Monticello, Iowa

Construction of public improvements often has "adverse" impacts not related to the intended purpose. State and federal rules require these impacts to be "mitigated." If building something unavoidably requires filling a wetland, then a new one must be created. Noise impacts are common in airport improvements which can be offset by something as simple as a non-standard traffic pattern or as complicated as noise abatement procedures.

In the 1990s the Iowa Department of Transportation upgraded Highway 151 between Cedar Rapids and Dubuque to a four lane, limited access road. Construction would impa...