1 STATE OF IOWA DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE UTILITIES DIVISION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x IN RE: : : : DOCKET NO. GCU-07-1 APPLICATION OF INTERSTATE POWER: AND LIGHT COMPANY FOR A : VOLUME I GENERATING FACILITY CITING : CERTIFICATE : - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x Iowa Veterans Home Whitehall Auditorium 1301 Summit Street Marshalltown, Iowa Monday, January 14, 2008 Met, pursuant to notice, at 10:00 a.m. BEFORE: THE IOWA UTILITIES BOARD JOHN R. NORRIS, Chairperson KRISTA K. TANNER, Board Member DARRELL HANSON, Board Member (Pages 1 through 340) EDIE SPRIGGS DANIELS - CERTIFIED SHORTHAND REPORTER PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 2 1 APPEARANCES: 2 For IPL: KENT RAGSDALE, ESQ. PAULA JOHNSON, ESQ. 3 200 First Street SE P.O. Box 351 4 Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52406 5 For the Coalition: CARRIE LA SEUR, ESQ. 6 JANA LINDERMAN, ESQ. Plains Justice 7 100 First Street SW Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52403 8 9 For CIPCO and Corn Belt: JOHN WARD, ESQ. MICHAEL P. JOYNT, ESQ. 10 DENNIS PUCKETT, ESQ. Sullivan & Ward, P.C. 11 6601 Westown Parkway Suite 200 12 West Des Moines, Iowa 50266 13 For the Office of BEN STEAD, ESQ. Consumer Advocate: JENNIFER EASLER, ESQ. 14 Office of Consumer Advocate Iowa Department of Justice 15 310 Maple Street Des Moines, Iowa 50319 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 3 1 I N D E X 2 WITNESS DIRECT CROSS REDIRECT RECROSS BOARD 3 Consumer Comments - pages 1 through 102 4 For IPL: 5 Jeffery J. Beer 112 142 176 166 (Stead) 6 144 7 (La Seur) 8 175 (Stead) 9 Daniel Otto 177 184 198 202 197 10 (Easler) (Easler) 11 188 (La Seur) 12 Larry Harder 208 226 234 235 230 13 (Linderman) (Easler) 14 236 (Linderman) 15 Andrew Byers 239 257 259 16 (La Seur) 17 Andrew Byers (Recalled) 334 18 Randy Bauer 263 302 (Stead) 19 310 20 (Easler) 21 314 (La Seur) 22 23 24 25 PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 4 1 E X H I B I T S 2 IPL EXHIBITS MARKED OFFERED 3 1 and 2 114 4 3 178 5 4 209 6 6 and 7 239 7 8 and 9 266 8 21 199 200 9 22 200 201 10 23 200 202 11 24 264 12 OCA EXHIBITS: 13 115 - 117 144 14 118 175 176 15 119 306 310 16 120 311 311 17 121 312 314 18 PRODUCTION REQUESTS: PAGE LINE 19 259 4 20 21 22 23 24 25 PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 5 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: Good morning. The Iowa 3 Utilities Board is now in session. I am John Norris, 4 and with me today are Board Members Krista Tanner and 5 Darrell Hanson. 6 This is the time set for hearing in 7 Interstate Power and Light's application for a 8 generation siting certificate in Marshalltown, Iowa, 9 Docket No. GCU-07-1. 10 In this docket, Interstate Power and Light 11 Company is proposing to build a 630-megawatt coal- 12 fired power plant. 13 The purpose of today's hearing is to allow 14 cross-examination of all testimony filed in this 15 proceeding. 16 Today's cross-examination may at times 17 involve discussion of issues required by state or 18 federal law to be kept confidential. We understand 19 that counsel for Interstate Power, Corn Belt, and 20 CIPCO, Consumer Advocate, and Plains Justice are 21 aware of this possibility. 22 Counsel for the party who asks that the 23 information be held confidential must request a 24 closed session if a matter which has previously been 25 determined to be confidential is implicated by a line PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 6 1 of questions. 2 Let me just cover a few housekeeping items 3 for you as well since we have a large crowd here. 4 First of all, the emergency exits are 5 located at the rear of the auditorium in the center 6 and to my right. Also, there is an emergency exit to 7 our left behind the curtain, if you can get through 8 there. 9 The restrooms, there are very small 10 restrooms. They're located in the rear of the 11 auditorium. Larger restrooms are available just 12 across the street in the DACK building just inside 13 the entrance opposite of this building. 14 We would like to welcome the public to this 15 hearing this morning. 16 Typically, the Iowa Utilities Board hearings 17 are exclusively for the parties to present their 18 cases and for the parties and the Board Members to 19 question the witnesses. There is generally no 20 opportunity for the general public to speak. 21 However, in light of the public interest in this 22 matter, we, the Board, have decided that it is in the 23 public interest in this matter to allow the first two 24 hours of this hearing to be for public comment. 25 As you all probably noticed on your way in PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 7 1 the building you were greeted and handed a card. 2 This is the card you were handed. These cards are 3 for you if you would like to comment this morning. 4 Please fill out the card and hand them to 5 the Iowa Utilities Board staff member, Teresa, 6 sitting right in front here, as you come to the 7 microphone. 8 We have set up two microphones today, one on 9 your left and one on your right, and the microphone 10 on the left side is for the proponents of Interstate 11 Power and Light's proposed plant, which means you are 12 in favor of the plant being built. The microphone on 13 your left is for the opponents of Interstate Power 14 and Light's proposed plant, which means you are 15 against the plant being built. 16 Each public comment speaker will be allowed 17 two minutes today, and we will alternate pro and con 18 through that process. 19 There will be a timer in front of you, and 20 you will be asked to please respect the timer and 21 conclude your statement when the timer indicates 22 that--or flashes that your time is up. If you're in 23 the middle of a sentence, please finish your 24 sentence, but we ask that you not start a new line of 25 thought once the timer goes off or your two minutes PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 8 1 is up. 2 After we receive the public comments, we 3 will take appearances from the parties, which we're 4 allowing two hours of pro and con comments from the 5 public, which likely gets us to lunchtime. We'll 6 break and come back and start with the introduction 7 and recognition of counsel here for the various 8 parties and begin the cross-examination of the 9 prefiled testimony. 10 So I hope that answers any questions you 11 have out there. We appreciate everyone's involvement 12 today, and I think now we are ready to begin with the 13 public comment in this proceeding. 14 Let me-- Okay. And I believe this will be 15 Mayor Gene Beach. 16 MR. BEACH: That's correct, sir. 17 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: Mayor Beach is on the 18 microphone for those people who are in favor of the 19 plant, and again this microphone on your left is for 20 those who are opposed to the plant being built, so 21 you're welcome to line up, and we'll recognize 22 Mayor Gene Beach as the first speaker in this 23 morning's public comment session. 24 MR. BEACH: Thank you. 25 I am Gene Beach, and I'm mayor of PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 9 1 Marshalltown, and it's my pleasure to welcome you, 2 the Iowa Utilities Board, and all of the other 3 participants in this hearing to Marshalltown. 4 I hope you'll have the opportunity to take 5 advantage of our city and its many amenities, and as 6 you drive around, I'm certain that you will see lots 7 of signs of support for the Alliant plant that is 8 proposed. 9 Alliant has been a very good neighbor for 10 Marshalltown since it started producing electricity 11 from coal in the mid-1950s, and since that time, 12 they've been generating 148 megawatts of energy in a 13 clean and responsible manner. 14 The citizens of Marshalltown just take it 15 for granted that the plant is there and that our 16 electricity will be there when they flip on the 17 switch. 18 They designed and proposed a plant to be the 19 cleanest and most efficient built in Iowa, and maybe 20 the United States. They proposed to generate, as you 21 say, 630 megawatts of power, with even fewer 22 emissions than the current plant. That's why I would 23 think that the environmentalists would want this 24 plant built since it produces many times more 25 megawatts of power more efficiently and in a more PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 10 1 environmentally friendly manner than ever before. 2 The plant will, of course, have great 3 economic impact to our community, but the plant, 4 however, will also produce energy for the economic 5 betterment not just of our city, but the county, our 6 region, and the State of Iowa because the energy 7 produced by this plant will be used here in Iowa. 8 So once again, welcome to Marshalltown to 9 all of you, and I ask that you permit Alliant to 10 build the proposed baseload plant here in 11 Marshalltown. 12 Thank you very much. 13 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: I may not have said 14 this, but will you please state your name for the 15 court reporter, on the record, when you come up to 16 speak? Thank you. 17 MS. STEWART: Mary Stewart, S-t-e-w-a-r-t. 18 It has been several weeks since I've been 19 able to draw a deep breath. Asthma and bronchitis 20 have been my constant companions. Careless, short- 21 sighted choices regarding home testing for radon and 22 lack of ventilation when using strong solvents have 23 left me with permanent lung damage. 24 Now you are asked to make a choice, a choice 25 which will affect generations to come. Should a new PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 11 1 gigantic state-of-the-art coal-fired energy plant be 2 constructed in our area? New techniques for cleaning 3 the coal will be in place, but coal will always be 4 dirty. 5 Additional air pollutants connected to the 6 operation of the plant will affect the quality of the 7 air we breathe in this community and beyond. 8 I read the good letters recommending that 9 the plant be built in the Times Republican yesterday. 10 None suggested that the economic health of this 11 community should take precedence over the physical 12 health of its residents. 13 The carbon tax which will be imposed by the 14 government because of the carbon emission wasn't 15 mentioned. Neither was it mentioned that this tax 16 will be passed on to the consumer. 17 In truth, we can live without a new 18 coal-fired energy plant. Can we live with it? 19 Alliant has worked to help us conserve 20 energy in the past, and I have faith it will continue 21 to reward energy conservation in the future, 22 regardless of the decisions made here. 23 I offer my shortsighted choices and their 24 long-lasting consequences as one example of the 25 importance of the decision being made here. PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 12 1 May this debate impact every Central Iowa 2 resident with the will to become a part of the 3 solution to energy conservation, and thus ensure that 4 health, well-being, and environmental sustainability 5 become the bottom line for future generations. 6 I thank you. 7 MR. SMITH: I'm State Representative Mark Smith, 8 and I first want to thank you, Members of the 9 Utilities Board, for holding this hearing here in 10 Marshalltown and to welcome you to my district and to 11 this outstanding facility, the Iowa Veterans Home. 12 Chairperson Norris, Board Members Tanner and 13 Hanson, I support the proposed Alliant Energy 14 Sutherland Station Unit 4 coal-fired power plant and 15 ask that the Iowa Utilities Board allow this proposal 16 to go forward. 17 There are four reasons for my support: 18 First of all, Alliant Energy has been 19 aggressively pursuing conservation and alternatives 20 before this expansion. 21 Second of all, Alliant and its partners will 22 be using this plant to provide power to Iowa 23 customers statewide and reduce dependence on older, 24 outdated facilities. 25 Third, the plant is designed to take PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 13 1 advantage of emerging technologies to deal with 2 emissions and other environmental concerns. 3 And finally, this provides the opportunity 4 to my community, a catalyst to pursue emerging clean 5 industry jobs that are badly needed in this 6 community. 7 Now, I make these statements to you, as a 8 Utilities Board, as a legislator with a strong record 9 of support of laws to protect our environment. I 10 support the project because I think it's part of the 11 transition of Iowa's power from what we've been using 12 in power to alternative sources of power. 13 I believe our efforts to make Iowa a green 14 state are indeed paying off. To be a green state, we 15 need to increase our baseload power capacity to fuel 16 that transition. 17 I have analyzed what Alliant is doing in 18 preparation to bring this plant online. The plant 19 will be the cleanest built in Iowa by using new 20 technologies. The replacement of power generation 21 from older plants with this new plant will continue 22 to improve our overall emissions in our state. 23 Thank you for the opportunity to address 24 you. 25 MR. HELGEN: Good morning, Chairman Norris, PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 14 1 Mr. Hanson, Ms. Tanner. My name is Bill Helgen. 2 I would like to present this morning a 3 petition, and I'll just read part of the cover 4 letter, and then I'll hand this in. 5 "Attached is the petition of 180 people 6 opposed to the construction of a coal-fired electric 7 plant in Marshalltown, Iowa. The petition is based 8 on the fact that Alliant's proposal does not account 9 for the huge health and environmental costs that the 10 plant would create for the residents of Iowa and the 11 planet. If these costs were to be factored in, the 12 proposal would neither be the least cost nor the most 13 desirable method of power production." 14 The petition reads: 15 "We, the people of Central Iowa, value this 16 area because it is a relatively clean and safe place 17 to raise our children. We value the fact that our 18 local utilities are beginning to invest in energy 19 efficiency and renewable energy. 20 "We feel that the location of a large new 21 coal-fired power plant in Marshalltown has risks that 22 outweigh the benefits and is not in keeping with what 23 we value about living in Central Iowa. Building a 24 coal-fired plant at this time will only substitute 25 short-term profits for long-term planning. PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 15 1 "We have questions about effects that the 2 proposed plant will have on the health of our 3 children, our seniors, and our communities. We have 4 questions about the impact on air and water quality. 5 We are concerned about contributing to global warming 6 and the well-being of future communities. 7 "We cannot afford to support the growth of a 8 Nineteenth Century industry that produces greenhouse 9 gases and toxic air pollutants that contribute the 10 irreparable harm to our climate and jeopardize public 11 health. We would prefer the economic benefits of 12 energy efficiency and a cleaner way to produce 13 power." 14 One-hundred-eighty people, representing 39 15 communities in Iowa, have signed this petition. The 16 signatures were all obtained voluntarily. 17 We ask that you take this petition at face 18 value, the collective voice of 180 people opposed to 19 the construction of a coal-fired power plant in 20 Marshalltown, and deny a construction permit. 21 And there's some other methodology and 22 documentation on that. 23 Thank you. 24 MR. McKIBBEN: Mr. Chairman, members of the 25 Board, I'm State Senator Larry McKibben from PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 16 1 Marshalltown. Thank you for coming today. 