent and untrustworthy numbers,” Schmidt.
The Iowa chapters of the Sierra Club and Trout Unlimited successfully challenged the initial manure management plan in court arguing the state agency used “illogical interpretations and applications” in its approval. Clayton County landowner, Dave Hilgemann says the new figures still don’t add up. “Unfortunately, the situation at Supreme Beef contains many red flags pointing to oversights and circumstances that could produce such a catastrophic failure,” Hilgeman says.
Clayton County is a part of the state known for its environmentally sensitive porous limestone or karst terrain.
(By Clay Masters, Iowa Public Radio)