Supervisors select drainage lawsuit attorney, wait on pipeline engineer

By: 
Erin Sommers Graphic-Advocate Editor

A three-county panel selected Belin McCormick, a Des Moines law firm, as its legal representative in a potential lawsuit over pollutants in the Raccoon River watershed.
The Boards of Supervisors from Calhoun, Sac and Buena Vista counties met in joint executive session Feb. 17 in Sac City. Calhoun County Auditor Judy Howrey said the board members met for nearly two hours, before returning to open session and voting for the firm.
The Des Moines Water Works in January filed a notice of intent to sue the counties over high levels of nitrates found in the Raccoon River, which is one of the Water Works’ two drinking water sources. The notice requires the Water Works to wait at least 60 days before proceeding with a lawsuit.
Earlier on Feb. 17, Calhoun County supervisors continued the ongoing discussion revolving around which engineering firm to hire to oversee the installation of a proposed oil pipeline through the county. State law requires the company installing such a pipeline to pay for the engineer, who would be tasked with making sure county drainage tiles, ditches and other infrastructure is properly repaired or put back in place after the pipeline passes through. 
Read more in the Feb. 25 edition. 

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