Clarke County Reservoir Commission (CCRC) is waiting to see the report from the state’s government oversight committee’s investigative panel on its reservoir project in the northern part of the county.
“I believe this report from the investigative panel will come out and say you need to consider Arbor Valley and some changes to West Lake to provide you with a little more time before the water reaches the treatment plant to allow you to address those algae issues and the treatment issues,” said Emily Piper, legislative consultant for CCRC, during a monthly meeting Wednesday, March 30.
However, there have been other meetings with several stakeholders in the reservoir project, as well as members of the investigative panel for the government oversight committee, including its chairman Rep. Bobby Kaufmann.
Recent meeting
What came out of a Feb. 24 meeting was an alternative proposal to ask if Arbor Valley was a more suitable option for a reservoir project, and would the commission be willing to consider and pursue that.
Some of the challenges of the Arbor Valley area are dealing with the same number of project landowners and its location at the intersection of the railroad tracks and Interstate 35.
Another question addressed was the algae and treatment issues that are plaguing West Lake, the current water source for Clarke County and Southern Iowa Rural Water Association (SIRWA).
Piper cautioned there is still a large potential for legislation to further restrict Clarke County’s ability to develop a new water source.
“I’ve not seen anything, but I certainly have heard rumblings of that,” she said.
Piper continued, “The unfortunate thing is the legislature does have the ultimate authority to basically do whatever they want that may, in your minds, impeded what you can do at a local level. They do it all the time. I can come up with a million examples of it. But, at the same time, I think there is growing understanding.”
She reiterated there is a feeling CCRC has not made a compelling case for the need or having enough water quality issues to build a new reservoir.
Kaufmann’s comments
CCRC member Bill Trickey was irate about Rep. Kaufmann recently appearing on WHO’s Simon Conway show and stating how he was going to make Clarke County an example for the nation on how eminent domain can’t be allowed to be abused.
Trickey said that Rep. Kaufmann had stated there was a group of wealthy investors backing the CCRC project, and the proposed lake was going to have numerous yachts and big houses on it, essentially putting dozens of farmers out of business.
“He has sent letters down here that to us indicate he has quite a bit of power,” Trickey said. “That a person in that position has such an unusual knowledge of the facts, because I don’t know where he got that. I don’t know who those wealthy investors with the yachts are. I don’t know who dozens of farmers are that we’re putting out of business. And, I’ve been involved with the project nine years.”
Piper responded by pointing out facts don’t always rule the game of politics, and she didn’t know where Rep. Kaufmann got his information.
Her recommendation was to continue to focus on the public, commercial and agricultural water needs of the county, and the commission’s choices to move forward with the project.
“We will continue the process. We will continue to evaluate. We will continue to live within the law,” Trickey said. “It concerns me when people who are responsible for making the law and who represent themselves as the central committee of the ‘regime’ in Des Moines go on the radio and spout obvious mistruths.”
Report results
There’s also the big question of what happens when the investigative committee issues their report.
Piper said the process is still new and undefined, and there could be two options. The first is a report is issued with the committee’s findings of whether or not CCRC is complying with the laws, and if there is a better option.
Or, the committee could issue a report stating the commission needs to use certain legislation to address the problems that have been identified.
“I’m not sure I can give you a real clear answer on that,” Piper said. “It is a process that in my 14 years of lobbying at the statehouse I’ve never seen. So, it’s kind of new for all of us.”