GOP leaders optimistic water quality funding will get 2018 Iowa Legislature's OK

Republican leaders at the Iowa Capitol are expressing confidence they will see quick, early action to approve long-term, sustainable funding for statewide water quality projects during the Iowa Legislature's 2018 session, which convenes in January.

Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey told Gov. Kim Reynolds on Monday that two bills are "ready to go" to the Iowa House and Senate to improve water quality. He said he is hopeful one of them will pass both chambers and be sent to the state's chief executive for her signature.

"I have certainly heard a lot of interest in the Legislature," Northey said.

The agriculture secretary told reporters later he has worked on the issue behind the scenes in recent months with farm groups, legislators and others to build support for improving water quality in rural and urban environments. Although he is awaiting U.S. Senate confirmation on a Trump administration appointment to a federal agriculture post, the progress of water quality legislation won't be impeded if he departs, he added.

Reynolds endorsed Northey's call for prompt action on the legislation during the upcoming session.

"I am hoping it is the first bill that I get to sign as the governor of the state of Iowa," said Reynolds, who met with Northey for a budget presentation for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

The Iowa House and Senate each passed competing bills during the 2017 session that failed to win final approval after Republican legislative leaders failed to resolve their differences.

But Iowa House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, R-Clear Lake, issued a statement Monday signaling that she considers water quality to be a top priority during the upcoming session, although she didn't provide any specifics.

“Water quality is an important issue for all Iowans and I expect we will send a bill to the governor’s desk next session that addresses it," Upmeyer said.

Under the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy adopted in 2013, state officials want to reduce rural and urban nitrogen and phosphorous levels by 45 percent. They have estimated it could cost $750 million to $1.2 billion annually over several decades to meet those goals. The strategy is designed to direct efforts to reduce nutrients in surface water from both point sources, such as wastewater treatment plants and industrial facilities, and non-point sources, including farm fields and urban areas, in a scientific, reasonable and cost-effective manner.

The Senate bill, which Northey said he favors, would redirect about $12 million in sales tax dollars that Iowans already pay on their water bills as well as $15 million now used to pay off Vision Iowa project bonds. It would provide funding for projects detailed by the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy and would be fully funded in 2021. When combined with money already being appropriated annually for water quality projects, the legislation would generate an estimated $50 million per year to address the issue, Senate Republicans said.

The House bill would set up a financing structure that would grant priority to groups that have multiple stakeholders who come up with water quality improvement projects at a regional watershed level. It would also divert sales taxes imposed on metered drinking water and would ramp up over time until it provides about $26 million annually.

Many minority Democrats opposed majority Republicans' plans last session to shift money to pay for water quality initiatives, calling it a shell game. They said new tax revenue is needed for water quality, contending Republicans' plans to rely on existing revenue would require cuts in spending for education and other state programs.

A coalition of environmental and outdoor advocacy groups has repeatedly proposed an alternative approach that calls for raising the state's sales tax by three-eighths of one cent to fund programs for water quality and other programs. However, that proposal has been dead-on-arrival with many conservative legislators, who oppose any form of a tax hike.

Sen. Robert Dvorsky of Coralville, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee, said Monday he believes both water quality bills approved last session by the Iowa House and Senate are flawed. Neither bill provides the framework necessary to improve water quality, he said. adding that the Senate version, in particular, lacks a watershed approach.

"I am interested in doing something that works; not just approving a buzzword," Dvorsky remarked.

Rep. Chuck Isenhart of Dubuque, ranking Democrat on the House Environmental Protection Committee, said Monday he voted for the House bill last session and encouraged his colleagues to do the same, although the bill had several shortcomings that were reflected in amendments he proposed.

"I would hope that the changes we offered are part of the conversations that Secretary Northey referred to. I have not been invited to be involved in those conversations," Isenhart said.