2 I'm very pleased to be here to have just a 3 brief conversation with you about what's going on in 4 Marshall and Hardin County, which I represent. 5 Wednesday I went up to a forum which we 6 have, before we go into legislative session, 7 throughout our communities. We had this up in Iowa 8 Falls, so I drive up the back way. I go up through 9 Wellsburg and I go by Steamboat Rock, and I go by 10 Pine Lake Corn Processors, processing ethanol for the 11 future to reduce our dependence on oil. 12 I drive into Iowa Falls, and I drive by 13 Hawkeye Renewables, doing exactly the same thing. 14 I drive a bit further into Iowa Falls, and I 15 drive by Cargill's soy diesel plant, all of which 16 need the energy that is provided by our plant right 17 here in Marshalltown. 18 This plant has been here since I was a kid. 19 Every time I would get up on a cold morning like this 20 morning and see that plant, I knew I had security and 21 safety, and I knew my home was going to be warm, and 22 I knew I had electricity. I knew my uncles that went 23 to work at Lennox on the factory line had jobs that 24 they could count on because there was energy there to 25 produce those furnaces and air conditioners. I knew PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 17 1 that the friends of mine that worked at Fisher 2 Controls had jobs and that they were dependable. 3 I applaud Alliant for doing the work that 4 they're doing here in creating wind energy in the 5 western part of Marshall County and into Story County 6 and up into Hardin County and Franklin County, wind 7 generators, a hundred that are going to be installed 8 there in the next year. 9 This is part of the baseload. This is part 10 of how we keep and provide the transition to the 11 energy of the future. 12 We have to have secure baseload. We have to 13 allow our Iowa energy facilities to function, and 14 they need energy. We have to cut down the number of 15 ships coming through the Straits of Hormuz bringing 16 oil into this country. It's part of an entire cycle. 17 I applaud Alliant for doing this. I 18 applaud them for using the corn stover that we 19 produce and the biomass that we produce. This is 20 important to Iowans, and my constituents 21 overwhelmingly support this project, as do I. 22 Thank you for coming. 23 MS. HOLVIK: Good morning. I'm Linda Holvik 24 from Marshalltown. I have a letter from Sally Wilson, 25 Associate Professor of Biology at Marshalltown PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 18 1 Community College, which I'm reading on her behalf: 2 "Dear Iowa Utilities Board Members, 3 "I oppose construction of a coal plant in 4 Marshalltown for many reasons, but the most important 5 are its impacts on human health and the environment, 6 especially the massive amounts of greenhouse gases 7 that will be contributing to global warming. Also, I 8 believe pursuing greener technology, such as wind, 9 solar, biomass, and others, will bring greater 10 economic development to our community than this plant 11 will. 12 I believe this is being rushed through 13 because of current and imminent legislation, and feel 14 we would be better served to invest in helping our 15 community cut energy consumption and reduce energy 16 demand long enough to allow more thorough research 17 into better, cleaner, healthier energy alternatives. 18 "Even the officials from Alliant and 19 Interstate Power and Light publicly stated multiple 20 times last spring that investing in currently 21 existing energy efficiencies at both the user and 22 provider ends would be the most cost-effective 23 solution to meeting energy demand. 24 "I'm a professional educator in our 25 community and am willing to donate time, money, and PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 19 1 energy toward educating our community members on how 2 and why we all need to conserve energy so we can 3 delay the construction of a power plant until our 4 most environmentally and economically beneficial 5 solution can be developed. 6 "As I have spoken with students and other 7 community members, I find people very willing to 8 conserve, to save themselves money and to protect the 9 long-term health of our environment. 10 "Please do not permit the construction of 11 this plant until the problem of meeting energy 12 demands in Iowa has been looked at more thoroughly by 13 more Iowans. More of us need a chance to have input 14 into resolving this problem. I would like to see 15 more community members than just those concerned 16 about economic development be included in addressing 17 this problem. 18 "I have resources that I would like to see 19 brought to the table to aid in finding green 20 solutions to our energy needs. 21 "I do not think this project and its impacts 22 have been analyzed thoroughly enough, taking both the 23 environmental and health impacts into consideration, 24 and respectfully request this construction be 25 postponed until a better alternative can be found and PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 20 1 new technologies to offer us better, greener, cleaner 2 solutions. 3 "Thank you." 4 MR. PUTNEY: Mr. Chairman, Members of the 5 Board, I'm Senator John Putney from Gladbrook. I 6 represent District 20, which consists of Tama, 7 Grundy, Benton, and part of Iowa counties, and I'm 8 here today to voice the overwhelming support of my 9 constituency for the proposed Sutherland Generating 10 Station Unit 4. 11 For more than a year there has been a debate 12 and many questions about how Iowa can balance the 13 need to strengthen the economy while improving the 14 environment. 15 Alliant Energy is providing innovative 16 answers on how best to balance this equation with 17 their focus on energy efficiency, renewable energy, 18 and long-term generation initiatives, which includes 19 the proposed Sutherland Unit 4. 20 Economic development in Iowa will not 21 succeed if we are not prepared to meet the growing 22 demand for safe and reliable energy. 23 To attract business and industry and provide 24 more jobs, Marshalltown and the entire State of Iowa 25 needs this facility to ensure stable and reliable PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 21 1 energy requirements to meet the growing power 2 demands. 3 If Iowa truly wants to become the renewable 4 energy capital of the nation, we must support 5 proposals and projects such as Sutherland Unit 4. 6 Recently, there have been many exciting 7 announcements from companies who plan to expand our 8 sources of renewable energy in the state, including 9 Alliant Energy's wind farms. However, the companies 10 that produce these renewable sources of energy also 11 need reliable power to do so. 12 Without an adequate power supply, companies 13 such as TPI Composites in Newton will not look to 14 build or expand their operations in Iowa. As you 15 know, the 500 jobs TPI plans to add back into the 16 community are crucial at this time. 17 Sutherland Unit 4 will provide a clean coal 18 source of energy to nearly all of Iowa's counties and 19 will provide needed tax revenues to the communities 20 and school districts in this area. 21 Alliant Energy and its joint partners have 22 been important and responsible corporate citizens in 23 Iowa for over 100 years. 24 This project would bring millions to the 25 region, which is vital to keeping our rural cities PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 22 1 and towns prosperous and growing. 2 I urge you to support Alliant Energy's 3 proposal to build Sutherland Unit 4, and thank you 4 for your consideration. 5 MR. RUNQUIST: Good morning. My name is 6 Mark Runquist, and I live in rural Marshalltown, and 7 I would like to thank the Board for hearing comments 8 this morning. 9 I would like to address the Board concerning 10 the management of the coal plant and the financial 11 risk to the consumers. 12 Quite frankly, it seems like Alliant does 13 not have a very long attention span. Less than two 14 years ago they sold the Duane Arnold power plant to 15 FPL Energy. In the last few months they received 16 permission to sell their power transmission grid to 17 ITC Holdings. I do not understand why a company with 18 the mentality of a day trader would be granted a 19 permit to construct a generating facility shortly 20 after they've sold one. 21 In the current environment, coal-fired 22 plants are now risky enterprises. According to the 23 U.S. DOE, utilities have canceled 14,000 megawatts 24 and delayed an additional 32,000. This is mainly due 25 to properly managing risk. PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 23 1 Environmental and political pressures make 2 construction of coal-fired power plants risky 3 business. Governor Chet Culver recently signed a 4 regional accord agreeing to lower global warming 5 pollution by 60 to 80 percent by the year 2050. 6 Adding new coal plants contradicts this policy. 7 I'm afraid the management of this company 8 will not have the attention span to manage the risk. 9 I'm worried that Alliant will continue to flip its 10 assets like the recent sale of its generating plant, 11 and it is not unlikely that future mandates will 12 require complete carbon capture from coal-fired 13 plants. Alliant management should be fully aware of 14 and financially responsible for this risk. Alliant 15 plans to benefit financially by the operation of this 16 plant. They should also assume the risk. 17 I urge the Board to make Alliant bear the 18 risk. In other words, if two, five, or 10 years from 19 now complete carbon capture is required, it should be 20 the management and stockholders, not the consumers, 21 that bear the cost. It is not fair for the 22 management and stockholders of Alliant Energy to 23 assume all the benefits and have consumers assume the 24 risk. 25 Therefore, should the permit be granted, it PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 24 1 should only be granted under the condition that any 2 future carbon or pollution controls costs be borne 3 directly by the stockholders, not added to the rate 4 structure. 5 It is the duty of the Board to safeguard the 6 public interest, not to guarantee a risk-free 7 investment for the management and stockholders of a 8 private company. 9 Thank you. 10 MS. MAXWELL: Good morning. Welcome to 11 Marshalltown. 12 I am newly elected city council member 13 Andrea Maxwell, and I strongly support Interstate 14 Power and Light and their partners for Generating 15 Station Unit 4. I'm thrilled they've chosen 16 Marshalltown. 17 During my campaign, I vocally supported this 18 power plant and was elected with two-thirds of the 19 vote. 20 With consideration for our current energy 21 technology, the environment, and our economy, I 22 unequivocally and respectfully urge the Iowa 23 Utilities Board to approve this plant. 24 When we have the technology to produce four 25 times the energy as our current plant with fewer PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 25 1 emissions, why not take it? When we can stop taxing 2 our aging, less efficient plants by using the best 3 technology that exists, why not do it? 4 Our state leadership has voiced their 5 support of ethanol and biofuel plants. These use a 6 lot of power. Wind and solar are successful 7 supplements, and Alliant has committed to investing 8 in wind power. But is this more dependable? Is it 9 more affordable? Is it sufficient? Alliant is 10 trying to do their job to provide affordable, 11 dependable, and sufficient power for Iowans today and 12 for Iowa's future. 13 I've heard the statement that through 14 conservation, Alliant can cut demand X percent, but 15 Alliant can't cut demand, only we can, and, yes, we 16 all should conserve, but are we willing to tell our 17 schools, our universities, our libraries, our 18 hospitals, our veterans homes, our businesses that 19 they can't expand, that no new ones are welcome 20 because we don't have a dependable, affordable, 21 sufficient power supply? 22 Thank you for your time. 23 MS. WANATEE: My name is Dawn Suzann Wanatee, 24 and I'm from the Meskawkie Indian settlement. 25 I'm a native Iowan, and I live a few miles PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 26 1 down river. Both my parents were born in Iowa and 2 live here. All of my grandparents were born in Iowa 3 and are buried in Iowa, as are all my great- 4 grandparents. I'm the product of everything they 5 ate, breathed, drank, believed, accomplished, and 6 failed at. Even in death, they all continue to 7 affect my life in many ways. I have no doubt that I 8 will live the rest of my life in Iowa and then die, 9 too, from something, and be buried one mile from the 10 house I live in now. I have no second home, no other 11 homeland, and no backup plans if things don't work 12 out here. I'm not lost or alienated or searching for 13 a different life. I'm not going anywhere, no matter 14 what. 15 The idea that pollutants and combustion 16 wastes created by coal plants can be captured, 17 sequestered, somehow rendered harmless or 18 inconsequential is a lie. There is no such thing as 19 clean coal technology, either now or in the future, 20 because matter just doesn't disappear. Every speck, 21 every ounce, every pound of coal by-products must go 22 somewhere. The notion that it is acceptable to 23 intentionally create a problem and hope in the future 24 to find a solution is reminiscent of past, 25 shortsighted atrocities committed in the name of PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 27 1 progress and profit. 2 Coal emissions, combustion wastes, and 3 transport all produce contaminants that live on in 4 the air, water, and soil a lot longer than what was 5 previously thought. Lead toxins last 35,000 years. 6 To put that in perspective, 35,000 years ago was a 7 couple of ice ages back. 8 The present Marshalltown coal plant produced 9 496 pounds of lead in a single year according to the 10 EPA Toxic Release Report for 2005. Interstate Power 11 and Light, the plant's parent from Wisconsin, must 12 have found that amount to be acceptable because they 13 want permission to make more. 14 History has shown mankind doesn't 15 necessarily have to want to harm future generations 16 in order to actually succeed in doing so, but if we 17 don't stop knowingly poisoning their world, they'll 18 surely conclude either we meant to or didn't care 19 enough to do any different, and that would become our 20 terrible contribution to Iowa's legacy. 21 I do not support another coal plant. 22 Thank you. 23 MR. WENNER: Good morning, Mr. Chairman and 24 Fellow Board Members. 25 My name is Bob Wenner. I'm on the PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 28 1 Marshalltown City Council. I do not have a prepared 2 statement. You're going to hear plenty of those 3 before and after me. 4 I would like to bring a picture to what this 5 power plant will bring to you, and that is six 6 people: Their names are Alisha, Breanna, Caitlyn, 7 Bradi, James, and Matthew. They are my 8 grandchildren. They are the future of Iowa. 9 This will provide an economic stable base 10 for them to be able to pursue their future education 11 and careers here in the State of Iowa. For that 12 reason, I ask that you consider approving this power 13 plant. 14 I realize that there will be issues about 15 health concerns that this power plant may give. Keep 16 in mind, of course, that the Alliant Energy people 17 who are building this also have families in this 18 state. I can't imagine them putting up a power plant 19 that is going to harm their loved ones also. 20 This is short and sweet. I want to thank 21 you, and welcome to Marshalltown. 22 MS. SACK: Good morning, Members of the 23 Utilities Board, Chairman Norris, Ms. Tanner, 24 Mr. Hanson. 