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The waste treatment plant permit expired in 1999. However, the old permit levels have remained enforceable since then. The DNR in the meantime has defined new pollution levels for the new permit system.
Rice said he favored seeking the highest legal classification for the Skunk River, into which treated wastewater is released, even if the city is not required to.
"My point is, why not?" Rice said. "(Seeking a lower classification) may be the legal thing to do, but it's not the right thing to do."
John Dunn, director of the city's Water and Pollution Control Department, said the effluent currently flowing from the wastewater plant already is cleaner than would be required for the current DNR designation of the Skunk River. But both Rice and Veysey protested that the Skunk River should have an even more stringent designation, the highest under DNR rules.
Rivers are classified on two fronts: Recreational Use Designations (A) and Aquatic Life Use Designations (B). For recreational use, the Skunk River's current DNR designation is A(1), the highest classification on that scale, meaning that it is cleared for primary contact, or, according to Dunn, "activities where you might end up swallowing a lot of water."
For aquatic life use, the designation recommended for the Skunk River by the Environmental Protection Commission is B(WWII), one step from the top on that scale. That designation protects for "a resident aquatic community that includes a variety of native non-game fish and invertebrate species."
Opponents have argued that the recommended Aquatic Life Designation does not reflect the actual use of the river, and have asked that it be upgraded to B(WWI), which is described as "waters in which temperature, flow, and other habitat characteristics are suitable to maintain warm water game fish populations along with a resident aquatic community that includes a variety of native fish and invertebrate species."
They've also asked for a Human Heath Use Designation, class HH, which pertains only to "waters in which fish are routinely harvested for human consumption."
Dunn said that while the city's wastewater already surpasses top regulations, having a legal responsibility to do so would open Ames up to fines. Essentially, he said, the city would be taking on more legally binding restrictions that it was required to. However, he noted, because the effluent is already below the discharge limits for the HH standard, it would not immediately cost the city anything to upgrade the classification.
Veysey argued at the meeting that the river should be classified as WWI HH, the highest classification available, primarily for the protection of game fish.
However, Dunn said studies have shown that the Skunk River is unable to support a standing game fish population because of hydrological and physical features both upstream and in Ames. He also noted that the Environmental Protection Commission formerly elected to adopt a Class B(LR) designation for the stream, which is comparable to the current designation B(WWII).
Veysey said the Sierra Club would protest the permit with the DNR based on the current use designation used in the draft.
Council member Jami Larson asked Dunn if there was anything preventing the city from internally maintaining the higher, WWI standards without being required to do so by the state. Dunn applauded the idea, saying that the city already does this in a number of other areas, and that the plant is already doing so to keep the effluent at above B(WWI) levels.
Council member Matthew Goodman called for a vote on the issue after an hour of discussion, saying he felt the conversation had stalled.
"We're already surpassing the WWI requirements," he said. "All we're talking about is creating more regulations on the city to do that. We're just debating the DNR's classification of our stream, and it sounds like this is a political conversation between the Sierra Club and the DNR and does not involve the city of Ames."
The permit will now be submitted to the Iowa DNR, which will later issue a draft permit for public review. Dunn said there may still be some "tweaking" of the numbers on the actual permit.
Luke Jennett can be reached at 232-2161, Ext. 343, or ljennett@amestrib.com.
