Iowa County Supervisors Unanimously Reject Rezoning for Alliant's Proposed Morgan Valley Gas Plant

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The Linn County Board of Supervisors denied a rezoning application for the proposed Morgan Valley Energy Center in a unanimous 3-0 vote last night. Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL), a subsidiary of Alliant Energy, is proposing three single-cycle gas-fired power plants in Linn County.

The Linn County Planning and Zoning Commission met on Monday to discuss a rezoning request for the land where the proposed plant would be located. The Commission deadlocked, with three members voting to deny the rezoning request and three members supporting the request. The Commission did not make a recommendation to rezone the property to the Board of Supervisors.

This was the second meeting where the Planning and Zoning Commission considered the rezoning request.  At the first meeting in September, commissioners raised a number of questions about the gas plant, including how they would obtain the cooling water. IPL was instructed to respond at the second meeting, and then failed to adequately answer questions during that meeting. Furthermore, several of the commissioners expressed concerns that the project did not meet the county’s comprehensive land use plan.

“The county supervisors spoke loudly and clearly about the need to protect Linn County’s land and people from a new methane gas plant. We expect the Iowa Utilities Commission to do the same,” said Pam Mackey-Taylor, Director of the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club.

“We applaud our county supervisors pushing back against a new polluting gas plant,” said Emma Colman, Senior Organizer with the Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign. “Linn County doesn’t need another thirsty gas plant straining our already limited water resources just to feed the demands of a data center. The Sierra Club recently released its annual Dirty Truth Report, revealing how Alliant/IPL is failing to phase out fossil fuels and transition to healthier renewable energy options. This gas plant would be a massive setback for the communities of Linn County.”

IPL still has an application before the Iowa Utilities Commission that will be heard on Dec. 7.

The decision made by the supervisors demonstrates the power of community members organizing in opposition to the requested rezoning and speaking out during public comment periods at county meetings.