25 I'm Renata Sack from Waterloo, Iowa. I'm PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 29 1 deeply concerned about the issue before you, the 2 proposal of Alliant Energy to build a coal-fired 3 power generating plant near Marshalltown. 4 To build this plant would be a travesty to 5 our state and the environment of our planet. 6 We have learned from the international 7 science community that global warming is looming 8 before us, and that it is heavily impacted by the 9 release of CO2 into the atmosphere. 10 Furthermore, this plant would produce tons 11 of waste of particulate matter, fly ash laced with 12 heavy metals and mercury, severely poisoning our air 13 and water and soil. 14 The costs we will incur to the health of the 15 citizens of Iowa will surpass any so-called economic 16 benefit. 17 Please encourage energy production through 18 renewable resources such as wind, sun, geothermal, 19 biomass, and efficiency. 20 Please make far-sighted additions, availing 21 yourselves of 21st Century knowledge and technology, 22 and do not allow old and antiquated methods of 23 producing electricity to prevail. 24 I urge you to heed your mission of providing 25 services in a safe, reliable, and environmentally PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 30 1 responsible manner. 2 Renewable energy can provide a major 3 economic presence in Iowa. In Germany alone, a 4 country with little sunshine, 150,000 new jobs have 5 been created through solar energy. 6 Please safeguard the future of Iowa with a 7 decision that will help conserve and heal Iowa's 8 water, soil, and air. 9 I would also like to ask you to read the 10 attached report by Dr. William Sigliani commissioned 11 by the Black Hawk County Board of Health, and I sent 12 it to you per e-mail. 13 Thank you very much for your time and your 14 work. 15 MR. FICHTNER: My name is Royce Fichtner. 16 I'm the Marshall County engineer, and I'm here to 17 represent the Marshall County Board of Supervisors. 18 My real task in life is to take care of the 19 highways, but highways are very similar to what we're 20 looking at here in this utility structure. I not 21 only have to look at today's needs, but I have to 22 look at the future needs. I have to plan for that 23 future, even though the public might not be planning 24 for it at the time. 25 The power company is very similar. They not PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 31 1 only have to furnish power for today's needs, but 2 they have to furnish what's going to be there in the 3 future. 4 What are our needs going to be in the 5 future? We're all aware of how long this plant will 6 take to construct. Anybody that moves into town or 7 moves in and needs power wants it now. They don't 8 want to wait five years. 9 Also, in order to do that, they must build 10 an efficient plant. 11 As an engineer, I've been very impressed 12 with the plans that Alliant has put forth for this 13 plant. Not only is it built for today's technology, 14 it's built to allow the future technology. It's 15 just not being constructed to run on coal. It's 16 allowing for future uses of stovers, and so forth. 17 I hope that you grant this approval so that 18 I can feel rest assured that just like we'll have 19 highways in the future, we'll also have power in the 20 future. 21 Marshalltown supports this plant, needs this 22 plant. Iowa needs this plant. 23 Thank you for your time. 24 MS. HELGEN: My name is Irlanda Helgen from 25 Marshalltown, Iowa, and I want to thank Chairman Hanson, PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 32 1 Mr. Norris, Ms. Tanner for being here today. 2 You do have an incredible responsibility. I 3 am very glad not to be in your position because you 4 have the opportunity to make a decision that is going 5 to impact not only the life of the people in 6 Marshall County and surrounding communities, but also 7 the State of Iowa. 8 I am retired now. I am an educator. I'm a 9 trained psychologist. I am a trainer. I'm a mother, 10 a wife, a grandmother, and a very proud member of 11 this community. 12 In my different roles, I have the 13 opportunity to meet people from all walks of life, 14 but in my most recent job working with the area 15 education agency where I retired from four months 16 ago, I had the opportunity to meet families with 17 children with special needs, as well as service 18 providers, including nurses, which are concerned 19 about the health not only of these children who are 20 so vulnerable, but of everybody in our community. 21 I am also interested in economic 22 development. I think that our community needs 23 economic development. I think there are alternative 24 ways, safer ways, and healthier ways to provide that. 25 There is so much information now about green PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 33 1 economics, and I will invite you and our community to 2 work together in bringing what is best for our 3 community, not only economically, but healthwise. 4 I also feel that any decision that I make as 5 an individual, any step, any word that I talk, is not 6 only impacting myself or the person immediately 7 around me or the people hearing me, but also future 8 generations. 9 So I feel that all of us, including you, 10 members of the Board, have a responsibility in how we 11 talk, how we make decisions that are going to impact 12 our generations, and by the same token that we think 13 it is important to provide for a safe economic future 14 for our state, our nation, and the world. 15 I think we need to think of the long-term 16 effects of a fire coal plant of this dimension to be 17 built in Marshalltown. 18 I ask you respectfully to think not only of 19 the immediate short-term effects of building that 20 plant, but the long-term effects, and also think if 21 this is such a good idea, we think it's good for the 22 state, but if there's so many questions about health 23 impacts and impact on the environment, why can't we 24 wait? What is the rush to do it now? 25 So I respectfully ask you, because of your PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 34 1 responsibility and the opportunity that you have for 2 the people of Iowa and the nation, to not give the 3 permit for this plant to be built now. 4 Thank you. 5 MR. MASON: I appreciate the opportunity to 6 speak to the Iowa Utilities Board today. 7 My name is Mike Mason, M-a-s-o-n. I'm 8 executive vice president of Fisher Controls, which is 9 a 127-year-old Iowa-based company headquartered here 10 in Marshalltown, Iowa. We have sales of over 11 $1 billion, and we have more than 1200 employees in 12 this state performing manufacturing, technology, and 13 administrative functions. 14 We support the IPL planned project for three 15 reasons: 16 First of all, the energy industry is a key 17 market for us. Our business produces products and 18 services for the electric utility companies around 19 the world, and we provide technologies for nuclear, 20 natural gas, and coal-fired-based plants. 21 We also support--No. 2, we support the 22 investment because we need to secure our investments, 23 like our recent $20 million technology center that is 24 under construction in Marshalltown right now. Also, 25 we need to secure and support our manufacturing PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 35 1 operations, and we need clean, reliable power. We 2 believe that IPL will provide a strong case for their 3 project. 4 No. 3, our parent company, St. Louis-based 5 Emerson Corporation, a $25 billion company, is seriously 6 considering locating a 12- to 15-million-dollar 7 North American data center here in Marshalltown. It 8 also needs clean, reliable power, and we think this 9 could tip it in our favor. 10 Thank you. 11 MS. McBEE: I am Mary McBee from Tama, Iowa. 12 During a community meeting in Marshalltown 13 last May, Tom Aller requested public comments about 14 this proposed new coal plant. I relayed that since I 15 live both down wind and down river, I'm very 16 concerned about the numerous ills--ill-effects 17 regarding emissions from yet another coal plant, 18 especially those involving highly toxic mercury 19 emissions. 20 According to the EPA, one tablespoon of 21 mercury can pollute an entire 40-acre lake and kill 22 all fish in the lake. 23 In a separate report, EPA showed that the 24 old Sutherland coal plant, already operating at this 25 site, has been emitting significant amounts of PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 36 1 mercury into the atmosphere. In 2005, this 2 Sutherland plant emitted 49 pounds of mercury. I 3 don't know how many tablespoons there are in 49 4 pounds. I'm not sure I want to. 5 At that May meeting I asked Mr. Aller for 6 specific data about how much more mercury the new 7 proposed plant would be emitting. He said he didn't 8 know, then asked an associate to find the information 9 for me. 10 After the meeting the associate approached, 11 wrote down my name, address, phone number, and 12 promised he would get back to me with the 13 information. That was seven months ago. I have 14 heard nothing. 15 For me having specific information about how 16 many pounds of mercury this new plant will emit is 17 very important, especially since this will be in 18 addition to the mercury emissions already coming from 19 the current coal plant. 20 These concerns are deeply personal for me. 21 I have children, grandchildren, and great- 22 grandchildren who also live down wind and down river. 23 It's my sincere hope that no additional new 24 coal plants will be permitted here. 25 Thank you. PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 37 1 MR. GRANBERG: My name is Gerry Granberg, 2 business manager of International Brotherhood of 3 Electrical Workers Local 347 in Des Moines and 4 Central Iowa. 5 We cover 27 counties in my local, 1250 6 members. We're working on ethanol plants. We're 7 working on wind towers. Wind generation is next 8 year. Our local alone in 27 counties are probably 9 putting up more than 400 to 600 wind towers. Solar 10 is coming around in Iowa. We'll be manning up for 11 the installation of it too. 12 You have to look at baseload when you look 13 at the power being generated. Wind and solar won't 14 do it. The wind doesn't always blow. The sun 15 doesn't always shine. 16 You look around your own household. Talking 17 to a couple of neighbors the other day, I look over 18 in one corner, they've got three cell phone 19 transformers plugged in, no cell phones there, but 20 those are still consuming electricity. Five TVs in 21 the house. Right now a flat-screen TV, which more 22 and more of us are getting all the time, consumes 23 five times the amount of a conventional TV set. 24 They're going to come up with battery- 25 operated cars, so when you get home, what are you PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 38 1 going to do? You're going to plug it in at night. 2 Well, if the wind is not blowing and the sun 3 is not shining, you might not be able to get back to 4 work the next day in your energy-efficient car. 5 I do support the building of the Sutherland 6 power plant. 7 Thank you. 8 MS. WALKER: Good morning. I'm Ruth Walker. 9 I'm with Community Energy Solutions, a special 10 interest group that's interested in keeping our 11 planet habitable for future generations. 12 While there are many environmental and 13 health issues that are important to this, and that 14 ought to be conclusive by themselves, the point I 15 want to make today is about the letter of the law. 16 I believe that most Iowans believe that the 17 letter of the law should be followed, and we 18 remember, at least those of us that are older, that 19 the Clean Air Act in the 1970s required that new coal 20 plants use the best available control technology, and 21 most Americans aren't aware that the current EPA is 22 instructed not to consider new technology--new 23 technology--if it's a different design when they're 24 choosing the design for new coal plants. 25 I have here a letter from Steven D. Page, PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 39 1 Director, U.S. EPA Office of Air Quality, Planning 2 and Standards, to E-3 Consulting, L.L.C. It says--it 3 was dated December 13th, 2005, and it's on the EPA 4 web site. That's where I found it. 5 The subject is the best available control 6 technology requirements for proposed coal-fired power 7 plant projects, and the gist of the letter is exactly 8 what I said, the best available control technology is 9 not included when they're choosing new coal plants 10 because it's a different design. 11 This was not the intent of the Clean Air Act, 12 and most people don't realize that's the way it's 13 being done now by the EPA. Somebody is directing the 14 EPA to do that. 15 The reason so many coal plants are being 16 proposed in the United States now is because they 17 expect the EPA will be directed to follow the 18 Clean Air Act soon. 19 They like to tell us that it's better 20 technology than the old plants. That's true. It's 21 still not the best available technology. 22 MS. OPSTVEDT: Chairman Norris, 23 Board Members Tanner and Hanson, thank you for giving 24 me this opportunity this morning. 25 I'm Sandy Opstvedt. I'm president of the PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 40 1 IBEW Iowa State Conference. 2 This facility and its proposed partners is a 3 great asset to the State of Iowa. It is a facility 4 to be owned by Iowans for the benefit of Iowans. 5 Both we as Iowa residents and the partners 6 in this proposed plant believe that economic 7 development and protecting a clean environment will 8 enhance the state's potential. 9 This plant will create a multitude of jobs, 10 both in the transporting materials and construction 11 industry in the state, but coming from a community 12 that's just lost 240 jobs in the closing of 13 Pella Windows, I fully understand the need for jobs 14 in the community. 15 Not only will the plant enhance construction 16 opportunities in the materials, but it will also 17 create benefits for small business owners in the 18 restaurant, the hotel, the gas station, a multitude 19 of--the lumber and the hardware trades within the 20 Marshalltown community and the area. 21 But I also am fully aware of the 22 opportunities that are created by Alliant Energy, 23 Interstate Power, and the other utilities around this 24 state in working on promoting the green opportunities 25 for the state. PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 41 1 Our crews have worked on a myriad of 2 windmill projects around this state. They have 3 worked toward promoting switchgrass burning within 4 the power plants. They've worked to promote a 5 facility that will, when the potential is available, 6 create an opportunity to capture carbon emissions. 7 This is a very favorable plant for the 8 community and for the State of Iowa, and I would 9 encourage all of you to look very seriously at this 10 issue, and ask for your support of the proposed 11 facility. 12 Thank you very much. 13 MR. BUFFALO: Good morning. My name is 14 Johnathan Buffalo from the Meskwakie tribe. 15 I'm not going to stand here and sound like a 16 commercial. I can't argue against jobs, I can't 17 argue against electricity, things we all need, but I 18 am going to argue as a grandfather because 19 whatever--and you can argue about how much or how 20 less stuff you're going to put in the air. There's 21 going to be stuff put in the air no matter what, and 22 it's all going to go down to my descendents, my 23 children, my grandchildren, and hopefully my great- 24 grandchildren, and I hope they're healthy, because 25 you can't--there's an old Meskawkie saying, you can't PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 42 1 ruin your house if you have to live in your house, 2 and whatever you put in the air is going to come 3 down, maybe not in 10 years, 20 years, but some day, 4 you will see. 5 I can't--like I said, I can't argue against 6 money, people making money, but there is a danger 7 here that people don't seem to realize. 