More Than 749,000 Fish Killed in Montgomery County Fertilizer Spill

Authorities found that the spill occurred because an aboveground storage tank valve was left open for the weekend.

A fish lays dead following a train derailment prompting health concerns in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 20, 2023. Michael Swensen/Getty Images

A fertilizer spill that occurred in Montgomery County, Iowa, on March 11 has led to the deaths of over 749,000 fish in a 50-mile stretch of the East Nishnabotna River to the Missouri border, according to officials.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said it was notified about the spill at the NEW Cooperative facility in Red Oak on March 11, when approximately 1,500 tons of liquid nitrogen fertilizer (32 percent solution) were discharged into a drainage ditch.