The Iowa Senate is considering a bill that would require any complaints to the Department of Natural Resources concerning potential violations to be identified by the name of the submitter.

According to Senator Tom Shipley, Senate Bill 3103 is meant to “stop frivolous anonymous complaints to the Iowa DNR.  According to the State Agency, approximately 1,400 complaints are received each year, half of which are anonymous.  According to a DNR spokesperson, the “vast majority” of complaints lead to corrective action.  Both the Iowa Environmental Council and the Iowa Farmer’s Union oppose the Bill, considering that anonymous complaints are necessary to make agencies aware of problems.

Since the intended legislation would enable the DNR to release the name of the submitter of a complaint, the Bill, if enacted, would have a “chilling effect” reducing the number of complaints.  Obviously, potential submitters of complaints would be restrained for fear of retribution or legal action.

Given the number of complaints and the high proportion that result in some form of action, the proposed Bill appears self-serving despite the reality as quoted by Senator Tom Shipley that “We know there are organizations out there who file complaints just because they don’t like that industry.  Let’s just be honest, they don’t want that industry to exist in Iowa and they’ll be happy to do anything to make it difficult for those people.”

The fact that the DNR investigates complaints and finds a high proportion to be valid suggests that the Bill is no more than a “license to pollute” and represents a retrograde approach to environmental compliance.