Iowa Global Warming

Interstate Power and Light announced Thursday morning that it would cease plans to construct a coal power plant near Marshalltown, IA. A spokesperson cited both the economy and the uncertainty in regards to receiving a permit from the DNR.

“At the end of the day it’s economic condition, uncertainly regarding future regulatory and legislative treatment of environmental issues, meaning greenhouses gases,” said spokesman Ryan Steensland.

The news comes on the heels of LC Power’s decision last month to drop their plans for a coal plant in the Waterloo area. Instead, Steensland says IPL will continue with plans to build a wind plant in northern Iowa.

Great news everyone! Thanks to all of you who wrote letters or signed post cards. This is a huge victory, so feel proud! It looks like a cleaner, more sustainable energy future is coming down the tracks towards Iowa.

Read more here

Just a short note, but we’ve been hearing that today there will be an announcement about the proposed Marshalltown coal plant. Long story short – looks like those smokestacks have collapsed under public scrutiny and their own weight. As we and our partner groups have noted, once the public had time to fully express themselves, and the US EPA started the process toward regulating greenhouse gases in these sorts of proposals, Alliant was going to have to re-evaluate whether it made sense to build coal plants like Marshalltown. And (I hope!) the answer is no. No, it doesn’t make sense to build dirty coal when Iowa is a leader in clean technology. Clearly.

Thank you to everyone who wrote DNR asking for full public comment, wanted to do more, and most importantly GOT INVOLVED! Not to sound redundant, but ‘the action is where the action is’, and if you’re not involved yet then now is the time.

And of course, if the announcement tomorrow is that they’re going to use the ‘power of the word clean’, well… oops, it’s not over yet. We want to keep you ‘plugged in to the new energy’, so I guess we’ve got more to do!

The Iowa City Press Citizen ran a great editorial yesterday written by Mark Kresowik, the national corporate accountability representative for the Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal” Campaign. In it, Mark chronicles some of the trespasses Alliant Energy has undertaken to promote their new plant in Marshalltown, touts aspects of Obama’s new energy plan that will render such projects obsolete, and calls for all of us to take action and tell the DNR what a poorly planned, ill-advised project this is.

Says Mark, “Are we going to sit by and let energy utilities dictate when we take action on global warming for their own selfish purposes? Are we going to let them force a costly, polluting coal plant down our throats instead of creating jobs with the proven, cost-effective, and clean technologies available here and now? The DNR has an obligation to regulate the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. Let’s make sure they do so.”

Read his piece here

Someone should also tell Alliant Energy that its going to be a lot more difficult to run a coal power plant in the near future, anyway.

Thanks to Pam Mackey-Taylor from the Sierra Club for the tip!

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources opened up the requisite thirty-day public comment period for a pending permit to construct a new coal power plant in Marshalltown monday. The current deadline is March 20th, but environmentalists are pushing to have that extended to late May.

Central to the arguments against the plant is the state’s refusal to issue permits regulating fine particles and carbon dioxide. Fine particulate matter is a serious health concern, and carbon dioxide, previously not considerable for regulation under Bush-era policies, is currently being reconsidered by the EPA.

The negative health effects of coal are particularly troubling when considering that more than 500,000 children live within 30 miles of Iowa’s coal power plants.

“Iowa should be doing everything it can to reduce its existing pollution, not allowing another massive and dirty source of harmful soot and smog,” said Pam Mackey-Taylor, who follows energy issues for Sierra.

Read more here

See which public comment meetings are happening near you here

Or, send your thoughts to:

Dave Phelps, Supervisor
Construction Permits Section
Air Quality Bureau
7900 Hickman Road, Suite 1
Urbandale, IA 50322
FAX: (515) 242-5094
Email: dave.phelps@dnr.iowa.gov

Title: An Iowa Activist Evening
Location: Iowa Global Warming Offices, 505 5th Avenue, Suite 333
Link out: Click here
Monday Feb. 23, ELPC’s Iowa Global Warming Campaign, Sierra Club, Iowa IPL, and the Sierra Student Coalition are joining to offer a chance for informed and concerned citizens to take concrete action on the following:

Implementing ICCAC Recommendations
How we can stop the Marshalltown Plant
Send your voice to Washington
Get high speed rail service to Des Moines
Mobilizing Neighborhood Climate Leaders

Screening of \”Fighting Goliath\”
A Short Film about the fight against Coal in Texas

Food and film snacks will be served.
Please RSVP: 515.244.3113

Start Time: 6:00pm
Date: 2009-02-23
End Time: 8:30pm