(Atlantic, Iowa) – Organizers with Nishnabotna Water Defenders – a non-profit environmental conservation organization – Thursday evening, issued a statement with regard to a settlement announced Wednesday, between the Iowa Attorney General’s Office and the NEW Coop in Red Oak. The statement said members of the organization “…Are disappointed that the settlement issued by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird with no public input represents a slap on the wrist to NEW Coop. This settlement does not require the coop to implement any new measures that will prevent future contamination.”

In March 2024 265,000 gallons of liquid nitrogen spewed into the East Nishnabotna River from a non-monitored tank at the NEW Coop in Red Oak, Iowa. The historic spill traveled 50 miles down the river and killed approximately 750,000 fish. The cost of only the fish kill was estimated to be $225,000.00. This dollar amount does not include other wildlife that suffered the consequences of this catastrophe.

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New Coop controls 82 operating locations in Iowa and Missouri and is said to be the eleventh largest ag retailer in the United States. The settlement comes without any input from the public and comes 16 months after the tragic spill occurred. Terry Langan, Co-Chair of the Nishnabotna Water Defenders, said in a press release, “The settlement signifies the lack of respect that our Attorney General has for Iowa’s people, the land and the wildlife. To put a price of $100,000 on a loss that will be felt for decades, is a total disregard for the importance of Iowa’s waterways.”

The statement said also, the fine does not even recoup the cost of the investigation following the liquid nitrogen incident. “The lack of significant repercussions to this travesty and the significance of Iowa’s water pollution,” the group says, “has led the Nishnabotna Water Defenders to organize training and educational opportunities for citizens to monitor local rivers and streams for nitrates. NWD believes that water is sacred and must be treated with respect.”