8 I am against this coal plant. Why doesn't 9 Marshalltown build it on the west side, on the west 10 side of Marshalltown, and let that stuff go through? 11 And all our children and our grandchildren will play 12 this Russian roulette game together and not just 13 mine. 14 Thank you. 15 MS. BOLAR: Good morning. Thank you for 16 this opportunity to speak. I know it's uncommon for 17 you to have two hours of public comment, and we in 18 Marshalltown really appreciate that opportunity. 19 I'm Bettie Bolar. I'm vice chancellor of 20 continuing education and training at Iowa Valley 21 Community College District, and I am representing the 22 college district this morning in my remarks. 23 I basically have three things that I want to 24 address: 25 One, my staff and I see people every single PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 43 1 day who are looking for living-wage jobs, and I will 2 tell you that there are not enough living-wage jobs 3 in Marshalltown for the folks that are coming to our 4 college and wanting education and training. So I see 5 this expansion of this plant as a tremendous 6 opportunity to provide those kinds of opportunities 7 for people. 8 Secondly, those are the very same people who 9 need affordable and reliable energy. These are the 10 working poor of our community, of our state. These 11 are people who are working desperately to raise 12 families, to get ahead in the world, and if they 13 don't have the affordable energy that this plant will 14 provide, they're falling farther behind, and believe 15 me, these are folks who know about conservation. 16 They conserve because they have to. 17 And thirdly, we've worked with Alliant 18 Energy at the college for a lot of years. They are a 19 very good corporate citizen, and they've been an 20 excellent educational partner. When they tell me 21 that they have researched and they have developed the 22 technologies to do what they're telling us, I believe 23 them. I respect them, and I am excited about having 24 cutting-edge technology available here in 25 Marshalltown. PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 44 1 And I thank you for this opportunity. 2 MR. SHATZER: Good morning. My name is 3 Don Shatzer. I live at 6515 Newell Street, Waterloo, 4 Iowa. I'm vice president of Community Energy 5 Solutions. 6 I would ask that you please consider the 7 following: 8 According to the 2000 Census Bureau report, 9 the population of Iowa ranks 30th, with a population 10 of 2,926,324 people. It's expected to grow by 11 28,848, or a little bit less than 1 percent, by the 12 year 2030. Currently that would put us at 48th in 13 population growth, followed by West Virginia and 14 North Dakota. 15 A letter written by former Governor Tom 16 Vilsack, which I have a copy of, stated that when he 17 came into office in 1998, that we were an importer of 18 energy, and when he left office in 2006, we were 19 actually exporting energy. 20 Governor Culver also has proposed a national 21 renewable energy portfolio standard that would 22 require that by 2020, 15 percent of the nation's 23 electricity come from renewable energy sources. 24 In a joint press release by Iowa Attorney 25 General Tom Miller and Iowa State Extension PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 45 1 Climatologist and Professor of Agricultural 2 Meteorology Elwynn Taylor, dated Wednesday, 3 July 21st, 2004, the following statements were made 4 by Attorney General Miller: 5 "Global warming threatens Iowa as we know it 6 today. The risks are especially great for Iowa 7 agriculture. We shouldn't just be rolling the dice 8 and hoping for the best. We need to act to protect 9 Iowa. The problem is pollution, and the top source 10 of pollution is carbon dioxide emissions from power 11 plants." 12 Elwynn Taylor added, "The sector to take a 13 hit from global warming is agriculture. I've 14 estimated that global warming already consistently is 15 costing about a half-billion dollars a year in 16 reduced corn yield to Iowa, and the effect on beans 17 is likely similar." 18 In conclusion, Iowa is already overly 19 committed to the use of coal for energy. Iowa has 20 more than a sufficient quantity of coal-generating 21 electric power and must begin to diversify. 22 Building this coal plant or any new coal 23 plant in Iowa puts Iowa ratepayers at risk on an 24 already overly dependent coal-fired energy system. 25 The pending threat of global warming to Iowa PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 46 1 agriculture due to release of carbon dioxide, now 2 considered a pollutant by the EPA, should be 3 considered very seriously. Your decision on this 4 matter will be pivotal in determining the future of 5 our great state. 6 Thank you. 7 MR. WHALEY: Mr. Chairman, good morning, 8 Board Members. 9 My name is Dale Whaley, W-h-a-l-e-y. I 10 represent the L. E. Myers Company, a local business 11 in the community. 12 Our business, we are a specialty contractor 13 helping utilities in Iowa and surrounding states 14 provide power to their constituents. 15 I want to speak regarding the base of power 16 and maintaining the power supply. 17 We were one of the companies that helped 18 rebuild the system 11 months ago when our state was 19 in an ice storm. 20 I, as a business manager, see the loss of 21 productivity when the lights go out in the office. I 22 see the way my personal home has increased in the use 23 of electricity, and I support this power plant 24 proposal. It should give Iowa a base to keep 25 electricity flowing through the system. PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 47 1 I thank you for the opportunity to speak. 2 REVEREND WEBB: Good morning, Board Members. 3 My name is Reverend Benjamin Webb. I'm an 4 Episcopal priest in Cedar Falls, but I also am here 5 representing Iowa Inter-Faith Power and Light, which 6 is part of a 25-state movement among people of faith 7 that, in our care for creation, seeks global warming 8 solutions both through public policy and by reducing 9 our own carbon footprints. 10 I'm also a former Iowa House Republican and 11 staff person, working with the energy committee, and 12 a former employee of the Iowa Department of Economic 13 Development. 14 Just yesterday it seems it could fairly be 15 said the IUB made its decisions about new coal-fired 16 electrical generating plants in a state of genuine 17 ignorance about coal's major contribution to global 18 warming, but today everything has changed. Now we're 19 all aware that we have the capacity to create Dante's 20 inferno here on earth unless we get ourselves onto a 21 better path with greater conservation, efficiency, 22 and renewables. 23 I remember interviewing William Riley, who 24 was EPA administrator under the elder George Bush. 25 He told me that by any standard of comparison, PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 48 1 Americans were profligate in our use of energy. 2 Many other advanced countries like ours 3 achieve far greater efficiency than we do. We just 4 need to provide the signals and the regulation that 5 unleash American ingenuity in developing the 6 alternatives already available to us, virtually all 7 of which come at comparable or better costs and 8 greater job creation, yet without the environmental 9 human health, the public human health, and the social 10 harms we know are now already associated with burning 11 coal. 12 You are trying to honor the public trust we 13 have placed in you by working to assure that Iowans 14 have the best choices, the best prices, and the most 15 reliable utility services available at a moment in 16 earth's history such as we've never faced before. 17 At a time when our scientists, our religious 18 leaders, our governor, and our own energy 19 independence plan state that we must reduce 20 greenhouse gases by 80 percent by 2050, business as 21 usual will not get us there. 22 Other states are saying no to coal plants, 23 and other utility executives are touting a new 24 business model that supplies electricity demand by 25 other means. A recent public survey demonstrates PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 49 1 that a large majority of Iowans favor that approach. 2 What's more, nearly a dozen expert witnesses 3 for Plains Justice and the Iowa Office of Consumer 4 Advocate are unanimous in their conclusion that this 5 plant is unnecessary and will ultimately harm Iowa 6 consumers. 7 Creation itself is the prophetic voice in 8 our time, and the pressing message it's giving us 9 about global warming and its many ramifications won't 10 relent until we change our ways. 11 When we do, the earth's atmosphere will 12 begin to heal itself, but those choices and that 13 future begins here and now through common sense and 14 our own moral courage. 15 Thank you for your leadership on behalf of 16 the common good. 17 I also have a couple of institutional 18 letters of support in this direction. 19 MR. BRANDENBERG: Hello. I'm Gary 20 Brandenberg. I'm a member--or resident of Albion, a 21 retired conservationist. 22 I support the Sutherland power plant because 23 only with a strong economy and a strong source of 24 power are we going to be able to have the resources, 25 the flexibility, and the ability to try and address PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 50 1 new technologies that the future may hold for us. 2 It's equivalent to taking our 1950 version 3 automobile and not trading it in on something that is 4 efficient and ready to go and has all the complements 5 that the new vehicle or something like that would 6 mean. It may be not the best analogy, but progress 7 has to be made. A new power plant is a key log into 8 making that progress happen, and I would urge your 9 support for the new power plant in Marshalltown. 10 Thank you. 11 MS. WHITING: My name is Margaret Whiting, 12 W-h-i-t-i-n-g. 13 Dear IUB Board Members, I would like to make 14 a few comments about the coal plant. 15 Since coal-fired power plants are the 16 largest source of global warming pollution in the 17 United States, the first step we need to take to 18 combat global warming is to stop the construction of 19 even more coal plants. 20 Any single coal plant built today will make 21 it even more expensive to achieve our carbon 22 reduction targets in the future. 23 It is inevitable that the United States will 24 pass carbon tax laws in the next few years, 25 substantially raising the cost of coal power. PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 51 1 New policies to combat global warming will 2 accelerate improvements and cleaner technologies, 3 making coal not competitive. 4 Even if this proposed coal plant installs 5 CO2 capture technology at a later date, the costs will 6 be high and recovery of these costs may be at the 7 expense of ratepayers and the economy as a whole. 8 The environmental and health-care costs of 9 burning coal are not usually factored into the cost 10 equations, but they should be. 11 Fine particulate air pollution from burning 12 coal causes asthma attacks, bronchitis, heart 13 attacks, and even death. Mercury from coal plants 14 causes neurological damage. The health statistics 15 are alarming for people living near coal plants, even 16 with new state-of-the-art coal plants. 17 Please make sure this financial and 18 environmental disaster is avoided by denying the 19 Alliant Energy request to build this plant in 20 Marshalltown. 21 Thank you for your consideration. 22 MR. HOLZHAUSER: Good morning, Board. 23 My name is Kevin Holzhauser. I'm president 24 of the South Central Iowa Building Trades Council, 25 which our council is located in the Ottumwa area and PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 52 1 surrounding counties area that our council represents 2 construction workers in. 3 Even though this project isn't located in 4 our area, we know that construction workers out of 5 our area, as well as other parts of the state, will 6 come to this project to work. 7 If you look at some of the indicators in the 8 state now, housing starts are down, comments are 9 saying that maybe we're heading toward a downturn in 10 the economy. Construction workers are always the 11 first ones that are hurt in a down-turned economy, so 12 we think that this project is just going to come at a 13 good time to employ construction workers in our 14 council and probably some from across the state. 15 I appreciate your time. 16 MS. BLAISDELL: My name is Sue Blaisdell. I 17 live here in Marshalltown. 18 I have two concerns that I want to bring to 19 your attention: 20 First, I'm concerned about transmission 21 lines. I don't know the effect of people living next 22 to these transmission lines, and I'm not convinced 23 that you do either. There doesn't seem to be 24 anywhere near enough research done with respect to 25 the issue of transmission lines, and I know there are PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 53 1 some issues with things like leukemia and other kinds 2 of cancers that are related to transmission lines, so 3 I would really request that you really seriously 4 consider this in your debate over this issue. 5 Certainly there has to be a lot more transmission 6 lines with this new power plant, and will they go 7 through major areas like Marshalltown and will they 8 cause serious problems for a lot of people? 9 My other issue is population. Do we really 10 need to plan for a bigger population in Iowa? 11 Iowa is a bread basket, and it needs to 12 produce food. We don't need trillions of people 13 here, and we don't need to plan for trillions of 14 people in the future. 15 So I would ask you to please consider that 16 because this world really needs places to produce 17 food, and if you fill them up with people and 18 factories and use all this power, then it's not going 19 to benefit the world because we won't have food. 20 So please consider those factors in your 21 evaluation of this situation, and I hope you don't 22 agree to this power plant. 23 Thank you. 24 MR. SAGAR: Good morning. My name is 25 Ken Sagar. I'm secretary-treasurer of the Iowa PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 54 1 Federation of Labor, representing more than a 2 hundred-thousand Iowa union members. 3 The Iowa Federation of Labor Board 4 overwhelmingly supports the construction of the 5 Sutherland Unit 4 power station by Alliant, Corn Belt, 6 and CIPCO. 7 Iowa needs power to fuel economic 8 development. A number of prior speakers have talked 9 about that, and I won't go into that in any great 10 detail. 11 This investment here will pump more than a 12 billion dollars into this local economy, and it will 13 also provide an opportunity for additional economic 14 development opportunities in the future. 15 This project will employ more than a 16 thousand workers in the process of building the 17 plant, and will have more--nearly a hundred workers 18 working in that plant. 19 Now, we're not talking about jobs that are 20 minimum wage jobs. We're talking about jobs here 21 that will provide opportunities for people to 22 contribute to the community, jobs that provide 23 benefits and good pay, and would allow workers to pay 24 taxes and support activities in their communities. 