Iowa · Code §558.69Iowa groundwater hazard statement: what it covers and what goes on the deed instead

Iowa ties an environmental disclosure to recording. With each declaration of value submitted to the county recorder under chapter 428A, a groundwater hazard statement must be submitted stating whether there is any known private burial site, known well (with its location and status), known solid waste disposal site deemed potentially hazardous, known underground storage tank (type, size and contents), known hazardous waste, and known private sewage disposal system – and, for a septic system, that it has been inspected under §455B.172(11) or that the transfer is exempt (Iowa Code §558.69(1)). The statement is signed by at least one seller or the seller's agent, and the seller gives the buyer a copy (§558.69(2)–(3)). If none of those conditions is present, no statement is submitted; instead the first page of the deed must include the statutory sentence that there is no known private burial site, well, solid waste disposal site, underground storage tank, hazardous waste or private sewage disposal system on the property and the transaction is exempt (§558.69(8)). If neither the statement nor that sentence is there, the county recorder must refuse to record the deed – though a recording in violation doesn't invalidate it (§558.69(9)). The owner is responsible for the accuracy of the information; the agent and preparer aren't liable unless they have direct knowledge to the contrary (§558.69(7)). The recorder charges no fee for the statement (§558.69(10)). The declaration of value itself is signed by a seller or buyer or their agent (§428A.1(2)).