(Radio Iowa) – Democrats in the Iowa House are proposing a dramatic increase in state funding for water quality projects along with two new tax credits for farmers who implement conservation practices that prevent soil and fertilizer run-off. The plan does NOT call for new regulations on manure and fertilizer applications on farmland. Representative Kenan Judge, a Democrat from Waukee, says it’s time to end the finger pointing and adopt solutions. “We know Iowans want healthy water,” Judge said. “We know farmers want to take care of the land and take care of the water.”

Representative Austin Baeth, a Democrat from Des Moines who’s a doctor, says water pollution is contributing to Iowa’s high cancer rates. “This is our starting point, to try to have everybody meet in the middle in a bold and unified response,” Baeth said, “because right now, the status quo has been folks putting their head in the sand and ignoring the problem.”

House Speaker Pat Grassley says Iowa is spending more money than any other state in the country on water quality efforts and Grassley says he and other Republicans need to do a better job to spread the message about what has already been done.