25 I would urge the Board to support the siting PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 55 1 and construction of this project because it's an Iowa 2 project. It's Iowa owned, Iowa built, and will be 3 Iowa operated. Taxes from the plant will support the 4 state, Iowa counties, and this local economy. 5 On behalf of the Federation, I would urge 6 and request that the Board approve this siting and 7 the project. 8 Thank you very much. 9 MS. GRIMMIUS: Good morning. My name is 10 Bonnie Grimmius, and I represent Community Energy 11 Solutions. 12 I oppose Alliant's request to build a larger 13 coal plant for two reasons: 14 Fossil fuels release pollutants that are 15 known to be harmful. I have a niece who has been 16 treated for mercury poisoning. 17 Second is that coal is the chief cause of 18 global warming, and we hear an awful lot about that 19 today, and I think we should all keep that in mind 20 and take it seriously. 21 Secondly, I don't feel like anyone should be 22 given permission to pollute the commons, and the 23 commons is our air and our water. 24 So I ask you to follow the lead of Kansas 25 and Florida that has turned away coal by listening to PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 56 1 the voice of reason. 2 The planet has nurtured us for a millennium 3 and will continue to nurture us if we protect and 4 cherish it. 5 Thank you. 6 MR. GUSTA: Good morning. I'm Tad Gusta 7 with the International Brotherhood of Electrical 8 Workers. 9 I stand in favor of the new power plant in 10 Marshalltown. As a long-life Iowan, it is great to 11 see our state looking toward the future of our energy 12 needs. 13 As you listen to all the hype from the 14 various groups today, keep this in mind: The 15 proposed power plant in Marshalltown is a great 16 example of what our future holds. Construction of 17 the Sutherland Unit 4 is about jobs, economic growth, 18 energy security, and environmental stewardship. 19 It's a high efficiency, hybrid fuel plant 20 making use of renewable resource fuels such as 21 switchgrass and cornstalks. The new plant will 22 benefit the construction of labor and environment, 23 both directly and indirectly. The plant will bring 24 more than a thousand jobs to Marshalltown during the 25 peak of construction. Once the plant begins PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 57 1 operating, they'll expand current employment of the 2 Sutherland plant with about 100 high-paying union 3 jobs, maybe more. These opportunities will benefit 4 and boost the entire state's economy, which Iowa is 5 going to need as our country moves further into 6 recession. 7 I urge the Utilities Board to approve the 8 power plant in Marshalltown. 9 Thank you. 10 MR. KRESOWIK: My name is Mark Kresowik. 11 I'm a representative of the Sierra Club, as well as 12 the interim director of Iowa Inter-Faith Power and 13 Light. I'm one of the co-founders, as are many of 14 these people, of Community Energy Solutions. 15 We've heard a lot about various things 16 today. The three most important things are, as I 17 think you guys yourself cited in the IUB release in 18 the Times Republican recent article here: 19 First, is it consistent with the legislative 20 intent of attracting generation facilities, 21 electrical generation facilities? Is it consistent 22 with attracting economic benefits to the community, 23 and is it consistent with the reasonable utilization 24 of air, land, and water quality resources given the 25 economics of available alternatives? PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 58 1 I would argue that electric generation 2 facilities does not only mean coal plants. It can 3 also mean wind and power, solar, natural gas, and 4 many other things, and when you examine the rest of 5 the Iowa Code in regards to electric generation, you 6 find a strong emphasis on wind, and attracting wind 7 through tax credits, mandates, and many other things, 8 so in fact you find a preference for wind, solar, and 9 renewables in the Iowa Code in terms of attracting 10 electrical generation facilities. 11 When you look at attracting economic 12 benefits, anything, any development attracts economic 13 benefits. The questions to ask, though, is what are 14 the opportunity costs, what are the externalities, 15 what are the opportunity costs of the terms? 16 When you factor in the opportunity cost and 17 the externalities of a coal plant, you find that in 18 fact those facts so far outweigh any economic benefit 19 brought that it does not in fact ultimately lead to a 20 positive economic situation for the State of Iowa in 21 terms of jobs. 22 We know that more jobs are created in 23 efficiency--renewable energy and energy efficiency, 24 renewable energy, than with coal. 25 Finally, any reasonable person looking at PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 59 1 the impacts of a coal plant on the environment, on 2 our public health, and comparing that to the 3 economics of energy efficiency and renewable energy, 4 must make the assessment that there is no way a plant 5 like this is a reasonable utilization of our 6 resources, given the economics of those alternatives. 7 The Iowa Code, I think, on this is very, 8 very clear, and the people have spoken their concerns 9 on all of those, and given the legislative intent to 10 attract electrical generation with a preference 11 towards wind and other renewables, the economic 12 benefits of efficiency of wind and a proper 13 utilization of the resources speaks that this plant 14 cannot be granted a permit under the intent of the 15 Iowa Code and the legislature. 16 Thank you. 17 MR. SPERFSLAGE: Hello, Members of the 18 Board. 19 My name is George Sperfslage. I'm a project 20 manager for Hooper Corporation. We are a line 21 contractor. We build transmission, distribution, and 22 substations throughout Iowa and the Midwest. 23 In my work, I see, as I'm sure you do, the 24 continued load growth. The way I see that is through 25 the increasing number of projects that we have for PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 60 1 transmission lines, substations, to support that load 2 growth. 3 We are in favor of this plant to support 4 that load growth, and also for the jobs that it will 5 create during the construction and ongoing operation 6 of this plant. 7 Thank you for your time. 8 MR. KURTENBACH: Good morning. Thank you 9 for the opportunity to speak in favor of this 10 proposed power plant development. 11 My name is Rich Kurtenbach. I'm here to 12 represent the Waterloo Building Construction Trades 13 Council. 14 Our Council has publicly endorsed the 15 development of this plant for several reasons: 16 First, this plant will help meet the future 17 power needs of our state and for the continued growth 18 that is expected. 19 Alliant Energy is a company of Iowa, serving 20 Iowa, and for the citizens of Iowa. The commitment 21 they are making to the people of Iowa is huge in the 22 development of this plant with this expansion. 23 Another reason we are supporting the 24 development is the commitment Alliant Energy is 25 making to the workers of Iowa for the construction PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 61 1 and running of this plant. We have seen the same 2 kind of commitment before from Alliant. 3 The Waterloo Building Construction Trades 4 Council looks forward to assisting with the 5 construction of this plant. This will provide 6 hundreds of jobs for our members from around the 7 state in the construction phase, and our members look 8 forward to being part of that. 9 We were part of the development of Alliant 10 Energy's Emery station and plant built in the 11 Mason City area a few years ago. The development of 12 the Marshalltown plant will be many times larger than 13 the Emery Station, and again we stand ready to assist 14 with the construction manpower needs of this plant. 15 Another reason we support the Alliant 16 development plans is because of expansion of wind 17 generation as well. Alliant has been a leader in 18 wind generation development in our state, and I don't 19 see that diminishing due to the expansion of the 20 Marshalltown facility. 21 We are fully aware, as are others, about the 22 environmental concerns of building a new coal plant. 23 Our members have been building these plants for more 24 than a century. 25 For the past 20 years there has been great PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 62 1 advancement in the cleaning of the emissions from 2 these plants, and we've been part of installing those 3 changes. 4 I have worked on coal plants myself, and I 5 have toured an Alliant Energy plant here in Iowa. I 6 have seen firsthand the concern the Alliant people 7 working there at these plants have to abide by the 8 environmental regulations; again, Alliant Energy 9 showing their commitment to the people of Iowa. 10 When you know the difference between the 11 older coal plants compared to the new emission- 12 control requirements for the new plants, it really 13 helps alleviate my concerns for using coal for 14 baseload power generation. 15 By building these new plants, usage of the 16 older facilities can or should be reduced, which 17 improves our environment. It's like taking an old 18 Studebaker from the past and replacing it with a 19 hybrid vehicle of today. 20 Environmental technologies continue to 21 improve and advance, and this plant has room designed 22 into it to incorporate these new technologies. Here 23 again, Alliant Energy is looking at the long-term 24 needs of Iowa. 25 We look forward to working with Alliant PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 63 1 Energy on these new projects, both wind and coal, and 2 hope you, the Iowa Utilities Board, approves 3 Alliant's request to develop these plants. 4 Thank you. 5 MR. WILLIAMS: Good morning. My name is 6 Donald Williams, and I reside in Marion, Iowa. 7 I'm on the board of directors of Linn County 8 Rural Electric Cooperative, and also serve on the 9 Central Iowa Board Cooperative as the president. 10 As an energy provider, we are required to 11 provide our members safe, reliable, affordable, and 12 environmentally friendly electricity. We all know 13 that all of us require more energy in our daily 14 lives. 15 While the cooperatives have always been a 16 frontrunner in promoting energy efficiency, with our 17 membership, we all know that this will not solve the 18 problem we have at hand, which is not enough 19 generation resources. 20 We will continue to provide and promote 21 energy efficiency to our members, but we still need 22 to solve the issue at hand of the shortage of 23 baseload generation. 24 Over the many years of our existence, the 25 Iowa RECs have invested a lot of money in growing PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 64 1 rural Iowa to create jobs and economic development. 2 This has also been a mission of the State of Iowa, 3 and if we want to continue to grow Iowa, we need to 4 expand all of our generation resources. 5 Electric cooperatives are actively working 6 to bring businesses to Iowa, help existing businesses 7 to expand, creating jobs, and investing in their 8 local communities and critical infrastructure. 9 We need this Sutherland plant desperately in 10 our state for our baseload generation to meet the 11 current demands of our members. Electric 12 cooperatives are the only utility in Iowa to provide 13 power in all Iowa's 99 counties. 14 The construction of the Sutherland plant 15 will not only bring a thousand new good-paying 16 construction jobs to Iowa, but the facility will 17 build in Iowa and provide energy to Iowans. If we 18 want to continue to bring companies to Iowa, we have 19 to be able to provide them the energy sources they 20 will need. 21 Thank you. 22 MR. FELDMAN: Good morning, Mr. Chairman, 23 the Board. 24 My name is Donald Feldman, and I represent 25 Butler County Rural Electric Cooperative, Corn Belt PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 65 1 Rural Electric Cooperative, and also I farm in 2 Butler County, north central Iowa. 3 Butler County Rural Electric Cooperative 4 represents about 5,000 member consumers. They expect 5 us to furnish them with safe, reliable, and 6 affordable power when they want it. How can we do 7 that? We have to look to our power supplier, 8 Corn Belt Power Cooperative, where I serve as 9 president of the board. 10 We are seeing a tremendous amount of growth 11 in our service territory. To serve that load, we 12 relied on the board's philosophy to have a portfolio 13 of generation: Nuclear, coal, wind, hydro, natural 14 gas, and diesel. 15 Those six types of generation have served us 16 very well; however, in our latest power supply--power 17 requirement study, Corn Belt Power member 18 cooperatives project a 50 percent increase in demand 19 over the next five years. Yes, that's right, 20 50 percent over the next five years. 21 To meet that growing demand, Corn Belt Power 22 is doing several things: First, we are adding more 23 renewable energy to our current 15 percent renewable 24 power generation. We will add another 50 megawatts 25 of wind energy to expand our renewable supply. PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 66 1 Second, we are promoting energy efficiency 2 with many new programs being added to our current 3 energy efficiency programs. 4 Iowa is seeing a tremendous amount of growth 5 in renewables, both in windmills, in ethanol, and in 6 biodiesel production. In addition to that, we're 7 just seeing a lot of economic growth. 8 In my area, in Butler County, Unverferth, an 9 agricultural manufacturing plant, just recently 10 announced a 60,000 square foot expansion of their 11 plant. 12 Also in my area, in Butler County, Hawkeye 13 Renewables are building a large renewable ethanol 14 plant. They have informed us that they expect us to 15 serve them all the power they need in September of 16 this year. 17 Ladies and gentlemen, this power plant will 18 be one of the cleanest plants ever built in the 19 state. We need this power plant to serve our loads. 20 Iowa is experiencing economic growth. The 21 landscape is changing. We, as electric providers, 22 must be able to grow along with the economy. We want 23 to see our rural communities thrive, and we want to 24 see Iowa continue to grow and prosper. 25 Thank you. PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 67 1 MS. RUOPP: My name is Bev Ruopp. I have 2 lived in Marshalltown all my life. 3 Alliant's dirty coal plant is not needed. 4 It has too high of an environmental cost, and too low 5 of a return for Marshalltown residents. 6 Everything I've read indicates Iowa 7 generates enough energy for our needs. That means 8 Alliant will sell the energy created by this plant to 9 customers in another state and stick us with the 10 pollution. That's not fair. 11 The tons of pollution spewed into our air 12 and the Iowa River not only affects Marshalltown 13 residents, but tens of thousands of Iowans downwind. 14 The same promises are made. Air pollution 15 will be released over a larger area, and polluted 16 waters will be treated before being poured into the 17 Iowa River. 18 It doesn't matter how clean their pollution 19 is, it's still pollution that will affect people's 20 health and degrade the Iowa River. 21 What is more disturbing, however, is how the 22 plant is sold to residents as a source of new jobs. 23 Don't be fooled. Our leaders see property tax 24 revenue and are willing to ignore long-term 25 implications to get it. PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 68 1 It reminds me of when they told us packing 2 plants would be good for our economy. Now every time 3 I smell the packing plants or hear about the low 4 wages, I'm reminded of that mistake. I don't even 5 want to imagine what a dirty coal plant smells like 6 or whether all the jobs will materialize. 