July News

Protecting Iowa's Environment

• Talking about Summit during RAGBRAI - the RAGBRAI route crossed the Summit carbon pipeline in western Iowa.  So, impacted landowner Weston Grow hosted us at his farm outside Guthrie Center.  And we posted Burma Shave signs to inform the bicyclists.

• Pattison Sand Update - The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently issued a draft permit for Pattison Sand to withdraw water from the Jordan Aquifer with a reduced limit of 2.27 billion gallons per year with a withdrawal only from the Jordan Aquifer.  Further, the permit relies on monitoring wells to flag if the water withdrawals are having an impact on neighboring water levels.  Many questions still remain that must be addressed before any permit is finalized.

• Update on nuclear power in Iowa - 

  • In June, the Iowa Utilities Commission issued a permit for the Duane Arnold nuclear power plant to operate.  The power plant began the decommissioning process in 2020 and has not been operating since then.  The IUC has been asked to reconsider its decision.  

  • NextEra has also applied for a permit to operate with the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, an administrative body within the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.  To date, no power plant that entered into decommissioning and sitting idle has restarted.  

  • The Governor's Nuclear Energy Task Force report has not been issued.  The report is expected to recommend that Iowa go all-in on nuclear power.

  • Nuclear power remains expensive.  It is not renewable since uranium is mined from the earth.  Nuclear power is dangerous, from the radioactive tailings left behind in the mining process to the radioactive spent fuel stored on-site at the power plants.

• Interstate Power and Light (Alliant) wants to build a gas plant in Linn County - Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL) recently applied to the Iowa Utilities Commission for a permit to build a 720-megawatt gas-fired electric power plant in Linn County.  This is a peaker plant and will run when demand for electricity is high.  IPL has been vague about why this new large plant is necessary.  IPL just says it is anticipating load growth.  However, it is likely that the purpose of the plant will be to power data centers since one of the IPL employees blurted that to the Linn County Supervisors.

• REAP assembly meetings - Iowa’s premier funding program for outdoor recreation, conservation and historic preservation will be the focus of several meetings across the state, where Iowans can share ideas and visions for their county and communities.