DES MOINES, IOWA (April 18, 2023) — On Monday, April 17, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird joined a multistate lawsuit challenging the Biden Administration’s memorandum that has effectively created a new, burdensome cybersecurity rule. The new rule imposes significant costs on Iowans in small and rural public water systems.
With the new rule in effect, water systems with a population as small as 25 Iowans will have to pay to upgrade their cybersecurity systems and face-large costs. Previously, under the law passed by Congress, there was a common-sense exception to the cybersecurity rule on public water systems serving fewer than 3,300 residents. The new rule now expands to the 93% of Iowa’s public water systems that serve between 25 and 3,300 people.
“Rather than cleaning up our water, the federal government is hurting Iowa’s small towns,” said AG Bird. “At a time of soaring inflation, where it’s hard enough to make ends meet, the federal government insists on making Iowans’ water bills more costly. We’re going to hold the Biden Administration accountable and protect Iowans’ pocketbooks.”
The Biden Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) bypassed standard approval processes to impose the new rule and violated the Administrative Procedure Act. The new rule went into effect immediately.
Iowa joined Arkansas and Missouri in the lawsuit.
Read the full lawsuit here.