7 No amount of property tax revenue, no amount 8 of jobs, temporary or permanent, is worth poisoning 9 the air and water our children will rely on for 10 generations. 11 The energy is not needed, the impact to our 12 environment is too great, and the benefits are 13 woefully too few. Please leave a legacy of clean air 14 and water for our families by denying this 15 application. 16 Thank you. 17 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: If you can pause one 18 moment there. We're off the record. 19 (Discussion off the record.) 20 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: So with that, we're 21 back on the record. 22 Go ahead. 23 MR. HEITHOFF: My name is Brian Heithoff. 24 I'm the CEO and General Manager for Consumers Energy 25 Cooperative headquartered here in Marshalltown. PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 69 1 I believe the application before you meets 2 the complete criteria established by Iowa law, and 3 therefore the authorization to issue a generating 4 certificate should be granted. 5 We are facing significant and complex energy 6 challenges in this nation and state. 7 The Department of Energy projects that by 8 2030, the amount of electricity we demand will 9 increase by 40 percent. 10 The DOE and EPA also recently facilitated an 11 effort of 60 energy, environmental, and other groups 12 to investigate what role energy efficiency could play 13 in meeting this projected increase in demand. 14 The conclusion of this effort was that 15 aggressive, yet cost-effective, energy efficiency may 16 be able to help offset only 50 percent of this 17 increase, and so logically, new power plants will be 18 needed that are able to meet the demand in a reliable 19 manner 24 by seven, 365. 20 The coal and biomass application is designed 21 to meet all the environmental policies of the state, 22 and it is reliable, meaning customers will have the 23 power to use when they need it. 24 A single technology or approach does not 25 exist that meets all of our energy challenges, yet PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 70 1 this application is part of a larger strategy of 2 investing in energy efficiency and in a number of 3 renewable energy technologies, which when considered 4 as a group is a superior solution to our short-term 5 and long-term challenges and the alternatives. 6 Thank you. 7 MS. WILSON: My name is Sally Wilson, and 8 I'm someone--because I wanted to try to get here in 9 time, someone did read my letter earlier, but I have 10 a letter from Dr. Jim Metzger, who is a pediatrician 11 here in Marshalltown, and he asked, because he could 12 not be here, if I could read his letter. Is that 13 okay? Okay. 14 Sorry. I just ran to get here. 15 "Dear Iowa Utilities Board: 16 "In the past I attempted to bring the issue 17 of the health consequences of the proposed coal plant 18 at Marshalltown to the physician education committee 19 at our local hospital, only to have two of my fellow 20 pediatricians on the committee shoot down the idea 21 because they felt the topic was too political. 22 "In general, people of our community have 23 not taken time to educate themselves about the issue 24 or don't want to take a stand against the proposed 25 plant for fear of political repercussions. PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 71 1 "Alliant Energy has been very successfully 2 convincing the economic development group for our 3 city that the plant is a good idea. 4 "If I were looking for a city in Iowa to try 5 and railroad the idea of a coal-burning power plant 6 down the public's throat, it would be Marshalltown. 7 In general, we are a blue-collar town trying to 8 survive, with approximately 70 percent of our school 9 children on free or reduced lunches. 10 "Greed for better-paying jobs can blind the 11 community to the long-term environmental and 12 resulting health consequences of the proposed coal- 13 burning plant. 14 "I believe that this issue is so important 15 to our community that it should not be left up to a 16 single special interest group. I find it ironic that 17 the same group of individuals that has promoted the 18 idea of citizens picking up their yards to make 19 Marshalltown look good is at the same time lobbying 20 for a coal plant to pollute our environment. 21 "The entire community needs to be educated 22 on actual energy needs, energy conservation, 23 alternative energy sources and their costs, and 24 environmental health repercussions. I haven't seen 25 this happen yet. PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 72 1 "Any opposition to the coal plant comes 2 primarily from individuals volunteering their time, 3 as compared to the huge advertising budgets Alliant 4 has to bombard the air waves with their clean, cheap 5 coal ads. 6 "We have also been unfortunate in having a 7 local newspaper that has presented a very biased 8 opinion in favor of the plant. 9 "Let's look at the idea of coal being a 10 cheap source of energy. I strongly feel that by the 11 time the plant would be built, we could be dealing 12 with an administration in Washington with 13 environmentally friendly policies. Something as 14 simple as a tax on carbon dioxide emissions could 15 turn the coal plant into an outdated technology that 16 no one wants anything to do with. 17 "Next let's address the idea of coal being 18 clean. Anyone who has studied coal as a source of 19 energy is lying to themselves and everyone around 20 them if they say it is a clean source of energy. The 21 emperor has no clothes. 22 "I believe in preventative medicine. I will 23 attempt to prevent the release of harmful toxins into 24 our local environment and protect the community. I 25 have lived in Marshalltown just shy of 10 years and PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 73 1 feel we are on the brink of a decision that will be 2 the most deleterious mistake of our time. 3 "Have you ever tried to recruit 4 professionals to this area? If you ruin our 5 environment, it's going to get even worse. 6 "We need decisions that keep Marshalltown a 7 family-friendly area with a clean environment that we 8 are proud to pass to our children and grandchildren. 9 Will they look back in 50 years and say how short- 10 sighted could they have been? Didn't they know about 11 the health and environmental consequences of 12 coal-burning plants in 2008? Didn't they care, or 13 were they just interested in the cheapest 14 kilowatt-hour of the moment?" 15 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: I'm going to need you 16 to come to a conclusion there pretty soon. 17 MS. WILSON: I have one other thing. I have 18 been in communication with some researchers doing 19 research on ultrafine particularized coal plants, 20 particulate matter production, and I have some 21 technical papers that could be given. 22 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: You're certainly 23 willing to submit those. 24 MS. WILSON: Yes. And the first line in one 25 of them says that, "This study demonstrates that fine PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 74 1 and ultrafine fractions of coal fly ash are more 2 capable of generating pulmonary inflammation than are 3 coarse particles." 4 So I thought--and I just want to see if you 5 guys had the health report. 6 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: You can submit anything 7 you want to right here. 8 THE WITNESS: Okay. 9 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: I know you were not 10 here at the start, but you have gone over the time 11 period, but you're welcome to have someone else 12 submit additional comments. 13 Go ahead. 14 MS. REZAC: Good morning. 15 My name is Kileen Rezac. I'm a Marshalltown 16 native, also a mother, a grandmother, and a business 17 owner here in Marshalltown. 18 I do strongly support the decision to build 19 this plant for various reasons: 20 First and foremost are the economics of the 21 decision. My understanding is that the plant will be 22 an investment of $1.2 billion into our community. It 23 will add $1.7 million in annual tax revenue to be 24 shared by the city, school, and county. It will 25 bring more than 1,000 construction jobs into PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 75 1 Marshalltown during the height of construction. It 2 will expand current employment with 80 high-paying 3 bargaining-unit jobs once the plant is completed. It 4 will provide the availability of steam co-generation, 5 and the adjoining land creates further economic 6 development opportunities beyond our expectations. 7 It is also important to our community that 8 the plant provide energy security and be 9 environmentally friendly. With this in mind, the 10 plant will provide enough energy to power 472,500 11 homes and businesses. 12 The plant will be a shared--excuse me--a 13 shared venture with Iowa rural electric cooperatives 14 and municipalities to supply energy to their 15 customers in 94 of the 99 Iowa counties. 16 The proposed facility, along with Interstate 17 Power and Light's strong commitment to wind 18 generation, will lower the company's systemwide 19 emission levels in 2013, which is the completion date 20 for this plant. 21 The reduction in emissions are equivalent to 22 removing nearly 443 metric tons of carbon dioxide 23 from the environment, or removing 100,000 cars from 24 operation in one year, or better yet, saving 50 25 million gallons of gasoline in one year. It will be PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 76 1 a high efficiency, hybrid fuel plant, making use of 2 renewable source fuels such as switchgrass or 3 cornstalks, among others, which positively impacts 4 our Iowa farmers. 5 Should this plant not become a reality in 6 our community, we will have lost opportunities of 7 magnitudes beyond our comprehension. We must partner 8 with progress to enhance not only our community, but 9 the entire state. 10 Thank you. 11 MS. ZVERSCHER: I'm Liz Zverscher. I'm a 12 resident of Marshall County, and I'm here today 13 representing Marshalltown Medical and Surgical 14 Center. 15 You know, I want to talk for a minute about 16 Alliant Energy. 17 After they announced the building of the 18 power plant here in Marshalltown, a group of anywhere 19 between 50 and 60 of us came together, with the help 20 of our chamber of commerce, because we were concerned 21 with our community. We got together, we talked about 22 issues. Alliant's been a very, very good partner 23 with us in answering our questions. 24 We asked them very difficult questions and 25 we continue to ask them those questions. They have PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 77 1 been very honest with us. They've tried to educate 2 us as best as us lay folks can be educated on these 3 issues. 4 I'm not going to stand here today and tell 5 you all the things about the power plant. You 6 probably know that better than you know your own 7 phone numbers by now. 8 They have been wonderful partners in the 9 community, and I just wanted you to know that and be 10 assured that they have answered our questions, 11 they've taken the time with us, they've taken us on 12 field trips so we truly do understand as much as we 13 can possibly understand. They've been excellent 14 partners, and we expect that to continue in the 15 future. 16 Thank you very much. 17 MR. GARDNER: Good morning. My name is 18 Stephen Gardner. I'm a farmer in Wapello County. I 19 am also an Alliant customer, and I am the closest 20 neighbor to the Alliant Energy Ottumwa Generating 21 Station at Chillicothe. Our land adjoins the 22 facility, and I live within one-half mile of the 23 power house. 24 Alliant is a good neighbor. We feel safe 25 living near the Ottumwa Generating Station, and PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 78 1 believe that the air near that facility today is as 2 safe as it was when they arrived in the early 1980s. 3 I also serve as president for Prairie Lands 4 Bio-Products, Incorporated. This is a farmer group 5 who grew, harvested, delivered, and processed 6 switchgrass in the Chariton Valley Biomass Project at 7 the Alliant Energy Ottumwa Generating Station. That 8 successful project was a joint effort between the 9 United States Department of Energy, the Chariton 10 Valley RC&D, Alliant Energy, and Prairie Lands to 11 provide the technical feasibility of burning a 12 dedicated energy crop, switchgrass, with coal to 13 generate electricity. 14 During that project, Alliant took 15 significant--and I want you to understand 16 "significant"--risk in their boiler and plant to try 17 technologies which had never been proven, and to work 18 with the farmer group to deliver fuel that had never 19 been tried before in this country. 20 Both those risks, in my mind, shows 21 Alliant's dedication to improving the environment, 22 looking for ways to improve technologies that use and 23 deliver clean, dependable, reliable electricity to 24 Iowa consumers and Alliant customers. 25 Alliant's staff taught us much about the PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 79 1 issues they face environmentally, mechanically 2 processing fuel, technically in their boilers and 3 socially in their responsibility to their customers. 4 I return--I turn-- We urge the Utilities 5 Board to approve this permit. The use of coal-fired 6 technology by Alliant Energy is good for Iowa, good 7 for Iowa farmers, and it is good for the community. 8 Thank you. 9 MR. McCARTY: Hi. Good morning. I'm 10 Michael McCarty. I'm a resident of Marshalltown, and 11 I want to thank you for the opportunity to let me 12 express my favor for the new power plant, the 13 Sutherland Generating Unit No. 4. 14 I also wanted to, as an experience of this 15 process, applaud Alliant's diligence in the research 16 that they have done in the power needs of the State 17 of Iowa and the technologies required to meet the 18 growing energy demands. 19 I would also like to applaud their 20 transparency to the community of Marshalltown in the 21 dissemination of information about this power plant. 22 They established and invited the community 23 to participate in a community advisory committee, 24 which there were more than 50 participants, offering 25 all the information that they could about the power PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 80 1 plant to the Marshalltown residents, which we 2 disseminate into the community, and to bring back our 3 questions, of which they've always answered our 4 questions when the information became available. So 5 it was a very transparent process, and it was a very 6 well-run regular process, so we really appreciate 7 that. 8 Also recognizing that the energy needs of 9 Iowa, this is not the only answer. This is part of a 10 very complex multi-prong approach Alliant has been 11 taking for decades of energy conservation, energy 12 efficiencies, rebate systems, rebate programs for 13 improving efficiencies, wind investments, et cetera. 14 It's all a very fine economic balance that needs to 15 go to meet this supply of energy that's required for 16 the State of Iowa. 17 Without this power plant, you know, the 18 demand needs will recognize a shortfall in demand, in 19 which case Iowa would have to import power from 20 outside of the state, and we would lose control over 21 our own energy supply, our own control over the rates 22 and the technology with which that power is 23 generated. 24 Thank you. 25 MR. LAMER: Good morning. Leon Lamer, PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 81 1 L-a-m-e-r, Marshalltown Water Works. 