Fairfax considers zoning code change as Alliant Energy pursues power plant near The Eastern Iowa Airport

FAIRFAX — The City of Fairfax will consider a change to its zoning code that would provide a path for Alliant Energy to site a gas-fired power plant within city limits, near The Eastern Iowa Airport.

This comes as Alliant Energy has proposed a new plant adjacent to the Travero facility on the south side Fairfax, which is in close proximity to the airport. The proposed facility would be a natural gas fired generation plant with two stacks rising 190 to 250 feet above the ground.

This proposal would construct the plant about four miles from the end of the airport’s main runway, less than three miles from the current secondary runway, and less than two miles from a proposed future third runway.

Chris Phillips, zoning administrator for the City of Fairfax, said the city’s planning and zoning commission will bring its recommendation to change the city’s zoning code to the Fairfax City Council meeting next month.

“In my opinion, it fits within that current ordinance chapter section but again, (Alliant) hasn’t made a proposal yet, so we don't have all the details,” Phillips said Tuesday at a Fairfax City Council meeting.

The proposed ordinance, Phillips said, would change the section of Fairfax’s zoning code related to heavy industrial districts by adding power generating stations to the list of special exceptions that are permitted. To qualify for an exception, the applicant must seek approval from the city’s board of adjustment before taking the rezoning to the planning and zoning commission.

Last week, Phillips told the Cedar Rapids Airport Commission that the City of Fairfax was “blindsided” by the commission’s opposition to Alliant’s proposal to build the plant close to the airport. The commission has requested more say in the decision.

“We were also kind of blindsided by the airport commission wanting to reject (Alliant’s proposal) automatically before the studies are in,” Phillips said at the airport commission’s Aug. 5 meeting. “It does abide by the FAA regulations. … This is an excellent opportunity for Fairfax for economic development.”

But Fairfax Mayor Jo Ann Beer, who also attended the Aug. 5 commission meeting, said the City of Fairfax was “not yet positioned to offer an opinion” on the project.

“The only presentation by Alliant so far has been to our planning and building commission and to a small group of council members and staff. At this point in time, there's no scheduled Alliant presentations (to) the city council. The city council will have the ultimate decision in this process, gathering information and proceeding slowly is of utmost importance to the community of Fairfax,” Beer said last week. “We want to be good partners in all of this and also protect the interests of our community.”

The Airport Commission opposition

Eastern Iowa Airport Director Marty Lenss told the Fairfax City Council on Tuesday that the airport commission is “ready to work collaboratively with whomever to move the project forward, just not at this site.”

Lenss told the council the current proposed location near the Travero site would pose an “unnecessary risk mitigation safety.”

Alliant Energy Senior Project Manager Eric Curtis told the airport commission on Aug. 5 that the proposed facility’s two stacks would connect to a combustion turbine in the facility, and each would produce a plume.

Lenss told the city council the commission is opposed to the facility being built at this particular site because of how it could impact the airport’s operations.

He said the vertical stacks from the facility could produce “upward air velocity,” which could create more turbulent air in the airport’s arrival and departure corridors — which he said are “critical” parts of flight. Depending on weather, Lenss said the plumes might vary if they are visible or not but could also create hazards, like fog.

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Lenss also said that the Federal Aviation Administration — the FAA — will not step in to “be a judge in this process.”

“A lot of people get confused by thinking the FAA will ultimately make a decision whether you can put it here or there. That's not their goal. So they leave local jurisdictions, local communities to protect the public investment of an import through appropriate zoning,” Lenss said. “So, please know the FAA will not come in and take the decision away from us. The decision rests with us and our local zoning ordinances as drafted.”

If the project moves forward at the proposed site near the airport, Lenss said it “will likely be the end of our region's ability to develop the third runway.”

“If we do not protect the investment in the airport, the FAA may view the power plant location as a fatal flaw and not support the construction of this runway through vital FAA grant dollars,” Lenss said. “That alone erases 50 years of work by past community volunteers serving on the airport commission.”

The project’s timeline

Alliant previously told the airport commission it is looking at other locations for the power plant, but declined to identify them.

Curtis said Alliant’s timeline remains “fluid” as the company continues working with stakeholders and completes alternative sites analyses.

In the meantime, the airport commission members agreed to pursue a study looking at the potential impacts of the plant. The study will cost the airport just over $67,000, and will take several months to complete.

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