Quad City Times
Charlotte Eby

When Gov. Tom Vilsack gave his annual Condition of the State address at the opening of the 2004 legislative session, he put forth an ambitious goal of wiping out Iowa’s slate of polluted or “impaired” waterways by 2010.

But lawmakers, faced with a tight budget situation, failed to earmark additional money for cleanup or monitoring.  That failure to devote substantial attention to water quality disappointed Vilsack and environmental groups alike.  A year later, the Iowa Environmental Council, a coalition of 76 groups, is threatening legal action, claiming the state has failed to enforce or implement key provisions of the federal Clean Water Act....Read More