Indian Creek Channel: the evolution & significance of an historic public works administration flood control facility, Council Bluffs, Iowa, 2010

Plagued for nearly a century by the perennial flooding of Indian Creek, the City begins construction on a massive channelization project designed to confine the creek to its banks. Funded largely through a grant from the recently established Public Works Administration (PWA), the Indian Creek Channel, upon its completion two years later, would become the largest PWA undertaking in the State of Iowa. Though it did not completely end flooding in Council Bluffs, construction of the Indian Creek Channel did substantially reduce both the number and severity of the city's subsequent floods. It also profoundly impacted the residential and commercial development of Council Bluffs, as well as the city's sanitary conditions. The effects of the Indian Creek channelization, both practical and historical, are still realized today. In 2009, plans for a City road and bridge construction project at the intersection of North Broadway Street and Kanesville Boulevard proposed to replace a 221-foot-long segment of the Indian Creek Channel with a concrete box culvert. In compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act, a cultural resources study was conducted at the proposed construction site, the findings of which concluded that the historic character of the Indian Creek Channel would be compromised by the impending construction. As a means of mitigating these damages, an agreement was reached among the City, the Iowa State Historic Preservation Office, and the Federal Highway Administration that resulted in detailed research and documentation of the historical significance of the Indian Creek Channel. The findings of that study are summarized in this publication.

09006-003 Bear Creek Watershed Final Report

Bear Creek is an impaired warm water fishery designated as class B(LR) by the Iowa DNR and is on 303 impaired waters list for fish kills and ammonia. Bear Creek is located in eastern Delaware County. This project is designed to improve the water quality of Bear Creek by educating the landowners, operators and watershed community about the importance of this water resource. The goal of the Bear Creek Watershed Project is to improve the water quality of Bear Creek by reducing the amounts of ammoniated manure discharge, fecal coliform bacteria, sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorous. The Bear Creek Watershed Project has been a watershed project since July 2004, first as a Demo project FY 2004-2005 and then full time WSPF/319 project FY06-09. Fish kills have not occurred in 2008-2009. Sediment delivery has decreased in the Bear Creek Watershed by 5,328 tons per year. The objectives of this watershed project will be to improve Livestock Waste Storage, to improve Livestock Waste Usage, to decrease Sediment Losses, and to improve Education & Area Outreach. This project will install 2 manure storage structures (EQIP/project funded), 19 ac of CRP waterways, 12 ac of project waterways, 17 ac of CRP filter strips along stream, 12 water and sediment control basins, 18,000 ft of terraces, 350 ac of new notill planting, and 3,700 ft of streambank protection.

Final Report for the Iowa Livestock Industry Waste Characterization and Methane Recovery Information Dissemination Project, 2003

The Iowa livestock industry generates large quantities of manure and other organic residues; composed of feces, urine, bedding material, waste feed, dilution water, and mortalities. Often viewed as a waste material, little has been done to characterize and determine the usefulness of this resource. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources initiated the process to assess in detail the manure resource and the potential utilization of this resource through anaerobic digestion coupled with energy recovery. Many of the pieces required to assess the manure resource already exist, albeit in disparate forms and locations. This study began by interpreting and integrating existing Federal, State, ISU studies, and other sources of livestock numbers, housing, and management information. With these data, models were analyzed to determine energy production and economic feasibility of energy recovery using anaerobic digestion facilities on livestock faxms. Having these data individual facilities and clusters that appear economically feasible can be identified specifically through the use of a GIs system for further investigation. Also livestock facilities and clusters of facilities with high methane recovery potential can be the focus of targeted educational programs through Cooperative Extension network and other outreach networks, providing a more intensive counterpoint to broadly based educational efforts.

Emerging Biofuels: Outlook of Effects on U.S. Grain, Oilseed, and Livestock Markets, 2007

Projections of U.S. ethanol production and its impacts on planted acreage, crop prices, livestock production and prices, trade, and retail food costs are presented under the assumption that current tax credits and trade policies are maintained. The projections were made using a multi-product, multi-country deterministic partial equilibrium model. The impacts of higher oil prices, a drought combined with an ethanol mandate, and removal of land from the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) relative to baseline projections are also presented. The results indicate that expanded U.S. ethanol production will cause long-run crop prices to increase. In response to higher feed costs, livestock farmgate prices will increase enough to cover the feed cost increases. Retail meat, egg, and dairy prices will also increase. If oil prices are permanently $10-per-barrel higher than assumed in the baseline projections, U.S. ethanol will expand significantly. The magnitude of the expansion will depend on the future makeup of the U.S. automobile fleet. If sufficient demand for E-85 from flex-fuel vehicles is available, corn-based ethanol production is projected to increase to over 30 billion gallons per year with the higher oil prices. The direct effect of higher feed costs is that U.S. food prices would increase by a minimum of 1.1% over baseline levels. Results of a model of a 1988-type drought combined with a large mandate for continued ethanol production show sharply higher crop prices, a drop in livestock production, and higher food prices. Corn exports would drop significantly, and feed costs would rise. Wheat feed use would rise sharply. Taking additional land out of the CRP would lower crop prices in the short run. But because long-run corn prices are determined by ethanol prices and not by corn acreage, the long-run impacts on commodity prices and food prices of a smaller CRP are modest. Cellulosic ethanol from switchgrass and biodiesel from soybeans do not become economically viable in the Corn Belt under any of the scenarios. This is so because high energy costs that increase the prices of biodiesel and switchgrass ethanol also increase the price of cornbased ethanol. So long as producers can choose between soybeans for biodiesel, switchgrass for ethanol, and corn for ethanol, they will choose to grow corn. Cellulosic ethanol from corn stover does not enter into any scenario because of the high cost of collecting and transporting corn stover over the large distances required to supply a commercial-sized ethanol facility.

