Iowa counties in water suit refuse to name most donors of $934K

Already $934K of the nearly $1.1M legal bill racked by three northern Iowa counties sued by the Des Moines Water Works over high nitrate levels had been paid for by private donors but county officials refused to name all of them.

According to the Des Moines Register, lawyers of Sac, Buena Vista and Calhoun counties gave in to their request for records, but released heavily tampered checks, billing statements and other documents inorder to hide the identities of nearly 90 percent of those who donated cash for the counties' legal defense, so far.

The ballooning monthly bills pay local, Des Moines and D.C. attorneys who cite a state law that exempts release of donations from private entities that support government groups. The state law refers to a federal tax code that includes non-profit groups.

Attorney for Calhoun county David Wollenzien said that the donations have enabled the three counties to get the bills paid without necessarily burdening their residents. He says the counties are seeking permission from the donors to share all information they have.

The legal dispute, which has all the makings of a landmark case, began last year when the Des Moines Water Works sued Sac, Buena Vista and Calhoun counties, and 10 drainage districts over high nitrate levels in the Raccoon River. The river is a source of drinking water for 500,000 central Iowans and the utility firm wants the federal government to treat farm drainage tiles as sources of nitrogen and phophorous pollution. This legal challenge has the potential to affect not only farmers in Iowa but across the nation, as well.

Although most of the donors to the legal fund remain secret, the counties have provided details to the Sac County Legal Fund that has nearly $200,000.

Executive Director of Iowa Freedom of Information Council Randy Evans said state laws require release of donors. He said information released by the counties so far have given Iowa taxpayers an idea of how much the lawsuit costs but they have no idea who are paying the thousands of dollars in legal bills.

This is important because the interest of the donors may not be in the best interest of the taxpayers, he said.

"Those who are paying the bills to fight the lawsuit may have a deep financial interest ... in not losing the lawsuit," Evans said. But "if the counties lose and there are damages to pay, it's the taxpayers who are on the hook," as reported by Iowa City-Press Citizen.

The three counties sued by the water utility have about 1.2 million hogs, more than a million turkeys and 96,000 cows, according to the most recent U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics. Nitrogen is present in manure and fertilizer, which helps produce high corn yields. But when left unused in the soil, it can wash into rivers and streams as nitrates, AGWEB wrote. 

Drainage districts such as those included in the suit were established to help move water out of farm fields so they can be more agriculturally productive. Northern Iowa has an estimated 9 million acres of extensively drained farmland - the most in the country. 

Tags

Iowa counties, water suit, high nitrate level, Donors

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