(Spirit Lake)– An organization that represents clean water interests in the Iowa Great Lakes Area will bring local concerns to the table at an upcoming statewide water quality summit.
Donna Buell, Coordinator of the Dickinson Cleanwater Alliance, says they put together a list of concerns they’d like to see addressed after visiting with representatives of the Cleanwater Alliance, elected officials and representatives of local agencies.
Buell says they’ve indentified six priorities:
1.) Integrated watershed management– provides accountability to citizens of the problems in their watersheds and the programs in place to address them.
2.) Independent watershed planning organization– to oversee the watershed management process. The agencies are already overwhelmed with implementing existing programs. A planning organization can pull in the local residents and stakesholders as well as state and federal agencies to achieve integrated watershed plans to implement community goals.
3.) Economic development– Our water resources can provide many opportunities for economic development in Iowa. The Iowa Great Lakes brings in 1 million visitors annually bringing in over 131 million dollars in revenues each year to Dickinson county. Further opportunities for economic development related to our water resources should be explored and encouraged.
4.) Home rule– A way to get past some of the obstacles without more money from state government.
5.)General Fund– Move the Environment First spending to the state general fund to assure a more consistent source of revenues for environmental spending.
6.) Don’t let the conversation stop– the Governor’s Water Quality Summit is a stepping stone in the process of eliminating impaired waters in Iowa. A summit is a wonderful opportunity, but day-to-day work from all of us will be required to achieve goals.
Buell says several members of the Cleanwater Alliance will attend the summit this coming Monday and Tuesday in Ames.
