After a year-and-a-half-long process that included multiple public hearings or meetings and a hydrogeologic investigation by the Iowa Geological Survey, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has issued an updated water use permit to Pattison Sand Company, LLC, after the company, in early 2025, requested to up its water usage from nearly 1 billion gallons per year to 3.7 billion.

As described by the DNR’s water use program at a June 9 public meeting in Garnavillo, the permit issued on Aug. 20 reflects several changes related to Pattison’s water permit modification request, most notably reducing the amount of water allocated from 3.7 billion to 2.27 billion from various sources. It also shortens the duration of the permit from the typical 10 to five years.

The permit includes conditions to monitor water use as well. It calls on Pattison to “maintain accurate and up-to-date records of monthly water use from each authorized source and submit them annually” to the DNR.

Pattison is to construct, maintain and monitor observation wells as directed by the department to define the effects of water withdrawals on groundwater resources or on other water users who might be affected by the withdrawals.

The DNR said each well authorized as a source of water in the permit must be constructed to allow for accurate measurement of water levels, and each well and intake authorized as a source of water in the permit must have water metering.

Pattison will be responsible for “accurately measuring depth to water under non-pumping (static) conditions, depth to water under pumping conditions and pumping rate(s) for all active wells listed in this permit, at a minimum of one measurement per year.” The records must be submitted annually to the DNR.

Additionally, the DNR is requiring a guard well at the southwest corner of the facility that’s existed since 1991 and had water level readings taken since that time. Water levels will be monitored monthly.

In the event water levels recorded at this well “decline to a depth exceeding one hundred eighty-nine (189) feet below ground surface, the Department shall provide written notice to the permittee and may, in its discretion, re-open the Permit for Modification, require the permittee to reduce withdrawal rates, undertake additional hydrogeologic investigations or implement such other corrective measures as the Department deems necessary and appropriate,” the permit stated.

At the June 9 public meeting, the water use program said it will also get help from the city of Garnavillo, who does water level measurements every month. Independent data is available going back to at least 2014—and 1956 for one well.

“That information lets us see what’s happening in Garnavillo, and it’s an independent source,” said Chad Fields, geologist III with the DNR’s water use program. “This is not within the permit, but this is understood that we have this sharing of information.”

The same conditions apply if water withdrawals or uses authorized under the permit are determined by the DNR, based on available monitoring data, field observations or other credible evidence, to be the cause of adverse effects on surface water streams, springs or ponds or the ecosystems. The DNR said adverse effects include, but are not limited to, reductions in baseflow, degradation of cold-water or other designated uses or harm to species or their habitat.

“Water withdrawn pursuant to the permit shall be discharged to area streams and surface waters in accordance with all applicable rules and regulations, shall be of suitable quality and shall be so discharged as to preclude flooding, erosion or other adverse effects,” the DNR added.

According to documents provided by the DNR’s water use program, it received 77 comments on the revised draft water use permit from June 18 to July 7. There were 62 supportive comments in a signed singular form from interested Pattison Sand Company parties, along with 13 comments opposing issuance of the permit or requesting delay pending further study. Two comments were technical submissions from water-sector professionals who did not state a position on issuance.

These are added to the prior record, which included 134 written comments made last year regarding the permit modification and comments from 34 speakers at an April 2025 public hearing.

Those in opposition to the permit’s issuance cited uncertainty regarding the Mississippi River recharge boundary; compliance with the Jordan Aquifer Rule; whether the withdrawal constitutes a beneficial use; the scale of withdrawal relative to demonstrated need and the basis for the revised limit; impacts to private and municipal wells and groundwater quality; potential environmental and ecological impacts; federal jurisdiction by the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge; data accuracy and water accounting; monitoring, enforcement and adequacy of permit conditions; and cumulative demand, drought and public-trust stewardship of a shared resource.

The DNR said it recognizes “the strong public interest and opposition surrounding this application,” but that, under Iowa Code, “permit decisions are governed strictly by statutory and regulatory criteria. If a water use application satisfies those criteria, the Department issues a water use permit.”

“Public comments are evaluated to identify substantive, factual or technical information relevant to state standards, such as engineering errors or unaddressed environmental impacts, that substantially influence the Department’s analysis when deciding whether an applicant has satisfied the applicable regulatory standards. Because the Department is legally bound to base its decision on whether an application meets all technical and legal criteria, an accounting of comments ‘in support of’ or ‘in opposition to’ the issuance of a permit cannot determine whether a permit is ultimately issued or denied,” the DNR continued.

The permit said Pattison is authorized to use water for dewatering geologic strata for excavation and processing silica sand from an underground mine and surface quarry located on said land.

It also advises Pattison Sand Company that, per Iowa Code, the authority to withdraw water provided by the permit may be modified, canceled or suspended in case of any breach of the terms or conditions, in case of any violation of state law pertaining to the permit or if found necessary to prevent substantial injury to private or public interests.

Conditions of the permit may be appealed as provided in rule 567--50.8(3), Iowa Administrative Code. Appeal must be in writing and must be received at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Water Supply Engineering Section, 6200 Park Ave. Suite 200, Des Moines, IA 50321-1371, within 30 days of the date of the certification of the mailing of the permit.