Explanation for fertilizer spill a long time coming
A Letter From Iowan Josiah Wearin
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This letter was originally sent to the Red Oak Express.
Dear Editor:
Two months of silence is a long time. The huge release of liquid nitrogen fertilizer into the East Nishnabotna River occurred on March 11. The counts of dead aquatic life have been tallied, yes. The event was clearly a catastrophe for the river.
But have we heard a word of contrition or apology or even slight explanation from NEW Cooperative?
Have we heard from our Sens. Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley, our congressional representatives or our governor?
Do we know yet how the Department of Natural Resources or the Environmental Protection Agency intend to proceed?
Perhaps my aversion to social media is preventing me from learning more?
We understand that human error was involved, from the scant facts so far put forth.
But if this event resulted from of a valve left open, why hasn’t NEW Cooperative explained what containment system existed, or how it may be changed to prevent another such massive pollution of the river? Certainly enforcement and litigation is coming, but so far NEW Co-op hasn’t even coughed up a corporate spin of some sort? Not even a hint that it will never happen again?
This is just a horrible waste of good fertilizer, and a depressing statement about the systems that allowed it to occur. As a co-op shareholder and customer, a consumer of liquid nitrogen, and as an Iowa citizen, I expect better.
No humility? Not even sorrow for the fish, turtles, reptiles and amphibians, the riparian plant life, and the water itself? And not a murmur from the politicians?
P.S. Shortly after I wrote this letter, the Des Moines Register reported on May 6: “There was a permanent berm around the tank which contained the fertilizer, but the open valve was in a loading area that lacked such protection, the DNR has said. New Cooperative said Friday it ‘wants all communities where we have operations to know we are dedicated to safety and being good environmental stewards.’”
So I can eat some words, and we finally know something. NEW Cooperative definitely needs to explain how a new loading area design will ensure that no such spill can reoccur. It also needs to explain all of its safety protocols for the storage and handling of anhydrous ammonia. That might help residents of Red Oak sleep better as they drive by all the mobile tanks parked just east of the river dike on old Highway 34.
Sincerely,
Josiah C. Wearin
Hastings, Iowa
Letters From Iowans is a part of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. We encourage you, our subscribers, to share your perspective in this column. To make your voice heard, use this form to send us your essay:
Iowa Writers’ Collaborative columnists:
Thank you for writing this to the local paper. I wish that more people would understand the gravity of this spill and demand that the DNR check all fertilizer plants. Yes, that takes lots of money, but according to the governor and her lackeys in state government, we have a huge surplus of money. Why not spend it wisely to protect all species of life in Iowa.