2 I'm here this morning to express my approval 3 and support for the construction of this high 4 efficiency, state-of-the-art power plant to be built 5 by Alliant Energy and their partners in Marshalltown, 6 Iowa. 7 My comments may be seeming a little selfish 8 to you, but as a utility manager myself, I see that I 9 have to meet the same requirements as you require 10 Alliant to meet to provide service to their 11 customers. 12 When an Alliant Energy customer turns on the 13 switch, they expect the power to come on. When a 14 Marshalltown Water Works customer turns on the 15 faucet, they expect the water to come on. 16 On a hot July summer day, not like today, 17 when the temperatures are in the nineties, the 18 humidities are almost in the nineties, and the old 19 farmers say, "Well, you can hear the corn grow," the 20 kids are in the backyard playing underneath the 21 sprinkler, Dad's washing the car on their front step, 22 Mom's in the house working, they expect--no, they 23 demand that when they turn that faucet on, that I 24 provide a product to them. 25 I can't meet those needs without a solid PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 82 1 source of power, and you must understand that the 2 power source to me is as important as a solid source 3 of water. Without that power source, I can't meet 4 the needs of those customers that are turning on the 5 faucet. Therefore, the construction of this new 6 power plant would provide my utility with a solid 7 source of base power to meet my utility's needs, both 8 now and in the future, and make it possible so that I 9 can meet my customers' needs and requirements, both 10 now and in the future. 11 Thank you for giving me this opportunity to 12 talk to you, and I sincerely hope that you feel the 13 same as we do here in Marshalltown and approve this 14 construction permit. 15 Thank you. 16 MR. GEORGE: Hi. My name is Dave George, 17 and I'm speaking to you today as the president of the 18 Iowa Utility Workers Conference. We represent 19 utility workers all across the State of Iowa, and I 20 speak to you in favor of this power plant project 21 that Alliant Energy wants to build, and urge your 22 support. 23 I, myself, have been in the utility industry 24 for over 25 years, actually as a power plant operator 25 in a coal-fired plant. Many of my friends and fellow PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 83 1 workers--I don't know of anyone that has come forward 2 with any type of a health condition as has been 3 brought up here yet. We work not only in the plants, 4 in the coal piles, on the lines, and all other 5 aspects, and Alliant is going to build this plant as 6 the state-of-the-art plant that will benefit everyone 7 in the State of Iowa. This Iowa plant will be for 8 Iowans, run by Iowans, built by Iowans, for the 9 benefit of Iowans. 10 We also represent workers in the other parts 11 of the utility business, such as in the gas side of 12 the business, the transmission distribution, also 13 nuclear side. I'm glad to see that we're finally 14 starting to build coal plants because they are one of 15 the true fuel sources that we have here in the 16 United States. 17 All we've been building in the past have 18 been gas plants, and everyone is seeing what that has 19 done to the cost and the price of natural gas. 20 So the employees that will be working here 21 will not only be good, high-paying, high-skilled 22 jobs, but they're going to be careers, and I think 23 that's important, not just jobs, but careers. 24 Utility employees that we represent, when 25 they retire, they usually have a minimum of 30 to 35 PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 84 1 years and sometimes as high as 45 years of service in 2 the utility business, so it is truly a career that 3 people get into it because they love the work, it's 4 very rewarding work, and also it allows people to own 5 homes and raise families and send their children to 6 college, such as I have. 7 Thank you for your time. 8 MR. BRESTEL: First of all, I would like to 9 thank the Board for allowing public comment--I know 10 that's unusual--and I also admire your patience and 11 attentiveness and endurance through this hearing 12 process. 13 With that in mind, I think I'm just going to 14 go off the script here and make a couple of comments, 15 and I think you appreciate brevity more than some 16 clever comment. 17 One of my observations this morning is one 18 of the things that I've seen in this room is there 19 is--there actually is some consensus. I think 20 everybody in this room supports alternate and 21 renewable energy sources, maximizing the use of wind 22 power and other sources that are environmentally 23 friendly. 24 I think what this is all about is baseload 25 capacity, age of infrastructure, and I'm confident PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 85 1 that you'll thoroughly discuss those issues in the 2 rest of this hearing. 3 The one other observation I would like to 4 make is that there's been very many impassioned 5 opposition comments on this, and the thing that I 6 notice that is missing from their arguments is what 7 alternative to baseload power they would propose 8 instead of this coal-fired unit, and in my view, as a 9 mechanical engineer and a resident in this town, I 10 think this is a very good project. There's really 11 only two sources of baseload power that can run, you 12 know, that has high megawatt values, and that's 13 nuclear or coal. I'll let the public utilities sort 14 out the economics as to which is favorable. 15 Thank you for your patience. 16 MR. BELDEN: Good morning. I thank you for 17 the opportunity to speak in support of the Sutherland 18 Generating Unit No. 4. 19 I am Bill Belden from Moravia, Iowa. I have 20 served as project manager for the Chariton Valley 21 Biomass Project, which was a coal-firing project with 22 the U.S. Department of Energy, Chariton Valley RC&D, 23 Alliant Energy, and Prairie Lands Bio-Products. 24 Together those groups work to prove the feasibility 25 of burning biomass with coal, and it will work. PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 86 1 The vision and leadership of Alliant Energy, 2 the staff of the Ottumwa Generating Station, and the 3 farmers of Prairie Land achieved the following 4 successes merely only trying to reach--meet 2 percent 5 of the heat needs of that plant: 6 More than 15,600 tons of locally-grown 7 switchgrass were de-baled, pulverized, and sent to 8 the boiler, and that displaced 12,000 tons of coal 9 during that period of time. 10 During the nearly 1700 hours of test burn, 11 19,600 megawatts--megawatt-hours, or enough energy to 12 provide energy for 1900 homes on an annual basis, was 13 produced, and that set a world record for electricity 14 produced by switchgrass. 15 The process also reduced carbon dioxide 16 emissions by 51,000 tons, and that could be 17 calculated to a greater level noting that switchgrass 18 does sequester carbon under the soil. 19 OGS burns low-sulfur coal, and the sulfur 20 content of switchgrass is much lower, so during that 21 burn we reduced sulfur dioxide emissions by 62 tons. 22 This was achieved with only 2 percent of the input 23 needs of that plant. 24 These are significant achievements to our 25 nation's energy technology. In a closed-loop process PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 87 1 they offer the potential to improve air quality, 2 water quality, improve soil quality, enhance wildlife 3 benefits, boosting our rural economy and developing 4 new agriculture production. 5 Alliant Energy has continued to recognize 6 the contributions of prairie lands. They've engaged 7 this producer group to help them analyze and develop 8 a potential biomass supply for this facility, and it 9 would be my anticipation that once this facility is 10 permitted, we will put to the Board the model that 11 will propose 10 percent of the biomass needs for this 12 plant. 13 I urge the Iowa Utilities Board to support 14 and permit this state-of-the-art hybrid facility, 15 which will position Alliant Energy on the forefront 16 of producing electricity from biomass. 17 The biomass consumption of this facility 18 will enhance our rural economy and provide abundant, 19 cleaner, dependable electric energy for Iowans, and 20 keep Iowa as the nation's leader in providing 21 renewable energy sources. 22 Thank you. 23 MR. FOSHE: Well, you're still standing 24 upright. 25 I'm going to speak a little bit differently PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 88 1 than some of the others here. My name is Greg Foshe. 2 I'm a business manager of the plumbers and steam- 3 fitters in Des Moines, Iowa. We have about a hundred 4 members out of about 1400 members that live in or 5 around Marshalltown here. They have asked me to come 6 and speak in favor of this plant, and we do support 7 our partnership with Alliant Energy. 8 We were the ones that actually worked with 9 Alliant down at the Ottumwa Generating Station to put 10 in the new technology. As they put it in, they never 11 just said, "This is good enough." They always 12 tweaked it until it came up to their expectations, 13 and they proved it was going to be a renewable source 14 of energy. I know this plant will do the same, and 15 we are proud of our affiliation with Alliant. 16 This town has proved that it can survive 17 many different things and have many new projects 18 going on here, all of which we're partnered with. 19 I hope you do take a good look at all sides 20 of this and that you do allow them to build this 21 plant. 22 Thank you. 23 MS. BAKER: Good morning. 24 I'm Kathy Baker. I am the president of a 25 local bank, and in my job, I do have the opportunity PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 89 1 to talk to employees and customers on a regular 2 basis. I also talk to Marshalltown residents on a 3 regular basis. I believe that we have overwhelming 4 support for the Alliant plant, and I would ask you to 5 consider that in your decision. 6 Alliant has been a very good partner with 7 our town and our community, and we look forward to 8 them continuing to be so, and they have convinced us 9 that they will continue to be so. 10 I also agree that all of us need to look at 11 ways to conserve energy and to look for alternative 12 sources, but baseload energy is what we are 13 discussing now, and Alliant's ability to provide that 14 now and going into the future is very important to us 15 as we look at the economic stability of this area. 16 As I talk to people who are moving into this 17 community, they are moving here because of jobs. 18 They aren't moving here because Iowa has mountains or 19 oceans or other advantages, so we do need to take 20 every opportunity to provide every advantage that we 21 can to this community. 22 Thank you. 23 MR. GILBERT: Good morning. I am 24 Charlie Gilbert, G-i-l-b-e-r-t, a corn, soybean, and 25 hog producer from Iowa Falls, which is about 45 miles PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 90 1 north of here. 2 Today we are experiencing record high corn 3 and soybean prices which are contributing to a very 4 prosperous rural Iowa economy. 5 The main reason for this today is the 6 expanding biofuels industry in Iowa. In my area in 7 the last three years, three ethanol plants have been 8 built, which significantly support our local corn and 9 soybean markets. 10 I am here today as a supporter of Sutherland 11 No. 4, speaking on behalf of Midland Power 12 Cooperative and Corn Belt Power Cooperative who 13 provide the power for these three ethanol plants and 14 several others. 15 Today's ethanol plants are doing 16 several--two things: 17 First, they are still expanding. 18 Secondly, they are very much focused on 19 their efficiencies. They want to produce more 20 ethanol per bushel and use less inputs. 21 An example of this in Hardin County is 22 Pine Lake Corn Processors is currently adding a 23 process of fractionation, which removes the germ from 24 the corn seed before it processes it. This generates 25 more ethanol per bushel, creates additional PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 91 1 value-added product such as corn oil, and uses less 2 natural gas, but this process is very horsepower 3 intensive and will require more electricity. 4 My point is, as our ethanol industry 5 continues to grow and get efficient, they are 6 requiring much more electricity. Corn Belt Power is 7 predicting a 50 percent increase in power demand over 8 the next five years, in large part due to this 9 growing biofuels industry. The question is where 10 will this come from? 11 I now put back on my seed corn cap. The 12 seed for a highly efficient clean coal plant has been 13 planted. I ask you to put on your grow Iowa cap and 14 help grow rural Iowa by supporting and approving our 15 Sutherland No. 4 plant. 16 Thank you. 17 MR. KEIDING: Good morning. Believe it or 18 not, I've followed Charlie before, and I should have 19 remembered you don't want to follow Charlie. 20 I'm Brian Keiding with the Iowa Association 21 of Electric Cooperatives. You've heard a lot today 22 about baseload generation. You've heard a lot about 23 a commonsense approach to providing power in Iowa. 24 Baseload is the cornerstone of that. 25 It also includes energy efficiency. It also PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 92 1 includes reliable--I mean renewable power, which also 2 has a very key role, but my main point today that's 3 maybe different than some of the other people's 4 points are the Iowa legislature has given you 5 direction on how to site generation. The Iowa 6 Utilities Board has an obligation to apply the law to 7 the facts of the case. 8 In today's world siting new generation is 9 necessary to maintain the quality of life for all of 10 Iowans, and it can be a very emotional issue, and as 11 a regulatory board, you have an obligation to set 12 aside the emotional aspects of this case and apply 13 the law to this case. 14 I would like to leave you with one question: 15 If you're not willing to allow a high efficient, 16 hybrid coal plant for baseload generation, what type 17 of baseload would you allow in this state in order to 18 enhance our environment and continue the quality of 19 life that all Iowans are dependent upon? 20 Thank you. 21 MR. SWINDELL: Good morning. 22 I'm Bob Swindell. I'm the general manager 23 of Access Energy Cooperative in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. 24 We provide electric service to over 9,000 homes, 25 farms, and businesses in 10 counties in southeast PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 93 1 Iowa. 2 The Iowa electric cooperatives believe in a 3 commonsense approach to ensure safe, reliable, and 4 affordable power. We believe this commonsense 5 approach includes responsible investments in energy 6 efficiency, renewables, and efficient baseload plants 7 such as this Sutherland plant we're discussing today. 8 Because electric cooperatives provide power 9 in all 99 counties, we have a significant economic 10 impact on the state. 11 The continued strong growth, economic 12 development we're experiencing in our service 13 territories requires the need for this dependable, 14 affordable source of power. 15 As you've heard from my colleagues, a number 16 of cooperatives are expecting their loads to grow 17 over 50 percent, primarily serving the growing 18 biofuels industry here in Iowa. A combination of 19 additional wind, energy efficiencies, and baseload 20 power from the highly efficient plants such as 21 Sutherland 4 will help us continue to serve our 22 member consumers and grow the economy in rural Iowa. 23 Thank you. 24 MR. RODAS: Thank you for the opportunity 25 and the public comment. I think that's good public PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 94 1 policy. 