Ralph Klemme, LeMars farmer and former state legislator, resigned this week from the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission (EPC) citing the board’s increasing tilt against agriculture.
“I appreciated the appointment by the governor, but I didn’t like the direction the commission was going,” Klemme said. “I just don’t think there is a lot of common sense in some of the decisions.”
Klemme, who was appointed to the board by Gov. Chet Culver in 2007, said several of the EPC’s recent decisions indicated that several commission members tend to blame agriculture for nearly all of Iowa’s environmental issues.
This includes a decision last month by the EPC to deny a permit for two new livestock barns in Dallas County despite meeting all state rules and regulations.