Clayton Cattle Operation Case will see Ruling Soon

Clayton County District Court judge says he will rule soon on the lawsuit against the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Supreme Beef.

The Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club sued last September after Supreme Beef was granted a permit for an 11,600 head feedlot near Bloody Run Creek, a prized trout stream near Monona IA.

During a hearing last Thursday, the DNR, represented by Assistant Iowa Attorney General David Steward, asked that the suit be dismissed.

In the present action Sierra Club's petition points to no evidence that a harm has ever occurred, that there is any perceptible present or eminent harm. Furthermore, allegations of increased risks of environmental harm are by Sierra Club's own admission based on speculation.

Attorney Wally Taylor is representing the Iowa Sierra Club. He says the group wants to prevent a major pollution event from happening.

When is the appropriate time? Do we have to wait until manure is applied? We don't even know when it's going to be applied because we don't have access to the application records or anything like that.

In the lawsuit, the Sierra Club claims the DNR approved Supreme Beef’s application despite calculations showing the feedlot’s manure plan was flawed.

Environmental groups say the DNR’s approval is based on faulty data provided by Supreme Beef. They say the feedlot will produce more manure than the plan states.

The feedlot would be one of the largest animal feedlots in the state.

Bloody Run Creek

Bloody Run Creek, the center of the controversy, is a trout stream in Clayton County. The creek has clean water, giving it the distinction of one of Iowa’s 35 outstanding waterways- a distinction that is supposed to come with extra protection.