Dubuque City Council accepts $7,000 fine from DNR

The Dubuque City Council voted unanimously, to approve an administrative consent decree accepting a fine of $7,000 by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for repeated permit violations at the wastewater treatment plant. The city self-reported 72 permit violations at the Water & Resource Recovery Center from 2020 to 2024, largely for failing to meet limitations for the treated water leaving the facility. These violations peaked in 2023. Many of them resulted from a growth of bacteria in 2022 and a boiler malfunction in 2023.