(Red Oak) -- A group of Iowa residents are urging the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to act on a fertilizer spill that occurred in Montgomery County. Over 60 residents from 18 Iowa counties signed on to a letter sent to Iowa DNR Director Kayla Lyon, urging the agency to enact "appropriate penalties and civil damages" following an investigation into the spill into the East Nishnabotna River at Red Oak that killed nearly 750,000 fish in almost 50 miles of the river. In early March, the DNR said a valve had been left open over the weekend and discovered early Monday morning at the NEW Cooperative facility in Red Oak, resulting in nearly 265,000 gallons of liquid nitrogen fertilizer spilling into a tributary and subsequently into the Nishnabotna. John Lorenzen is a fisheries management biologist for the DNR's Southwest Iowa district and was among those who conducted surveys along the river. In a previous interview, Lorenzen told KMA News the fish kill was widespread along the river. "The fish assemblage changes as you move down river," he said. "The toxicity of the spill interacted with the fish's gills equally. All the fish died for the same reason, from the same cause. So, it's not like it was impacting certain reaches more than others. We were hoping it would dilute as it moved further downstream, but we're afraid it did kill similarly along the entire reach." In the letter, written by Drake University emeritus professor of agricultural law Neil Hamilton, residents called on the DNR to "investigate this incident of water pollution to determine the cause and identify who is responsible" and to consider "all appropriate civil and criminal actions," including referring the matter to the Iowa Attorney General. The spill also impacted aquatic life in the Nishnabotna River in Missouri, where the Missouri Department of Conservation's Matt Combes reported a near total fish kill in the 10-mile stretch of the river in northwestern Atchison County. "River Carpsuckers were in high numbers and Red Shiners were killed in high numbers," he said. "Channel Catfish were in the river and were killed with a lot of them around the 18 to 24 inch range and there was also one 30-inch Blue (Catfish) observed. We also had a few rare fish killed--a Blue Sucker was observed and two Shovelnose Sturgeon were observed dead or dying." The letter also urges the DNR to investigate rules relating to the storage of agricultural chemicals with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and, if any gaps or inadequacies are identified, seek "corrective measures so the potential for another incident like this is eliminated." The Iowa DNR can pursue civil penalties of up to $10,000, but the Iowa Attorney General can seek penalties of up to $5,000 per day, per violation.
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