Another major manure spill from a large hog confinement operation just occurred along the South Fork of the Iowa River, leaving thousands of dead fish and miles of polluted water in its wake.

Irwin Burns, the area’s conservation director, estimated that the 1.5 million gallons of manure that spilled into the creek will render the waterway “dead for years.” Apparently, the leak was caused by a poorly sealed storage basin on an operation in north-central Iowa owned by SNB Farms.

Sadly, this tragedy has not been an isolated incident. To date, at least three such major spills from confinement facilities have occurred in the state, not to mention the many smaller spills that have also happened in recent years.

Although the Iowa Legislature has established stiffer penalties for those who violate state environmental laws, Burns fears that more problems are bound to occur.

What really seems to be needed is greater input from local authorities in zoning and regulating confinement operations. Currently, they are denied zoning and citing authority. Given the growing concerns that people have regarding clean water, it only makes sense to give local officials the power to decide what’s best for their surroundings.

Hopefully, Iowa legislators will take up this idea next session. It’s time to focus on preventative community action.