Public meeting on Pattison water request tentatively rescheduled
DNR says it won’t approve request until study is completed, results finalized
By Audrey Posten | Times-Register
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has tentatively rescheduled a public meeting to share more information about Pattison Sand Company’s request to dramatically increase water withdrawals at its mining operation near Clayton.
According to Tammie Krausman, chief and public information officer for the DNR’s Communications, Outreach and Marketing Bureau, the meeting previously slated for June has been tentatively planned for Friday, Aug. 22, from 2 to 6 p.m., at the Keystone AEA in Elkader.
Krausman said the delay in the public information meeting was due to responsibilities of the participants as well as ongoing work finalizing the details of a study on the potential impact of Pattison’s proposed water withdrawal.
A DNR water use permit summary report says Pattison would like to modify a permit to up its current maximum water withdrawal quantity from 976.8 million gallons per year to 3.7 billion.
The request, which Pattison said will help the company quarry limestone below the water table, has drawn “a significant amount of public feedback,” according to Chad Fields, geologist II with the Water Supply Engineering Section of the Iowa DNR, during a previous interview.
The request to modify the permit was the subject of an April 22 public hearing in Elkader, during which not one of the at least 80 people in attendance spoke in support of the water withdrawals. Attendees criticized a lack of notice and information about the water use, and worried about the potential impact on the Jordan aquifer and local wells and municipalities. People also disagreed with the DNR’s assessment that Pattison’s need for more water is justified, while disputing that a corporation should be allowed to pull water from a public resource without being charged for it.
Fields was one of two officials from the DNR who led the hearing, but both declined to make a statement or answer questions. He later said the agency recognized “the need for improved communication regarding this permit,” and planned to hold a public event to share more details and respond to questions raised during the public comment period, which concluded May 27.
Krausman said expert staff from the Iowa Geological Survey are providing technical assistance to help answer important questions about the proposed increase in water withdrawals at the mine.
“These questions include potential impacts on nearby private and public wells, water levels and regional aquifers. The goal is to complete the study before the end of the next fiscal year (June 30, 2026). The allocation increase requested in the application will not be approved until the study is completed and results are finalized,” she explained.
Pattison’s current water permit is listed as “active expired,” and Krausman said it remains in effect.
“The company is allowed to withdraw water up to the quantity authorized under the previous permit,” she said.
According to Krausman, resident concerns about water levels or water quantity can be directed to Fields at the Water Use Program (chad.fields@dnr.iowa.gov). Concerns about water quality or other environmental issues should be sent to DNR Field Office #1 in Manchester.
