Lee, IA

Moderate Risk (44/100)

A PlainEnviro-computed score from reported facility/violation counts, not an official EPA rating, health forecast, or population-adjusted rate. See methodology. This is a different measure than the EJ Screening score for this county, which ranks it by percentile against every other tracked county rather than against fixed national thresholds.

Environmental data for Lee in Iowa · Population: 33,175

Lee, IA is tracked across three EPA datasets covering 10 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) facilities, 6 Safe Drinking Water Act systems, and 0 Superfund National Priorities List sites. Together these generate an environmental burden score of 44/100 (Moderate Risk), calibrated against national distributions for facility density, chemical release volume, Superfund concentration, and water-system health violations.

Industrial disclosures inside the county total 25.5M lbs of reported toxic releases under EPCRA Section 313, while 2 water systems carry an active health-based violation in the SDWIS record. EPA Air Quality System monitors logged a median AQI of 47 and a peak AQI of 97 in 2023, with 60% of observed days rated "Good" (0–50).

All figures below draw directly from federal EPA records, TRI self-reported emissions, SDWIS compliance history, NPL Hazard Ranking System scores, and AQS daily AQI summaries, and are not adjusted, weighted, or forecast. A past violation or elevated score does not itself indicate current unsafe conditions; it documents the regulatory and disclosure history publicly filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the most recent reporting cycle.

Population
33,175
TRI Facilities
10
Water Systems
6
Superfund Sites
0
Total Releases
25.5M lbs

Air Quality History (2020–2023)

EPA Air Quality Index (AQI) data showing how many days per year fall into each air quality category.

Year Good Moderate Unhealthy (SG) Max AQI
2023 36 (60%) 24 0 97
2022 73 (69%) 33 0 87
2021 63 (62%) 38 0 73
2020 83 (70%) 35 0 76
2023 Good Air Quality: 60% of days
Median AQI: 47

Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County AQI categories: Good (0-50), Moderate (51-100), Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (101-150), Unhealthy (151-200), Very Unhealthy (201-300), Hazardous (301+)

For real-time air quality readings and pollutant breakdowns in Iowa, see the EPA's AirNow.gov.

Water Systems (6)

System Population Violations
FT MADISON MUNI WATER WORKS 11,087 0
KEOKUK MUNICIPAL WATER WORKS 9,900 0
WEST POINT MUNI WATER SYSTEM 921 0
DONNELLSON MUNI WATER WORKS 885 12
MONTROSE WATER WORKS 738 1
FARMINGTON WATER SUPPLY 601 0

TRI Facilities (10)

# Facility Total Releases
1 Climax Molybdenum Co 16.4M lbs
2 Koch Fertilizer Wever LLC 4.2M lbs
3 Roquette America Inc 3.6M lbs
4 Amsted Rail Co Inc 718.0K lbs
5 Henniges Automotive Iowa Inc 360.6K lbs
6 Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Inc. 140.6K lbs
7 Axalta Coating Systems USA Llc- Fort Madison Plant 68.7K lbs
8 Keokuk Steel Castings 19.7K lbs
9 Conagra Foods Packaged Foods LLC 12.2K lbs
10 Scotts Co Fort Madison Iowa 514 lbs

Cities in Lee (3)

Fort Madison
Pop: -
5 facilities · 1 water
Keokuk
Pop: -
4 facilities · 1 water
Wever
Pop: -
1 facilities · 0 water

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the environmental risk level in Lee, Iowa?
Lee, IA has an environmental risk score of 44/100 (Moderate Risk), based on 10 TRI facilities, 0 Superfund sites, and 6 water systems on record. 2 water systems have health-based violations. Source: EPA TRI, SDWIS, and Superfund NPL.
Are there Superfund sites in Lee?
No Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) sites are currently registered in Lee, IA in the EPA database.
How many toxic release facilities are in Lee?
Lee, IA has 10 TRI-reporting facilities on record with the EPA Toxic Release Inventory, with a combined total of 25.5M lbs in reported toxic releases. TRI facilities self-report annual chemical release data to the EPA.
What is the air quality in Lee?
In 2023, Lee, IA recorded a median AQI of 47 and a peak AQI of 97. 60% of monitored days had "Good" air quality (AQI 0–50). Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County.
Is the drinking water safe in Lee?
Lee, IA has 6 EPA-regulated water systems. 2 systems have reported health-based violations (MCL exceedances). A past violation does not necessarily mean water is currently unsafe. For current water quality, contact your local water utility. Source: EPA SDWIS.
What environmental agencies cover Lee?
Environmental compliance in Lee, Iowa is overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the federal level and the Iowa state environmental agency. Facilities report to the EPA Toxic Release Inventory, water systems are regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and contaminated sites are managed under the Superfund program. Contact your state environmental agency for local concerns.

What does this county environmental profile show?

This county environmental profile rolls up EPA Toxics Release Inventory facility reports, Safe Drinking Water Information System public-water-system filings, and Superfund National Priorities List sites for the county boundary defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Facility counts reflect facilities with a reporting address inside the county, not where downstream environmental effects may be observed. Population figures are from the most recent Census ACS 5-year estimate. The county detail page is updated whenever the upstream EPA programs publish revised data; see the methodology page for the documented ingest cadence and the editorial choices governing how aggregations are computed.

Related

Data sourced from U.S. EPA environmental datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainEnviro Editorial