News
Ag Pollution Is Keeping Des Moines Water Works Busy. Can It Keep Up?
Amid mounting health risks and changing weather patterns, advocates urge the EPA to intervene, citing the limits of Iowa’s voluntary nutrient reduction strategy and the basic human right of clean water.
By Nina Elkadi
Des Moines, Iowa, is a sprawling metro area of 740,000 people surrounded by agricultural operations. In Iowa, where hogs outnumber humans 7 to 1 and corn and soybean fields seem to stretch as far as the eye can see, Des Moines is at the heart of it all.
Related Knowledge Center: Air emissions
State of Play
More than 30 years after the last major update of the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Supreme Court has upended the ability of Congress to give the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies broad scope to combat air pollution, including the emission of greenhouse gases. Meanwhile, further Biden administration efforts to limit emissions face opposition in the courts.