A new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists found wetlands in the Upper Midwest region are "in peril" due to recent legal challenges and a lack of state-level regulation. The report looks to a new farm bill as a vessel to protect wetlands.
The report, authored by Stacy Woods, the research director for the Food & Environment program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said industrial agriculture has inflicted "devastating damage" on wetlands across the country and Iowa has more than 640,000 acres of wetlands.
These wetlands, along with those in states across the Upper Midwest region, act as "natural barriers" to flooding. The report found this flood protection equates to nearly $23 billion in annual residential flood protection. Iowa's wetlands alone could mitigate $477 million worth of flood damage to residential areas.
These estimates in the report are extrapolated from a 2022 study that found one acre of wetland was the equivalent to $745 in benefits from prevented flood damage.
The Union of Concerned Scientists is a non-profit advocating for "science and evidence-based decision making" for climate, energy, transportation, food and equality issues.
The report alleges the Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency "stripped" Clean Water Act protections from wetlands that are not connected to federally recognized bodies of water.
The new interpretation of the law, combined with the "absence of state-level wetland protections" in Iowa and other Upper Midwestern states makes wetlands "particularly vulnerable" to pollution or drainage, the report found.
Chapter 456B of Iowa Code says a protected wetland cannot be drained without a permit from the Department of Natural Resources and the wetland must no longer meet the criteria of a protected wetland, or be replaced by a "wetland of equal or greater value."
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2020, the Conservation Reserve Program had restored more than 3 million wetland acres across the country since the program started in 1985. The same program has restored over 118,000 acres of wetland in Iowa and enrolled 66,000 acres as "buffer" in farmable wetlands, according to data collected by Environmental Working Group.
A HOPE FOR FARM BILL PROTECTIONS
The report looks at the Farm Bill as a place to implement wetland regulations to stop "large-scale commodity growers and corporate agribusiness interests" that "exploit wetlands for agricultural expansion."
Farm bills in the past have established protections for wetlands, including the Conservation Reserve Program and the "swampbuster" provision that linked a landowner's eligibility for USDA incentive programs to their preservation of wetlands.
An Iowa landowner recently sued the USDA over the provision and several groups including Iowa Environmental Council, Iowa Farmers Union, Dakota Rural Action and Food & Water Watch, sought to intervene in the lawsuit, which a federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa approved Tuesday.
The lawsuit alleges swampbuster created an unconstitutional condition for a farmer to receive USDA benefits, while the now-approved intervenors say without the law, there would be little to no protection for wetlands from farmers seeking to expand their croplands.
In addition to swampbuster, the report details other Farm Bill provisions that have protected wetlands, including conservation and wetland easement programs and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or EQIP, which "enhance(s) wetlands" by promoting soil and water conservation.
The report calls for the next farm bill, which Congress has been unable to agree on and pass for more than two sessions now, to "enhance" existing conservation programs and implement new incentives that "foster soil and water health."
These suggestions include: increasing the Conservation Reserve Program to 45 million acres; increasing funding for the Conservation Stewardship Program from $1 billion to $4 billion annually; expanding funding to historically underserved, disadvantaged and new farmers, and to link the Federal Crop Insurance Program to a farmer's participation in conservation practices.
According to the report, investments from these recommendations constitute "only a fraction of the significant annual value wetlands deliver."
"Integrating these initiatives into the next food and farm bill will fortify USDA programs that safeguard wetlands from industrial agriculture, ensuring these vital ecosystems thrive and continue to mitigate flooding, purify water, and support our communities and our climate," the report said.
Groups across the country and political parties, including Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, have urged Congress to reauthorize the farm bill, rather than extend the 2018 bill for a second time.
Also see, "Swampbuster Faces Legal Battle in Iowa," https://www.dtnpf.com/…
Cami Koons is an Iowa Capital Dispatch reporter covering agriculture and the environment. She previously worked at publications in Kansas and Missouri, covering rural affairs.
Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, the nation's largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
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