The Iowa Initiative, Matching Wetlands to Drainage Improvements - Dealing with the Regulations

摘要

In 2007 the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship challenged a group of scientists and engineers to develop a plan for the next generation of the state's drainage district facilities that would increase crop yields, improve water quality, provide for wetland mitigation and be market driven. The Iowa Wetland Landscapes Systems Initiative, which combined the Iowa CREP with drainage district improvements procedures was created and was promoted as a model for addressing hypoxic conditions in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2009 the Iowa Secretary of Agriculture established a cost share program that resulted in funding assistance to established drainage districts for four pilot projects. The author was appointed as project engineer for all of the projects. This paper and presentation will discuss the difficulties encountered by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the drainage districts in dealing with state and federal regulatory agencies in the permitting and design of thewetlands and drains and how those difficulties were overcome. The Des Moines Waterworks objection to federal ARRA stimulus funding for one of the projects is discussed. The presentation concludes with a discussion of how federal regulations must be reworked to facilitate the implementation of Iowa Wetland Landscapes Systems Initiative principles in the coming reconstruction of Iowa's extensive network of more than 3,500 drainage districts.