Iowa sues Sioux City over wastewater scheme, river pollution

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — The state of Iowa is suing Sioux City over what it says was the city’s manipulation of wastewater testing results and dangerous pollution of the Missouri River in a scheme that saw the wastewater plant’s former supervisor sentenced to jail last year. The Iowa Attorney General’s Office said Friday in a news release that the lawsuit seeks to stop the city’s wastewater plant from violating permit limits for ammonia and chlorine. It also asks the court to assess a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for each day of violation. The lawsuit says that from 2012 to 2015, the plant increased chlorine levels on days it tested for E. coli to disinfect wastewater dumped into the river, then lower the chlorine levels on other days.