‘Don’t discount us’: Residents push back against proposed Alliant plant in Fairfax

FAIRFAX — The Fairfax City Council, in a heated meeting Tuesday, approved the first reading of a proposed exception to the city’s industrial zoning code which could provide a path for Alliant Energy to build a new power plant within city limits, while residents expressed concerns over the potential plant.

Alliant Energy has been pursuing its new natural gas power plant in Fairfax in close proximity to The Eastern Iowa Airport, adjacent to the Travero facility on the south side of Fairfax.

The ordinance was approved 3-2 Tuesday, with council members Marianne Wainwright and Dan Wozniak opposing it. If it is approved at two more readings, it would change the portion of Fairfax zoning code related to heavy industrial districts, by adding power generating stations to the list of special exceptions that are permitted.

Fairfax residents who spoke at Tuesday’s city council meeting said they are opposed to construction of the power plant in town, citing concerns about health impacts, possible noise and odors from the plant, aesthetics and how it may affect property values.

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Residents’ concerns

Fairfax resident Rita Nierling, a second grade teacher at Prairie Hill Elementary, told the city council she’s concerned about environmental impacts and possible emissions from the proposed plant.

“Our whole curriculum focuses on the environment, so I preach this stuff, and here it's actually happening in our community where my students live, and it's going to affect all of us,” Nierling said.

She added that there is a reason why zoning of the land proposed for the plant does not currently allow for the construction of power plants like the one Alliant may build.

“There's no reason to make an exception for a power plant,” she said. “The special election to vote on the exception for a power plant would hurt our health, our safety and our peace of mind.”

Another Fairfax resident, Torrie Lewis, asked the council why the city’s code of ordinances does not currently allow power plants and why Alliant’s proposed plant would be an exception. Council members did not explicitly answer.

Over the recent Labor Day weekend, Lewis said she and her family drove to Alliant’s Marshalltown power plant, which is similar to the plant the company is proposing to build in Fairfax.

Standing outside the Marshalltown facility, Lewis said she heard “loud mechanical noises,” constant “high-pitched, loud, humming” sounds and saw vultures circling the facility’s stacks as exhaust was filtering out of the facility.

City council members — Wainwright, Wozniak, Michael Daly, Tom Nurre and Nick Volk — said there have been several tours of the Marshalltown plant with Alliant, some of which they have been on.

When he was touring the Marshalltown plant, Nurre said there was “no smoke and noise.”

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Larry Harder, senior technical analysis manager at Alliant Energy, was in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting. He said “there certainly will be some noise generation” in the plant from large rotating equipment, which happens when air is moving.

Lewis said she also is concerned about the potential health risks that could come with building a plant in Fairfax.

“A power plant would be detrimental to the aesthetics, cleanliness and safety of our city,” Lewis said. “As you consider the exception proposal that could pave the way for a power plant near Old Fairfax, a close residential area, I urge you to take a step back and ask, ‘Have we done enough to understand the risks? Have we requested an independent health impact assessment, and have we truly listened to the people who live, work and raise families here?’”

Nierling and Lewis said they each have started petitions to oppose construction of the power plant. As of the Tuesday meeting, Lewis said her petition had about 120 signatures and Nierling said she had collected about 50.

Fairfax City Clerk and Treasurer Cynthia Stimson said the city currently generates about $11,211 in utility excise taxes — indirect taxes on specific utilities services — per fiscal year.

In comparison, Stimson said the City of Marshalltown brings in about $1.6 million in utility excise taxes annually.

Stimson said she doesn’t know how much of that revenue is from the Alliant plant alone in Marshalltown and said it’s “probably a mixture,” but she added the two cities’ tax revenues have “quite a bit of difference.”

Council member Michael Daly said the tax revenue from the plant could help fund a police department, or build additional baseball fields in the city.

Fairfax resident Cindy Anderson said there’s a reason the city does not currently have heavy industrial districts, and that’s because it’s not been something the community “wanted or needed.”

“I just encourage all of you to not let that $1.6 million — or whatever the number is going to be — guide and be your only basis for allowing something like that here,” Anderson said. “I encourage you, don’t discount us.“

Objections from the airport

Since July, the Cedar Rapids Airport Commission, Eastern Iowa Airport Director Marty Lenss and pilots in the area have voiced concern about the proposed location of the Alliant plant, which would be located northwest of the airport.

If the company moves forward with its plans for the Fairfax location and Alliant formally requests to build there, Lenss said Tuesday that “the airport will be negatively impacted.”

Specifically, Lenss and the Airport Commission have pointed to the plumes the facility could create from its two stacks ranging from 190 to 250 feet tall.

Lenss previously said that the plumes could cause “real safety of flight issues” as they could be present during a flight’s critical departure and landing time.

“Siting a power plant at the proposed location is not compatible with the current and future operations, and the airport is asking that the site be removed from further consideration,” Lenss said at an Airport Commission meeting in early August. “The airport is ready to assist and work with Alliant to determine alternative sites that would be compatible with airport operations and really flip the script on this and make it a ‘win-win’ solution.”

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At a July Airport Commission meeting that was attended by representatives from Alliant Energy and the City of Fairfax, including Fairfax Mayor Jo Ann Beer, the commission announced that the airport would be commissioning a study to look at the airport’s development plan — which includes a potential third runway — and how it would be affected by a power plant in close proximity.

The study is looking at “everything from pipes to plumes,” Lenss said. He said the study could be published this week.

Harder said cooling towers in facilities like the one Alliant is proposing to build can often create a plume from water vapor coming out of the stacks.

He said a visible plume would likely be dependent on the time of year. For example, he said during the spring and summer, plumes would not be as visible. But during winter and colder months, a plume from water vapor could be seen.

Lenss said that in colder months water vapor can affect the airport’s operations leading them to be “fogged in” and temporarily shutdown.

He said that has happened before with the ADM plant in southwest Cedar Rapids.

Lenss said every time the airport has to treat a runway for ice, it is an “$8,000 decision.”

About Alliant’s plant proposal

Alliant has said that it still is exploring other site locations for the project, but it intends to file a request with Iowa regulators in October.

In his presentation to the city council on Tuesday, Harder said Alliant is looking to start permitting and designing the plant in 2026, construct the facility starting in 2027 and have the plant operational by 2030.

Harder said the plant would have a 30-year life span.

Alliant is planning the plant to be a combined cycle facility, meaning it would use both natural gas and steam to generate electricity.

Harder said it will be a “two-in-one” facility with two combustion engines.

In addition to the plant in Marshalltown, Harder said there is one other facility like it in Iowa, located in Mason City.

Harder said the Fairfax facility, if built, will be more efficient than the other two combustion facilities due to advancements in technology.

Olivia Cohen covers energy and environment for The Gazette and is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. She is also a contributing writer for the Ag and Water Desk, an independent journalism collaborative focusing on the Mississippi River Basin.

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Comments: olivia.cohen@thegazette.com