Health consultation : IBP Inc./tire chop facility targeted brownfields assessment, 1525 "O" Avenue, Fort Dodge, Webster County, Iowa (2007)

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) has requested the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) Hazardous Waste Site Health Assessment Program to evaluate future health impacts of exposures at the formerly utilized IBP Inc./Tire Chop facility located at 1525 “O” Avenue, Fort Dodge, Iowa. This site has undergone a Targeted Brownfields Assessment conducted by the Contaminated Sites Section of the IDNR. This health consultation addresses potential health risks to people from future exposure to soil within the property boundary, and any health impacts resulting from contaminated groundwater beneath the site property from an evaluation of the data collected during the Targeted Brownfields Assessment. The information in this health consultation was current at the time of writing. Data that emerges later could alter this document’s conclusions and recommendations.

Health consultation : Iowa City former manufactured gas plant site, 505 Burlington Street, Iowa City, Johnson County, Iowa EPA facility ID: IAD984591172 (2006)

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has requested the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) Hazardous Waste Site Health Assessment Program to evaluate the health impacts of the proposed remedial strategy to be implemented at the Iowa City Former Manufactured Gas Plant Site (FMGP). The proposed remedial strategy to be implemented incorporates the following: 1) access restrictions through the continued operation of the Iowa-Illinois Manor and restriction on any future water well installation through continued implementation of a local environmental covenant; 2) previous site decommissioning activities that have restricted access to site contaminants; and 3) continued monitoring of the groundwater to ensure that contaminant levels in groundwater remain the same or are declining in concentration. This health consultation addresses potential health risks to people from exposure to the soil and vapors within the property. The information in this health consultation was current at the time of writing. Data that emerges later could alter this document’s conclusions and recommendations.

Temporary Traffic Control Handbook, TR-694, 2016

This handbook provides a broad, easy to understand reference for temporary traffic control in work zones, addressing the safe and efficient accommodation of all road users: motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, and those with special needs. When impacting a pedestrian facility, provide ten calendar days advance notification to the local jurisdiction and the National Federation of the Blind of Iowa (www.nfbi.org). The information presented is based on standards and guidance in the 2009 Edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). References to the MUTCD sign designations in this handbook are shown in parentheses, e.g. (W20-1). Not all the recommendations in this handbook will apply to every circumstance faced by local agencies, and each unique situation may not be addressed. Modifications of the typical applications in this handbook will be required to adapt to specific field conditions. Therefore, use engineering judgment, seeking the advice of experienced professionals and supervisors in difficult and complex interpretations. This handbook can be used as a reference for temporary traffic control in work zones on all city or county roadways. However, always check contract documents and local agency requirements for any pertinent modifications.

Letter health consultation : Doty Landfill site, Camanche, Iowa EPA Facility ID: IAD980497556 (2008)

The Doty Landfill encompasses 13 acres of land and is located in the southeastern quarter of Section 29, Township 81 North, Range 6 East, Clinton County, Iowa. The site was used as a landfill for municipal solid waste from 1970 to 1975. In addition, local residents have expressed concern that other chemical-or pesticide waste had been disposed at the site. Previous site investigations had been completed in 1992 and in 2005. In October 2007 water samples from private wells located in the vicinity of the Doty Landfill site were collected and analyzed for dissolved metals. Two of the water samples obtained from drinking water wells contained dissolved arsenic above the US EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for arsenic of 10 μg/L (micrograms per liter) or 10 ppb (parts per billion). The water samples in question contained dissolved arsenic at concentrations of 19.3 and 14.9 μg/L or 19.3 and 14.9 ppb.

Health consultation : Review of on-site air monitoring data during the removal action at Le Mars coal gas site, Le Mars coal gas plant Le Mars, Plymouth County, Iowa EPA facility ID: IA0001032556 (2005)

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), Hazardous Waste Site Health Assessment Program was asked by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review a round of air sampling data. The air data was collected and analyzed during a removal action at the Le Mars Coal Gas Site in Le Mars, Iowa. EPA asked IDPH to determine from the air data if additional monitoring is necessary throughout the removal action to protect nearby residents from exposure.

Health consultation : Hills, Iowa perchlorate groundwater contamination site, Hills, Johnson County, EPA facility ID: IAN 000704368 (2004)

The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7, as well as concerned citizens, asked the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) Hazardous Waste Site Health Assessment Program to perform a health consultation for the Hills, Iowa Perchlorate Groundwater Contamination Site. Specifically, IDPH was asked to determine if EPA’s action of providing bottled water to residents whose private wells had concentrations of greater than 18 μg/L (micrograms per liter) or 18 parts per billion (ppb) perchlorate is protective of public health, and to address some community health concerns. The information included in this health consultation was current at the time of writing. Data that emerges later could alter this document’s conclusions and recommendations.