Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 571 - Natural Resource Commission › Title VIII - Seasons, Limits, Methods of Take › Chapter 113 - Restitution for Pollution Causing Injury to Wild Animals › Rule 571-113.4 - Assessment

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
When wild animals are destroyed or injured by an identifiable
				  source of water pollution, the degree and value of the losses shall be assessed
				  by collecting, compiling, and analyzing relevant information, statistics, or
				  data through prescribed methodologies to determine damages, as set forth in
				  this rule.
(1)
General.
For species other than fish, the professional
				judgment of fish and wildlife staff and available literature and guidance
				normally relied on in the fish and wildlife professions may be used to assess
				the injuries.
(2)
Fish
				loss.
Assessment of damages for fish kills shall be in accordance with
				the following:
a. Normally investigators will
				follow the methods prescribed by AFS to determine, by species and size, numbers
				of fish killed.
b. During periods
				of ice cover, where local conditions prevent using the methods
				in
"a"
above, or in other appropriate circumstances, for
				example, when the resources are known to have been diminished by prior
				incidents, investigators will utilize the best information available to
				determine, by species and size, numbers of fish killed. Information may include
				existing or prior data on population levels in the affected water body or a
				nearby water body with similar characteristics, including any historical fish
				kill data.
c. The monetary
				valuation of fish shall be the replacement values as published in AFS for all
				fish lost except the following: channel catfish, flathead catfish, blue
				catfish, northern pike, muskellunge, northern pike/muskellunge hybrid, rainbow
				trout, brown trout, brook trout, white bass, yellow bass, white bass/striped
				bass hybrid, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, crappie, rock
				bass, bluegill, redear sunfish, warmouth, pumpkinseed, freshwater drum, yellow
				perch, walleye, sauger and walleye/sauger hybrid. The value of these fish shall
				be $15 each, unless AFS establishes a higher value. Notwithstanding the above,
				the value of each fish classified by the department as an endangered or
				threatened species shall be $1,000.
d. The value of lost services to the public
				shall be the number of fishing trips lost over the period of the resource loss,
				as determined through local creel survey information or through interpolation
				from the most recent statewide creel survey. Each trip shall be valued at
				$30.
e. The cost of the
				investigation shall include:
(1)Salaries plus
				overhead of staff, including support staff, involved in investigating the fish
				kill and performing the assessment.
(2)Any meals and lodging of staff while they
				are in the field conducting the assessment.
(3)Mileage valued at the current rate
				established pursuant to Iowa Code section 18.117.
(4)Costs borne by the department associated
				with containment or cleanup operations.
(5)Any other costs directly associated with
				the investigation and assessment.