2 My name is Leon Rodas, R-o-d-a-s. I'm with 3 the Municipal Electric Utility in Spencer, Iowa. 4 Spencer is a member of NIMECA, which is 5 Northern Iowa Municipal Electric Cooperative 6 Association, where there are 11 other cities like 7 Spencer who operate cooperatively on power supply, 8 and several of our members plan on participating in 9 this plant. 10 Our generation resources include western 11 hydro, Iowa baseload generation from coal, Iowa wind 12 generation, and we have oil and gas peaking units. 13 We currently receive about 8 percent of our 14 supply from wind energy. We anticipate that will 15 climb to nearly 15 percent well before the year 2015. 16 Even with, in Spencer's case, our energy 17 efficiency program, which has been fairly aggressive 18 in interruptible rates for large industrial 19 customers, we continue to see load growth in demand. 20 The timing of this plant coming online will 21 be perfect for us in meeting ou energy needs. 22 The board of trustees in Spencer, acting on 23 behalf of our citizens, has chosen to be a partner in 24 this plant, and we strongly encourage this Board to 25 issue the permit to provide that reliable energy and PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 95 1 allow our growth to continue. 2 We feel fortunate that we're able to partner 3 with Iowa companies to build a plant in Iowa to serve 4 the Iowa citizens. 5 Thank you. 6 MR. WYNES: Good morning, gentlemen and 7 Ms. Tanner. 8 My name is Tim Wynes. I'm the chancellor of 9 the Iowa Valley Community College, 50 percent 10 Poweshiek, Marshall, Hardin, and Tama County, and I 11 drove over here right after having a root canal, and 12 I think I probably had a better morning than you guys 13 have had. 14 Standing in line I had a chance to hear what 15 some people have already said in support, so I won't 16 rehash that. I'll just say two things: 17 The college district passed a $35 million 18 bond issue a year and a half ago. We're in the 19 process of building building space on that bond 20 issue, and Alliant Energy has been an outstanding 21 partner with us in pursuing green alternatives, and 22 every step of the way being smart about our 23 technology use, being smart about our energy use, and 24 helping us to pursue the best and greenest possible 25 sources of energy, including geothermal, building our PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 96 1 buildings in a way that are going to use the least 2 amount of energy. They've been outstanding in that 3 aspect, and we have been proud to be part of them. 4 I have sat through five presentations by 5 Alliant on their new power plant. As an academic 6 institution, we debate a lot about where we stand on 7 things, and I can tell you that Iowa Valley stands 8 firmly in favor of this. 9 They have answered every question, given us 10 every possible reason to debate and understand what 11 is going to happen when this power plant is open. 12 They've done their best to project in the future, and 13 if their work with us on our buildings that we're 14 putting up for the next 25 years are any indication 15 of their interest in being green and being renewable, 16 they are doing as much as they can to be 17 forethoughtful and foresightful. 18 I would just tell you not to make this 19 decision based on fear, fear of the unknown, fear of 20 what might happen that might be bad that's not 21 proven, but make this decision based on what's in the 22 best interest, the best data possible, and that this 23 company has done everything they can to be a good 24 partner with this district and this area. 25 Thank you. PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 97 1 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: Let me get you to hold 2 your thoughts one second. 3 We are nearing the noon hour, and since we 4 started, I think, a minute or two early, we will go 5 until noon, so we will have probably time for three 6 or four more speakers. I'll just give you a heads 7 up. 8 Go ahead. 9 MS. HUSS: My name is Linda Huss. I'm a 10 physician from Waterloo. 11 The medical literature convincingly points 12 to the serious health risks due to the burning of 13 coal, the release of mercury, fine particulates, 14 radioactive material, and other emissions. Premature 15 deaths from fine particulates are well recognized. 16 A study in the New England Journal of 17 Medicine followed 66,000 women and found air 18 pollution was a much bigger factor in deaths from 19 heart disease than previously recognized. 20 Whether the plant was new or old, it was the 21 total amount of fine particulates emitted that 22 affected these women's health, with every 10 23 micrograms of fine particulates causing a 76 percent 24 increase in mortality. 25 Evidence supporting tighter restrictions on PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 98 1 fine particulates is overwhelming, but the EPA has 2 failed to tighten their restrictions. 3 A new, cleaner coal-fired power plant under 4 construction in Sandy Creek, Texas, roughly the same 5 size as the one here, is expected to prematurely kill 6 13 people per year, and the deaths will not be way in 7 the future. 8 A study from the American Thoracic Society 9 found two years or less of exposure to particulates 10 is all the time needed to markedly raise the risk of 11 death in patients with chronic disease. 12 The cost of premature death and disease is 13 high. The American Heart Association has estimated 14 the cost of death from stroke or heart disease about 15 a hundred-thousand-dollars per patient. Thirteen 16 deaths would cost $1.3 million per year. 17 Factoring in disease morbidity where people 18 have the disease, but don't die from it, will raise 19 the costs even higher. 20 Furthermore, the vulnerable citizens, 21 especially the young, elderly, African-American, and 22 those with chronic disease will begin to die within 23 two years of a coal plant becoming operational. 24 Our groundwater is also at risk. In Iowa, 25 fly ash can be dumped into underlying quarries. The PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 99 1 EPA does not require groundwater monitoring at fly 2 ash dump sites, but has documented over 70 cases of 3 drinking or surface water being contaminated by power 4 plant waste. 5 I urge you to not permit this plant. 6 Thank you. 7 MR. TURBIVILLE: My name is Don Turbiville. 8 I'm the president of the R.S. Stover Company located 9 in Marshalltown, Iowa. I am here today to express my 10 support for the site as proposed by Interstate Power 11 and Light. 12 I base my support on really a couple of 13 things: 14 First of all, I have been in the automated 15 process controls business since 1979. Automated 16 process controls is a big aspect of any power plant. 17 I have had the opportunity to observe the 18 practices and the technology of many utilities across 19 the United States and in Iowa, and I firmly believe 20 that the technology that Alliant has selected for 21 their new facility is state of the art. It does two 22 things, I believe: 23 First of all, it will bring us a highly 24 efficient facility. 25 The second thing, it also addresses those PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 100 1 important environmental issues that we all are 2 concerned about. 3 The second reason for my support is as a 4 resident of Marshalltown, Iowa, for over 20 years, 5 I've had the opportunity to observe the interaction 6 of Alliant with both the community and also 7 industries within the community. Based on those 8 observations, I feel like Alliant is an outstanding 9 corporate partner. They have stood behind everything 10 that I have ever heard them say they will, and for 11 that reason, I'm happy to say I would support a 12 facility such as theirs in Marshalltown's backyard. 13 Thank you. 14 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: I think we'll take two 15 more speakers, just so you all know that we're going 16 to be--we'll wrap up after the next two speakers, so 17 if you want to go ahead and take your seats you can, 18 and then we'll have some preliminary business before 19 we break for lunch. 20 Go ahead. 21 MS. JEBSEN: My name is Jolene Jebsen, and I 22 stand opposed to the building of this coal plant, and 23 would also like to reiterate what Dr. Jim Metzger 24 said about the concerns of building this coal plant 25 here in Marshalltown. PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 101 1 With all due respect to all of the community 2 members that I know well that have spoken this 3 morning, I am for progress in Marshalltown. I 4 believe that we need jobs here, and we need power 5 here. 6 I just urge the Utilities Board to carefully 7 consider all the expert testimony from the people 8 that know a lot more about the details of this coal 9 plant than I do, and use your good judgment to wait 10 until the coal technology is ready to be implemented 11 with clean coal burning. 12 We had the opportunity to entertain many of 13 the political candidates here prior to our caucuses, 14 and I had the opportunity to ask them, without them 15 really knowing that we're planning to build a coal 16 plant, having the proposal here, and their answers-- 17 when I said should we build a coal plant, a new coal 18 plant, their answer was, "Absolutely not." 19 So I believe that people outside this 20 community know about coal plant technology and know 21 that it is not where we need to be to have a clean 22 coal-burning plant built, and I ask you to block this 23 at this time. 24 Thank you. 25 MR. GERHARD: Hello. I'm Bill Gerhard. I'm PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 102 1 president of the Iowa State Building Construction 2 Trades Council. The Council represents over 30,000 3 construction workers from 17 different unions. 4 I'm here to urge you to support this 5 project, not only because it's going to create new 6 construction jobs, but also because a reliable, 7 dependable source of clean, safe, affordable energy 8 is the lifeblood of economic development. 9 Businesses won't build in Iowa, they won't 10 expand in Iowa, they won't relocate in Iowa without 11 that, and if we don't have economic development, our 12 kids and our grandkids will be leaving the state. 13 So I just urge you to support this project. 14 Thank you. 15 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: All right. Thank you 16 very much. 17 If you have written comments, you certainly 18 can submit those here to the staff in the front. 19 We appreciate, greatly, everyone taking the 20 time to provide your comments. They're informative-- 21 in fact, terribly informative--and well-spoken by all 22 of you, and I'll let the other Board add any comments 23 they want to. 24 I know this is a difficult issue. If it 25 were black and white, we wouldn't be here. If there PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 103 1 weren't serious issues to consider, we wouldn't be 2 here. So I encourage you as a community to--and I 3 think you have shown that this morning--to be 4 incredibly respectful for people on all sides of 5 this, proponents and opponents, who have heartfelt 6 and serious and legitimate concerns. So I encourage 7 you going forward to continue that respect for one 8 another. 9 We will--I'll give the other Board Members a 10 chance for any comments they want to have, and then 11 we will take appearances for the parties of record in 12 this proceeding, and then we'll probably break for 13 lunch. 14 Any comments? 15 (No response.) 16 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: All right. Who appears 17 for Interstate Power and Light Company? 18 MS. JOHNSON: Paula Johnson and 19 Kent Ragsdale. 20 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: All right. And who 21 appears for Corn Belt Cooperative and CIPCO? 22 MR. PUCKETT: Dennis Puckett, John Ward, and 23 Michael Joynt of Sullivan & Ward Law Firm in 24 West Des Moines. 25 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: Thank you, Mr. Puckett. PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 104 1 Who you appears for Plains Justice? 2 MS. LINDERMAN: Jana Linderman and 3 Carrie LaSuer. 4 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: All right. And who 5 appears for the Office of Consumer Advocate? 6 MS. EASLER: Jennifer Easler and Ben Stead. 7 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: Are there any other 8 appearances? 9 (No response.) 10 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: All right. Hearing 11 none, on Wednesday, January 9th, 2008, and Friday, 12 January 11th, 2008, Consumer Advocate and 13 Plains Justice, respectively, each filed supplemental 14 testimony in this docket. Also on January 8th, 2008, 15 Interstate Power and Light Company, Corn Belt, and 16 CIPCO filed motions to strike Consumer Advocate's and 17 Plains Justice's supplemental testimony. 18 Do the parties have anything to add to their 19 comments and motions on this matter? 20 Ms. Johnson? 21 Maybe we can--we can hear you okay. Are you 22 okay, the court reporter? If it's okay, we'll 23 proceed here and adjust the microphones after the 24 break. 25 Go ahead, Ms. Johnson. PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 105 1 MS. JOHNSON: I just have a quick 2 clarification. I think the pleading that we filed 3 speaks for itself. 4 I just kind of wanted to very quickly speak 5 to a couple of the assertions in the Plains Justice 6 pleading. 7 First of all, the work papers that were 8 submitted do not technically contain new information. 9 They are just supporting documents that were 10 submitted pursuant to the Board's request that 11 supported information already in the record. 12 Also, Plains Justice referenced over a 13 thousand discovery responses in attachments that we 14 had submitted. I would just like to note that those 15 aren't part of the record unless they're made part of 16 the record during the hearing, so I question the 17 relevancy of bringing that up in the resistance and 18 motion to strike. 19 I just wanted to clarify those two points, 20 and otherwise, we stand on the written pleadings. 21 MS. EASLER: I have nothing further. 22 MS. LINDERMAN: Nothing further. 23 MR. PUCKETT: Nothing further. 24 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: All right. We will 25 take that issue up probably after the break and give PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 106 1 you a ruling on that. 2 Are there any other preliminary matters that 3 need to be brought up before the Board? 4 MR. STEAD: I have several preliminary 5 matters, and it might be more appropriate after 6 lunch, if that's all right. 7 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: I'm sorry? 8 MR. STEAD: I have several preliminary 9 matters, and it might be more appropriate after 10 lunch, if that's okay. 11 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: Okay. We'll take those 12 up right after the lunch break, are you asking? 13 MR. STEAD: Yes. 14 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: All right. Anybody 15 else? 16 (No response.) 17 CHAIRPERSON NORRIS: All right. We will 18 start after the lunch break with a ruling on the 19 motion we've discussed and any other preliminary 20 matters, and then we'll be calling the first witness 21 for Interstate Power and Light. 22 I think for those of you looking to use the 23 cafeteria across the street, I think we're close to 24 the time they say we could probably get served and 25 not interrupt too much with their normal flow over at PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596 107 1 the Veterans Home. 2 All right. Let's take a break for lunch and 3 come back at 1:15. 4 (Recess at 12:05 p.m. until 1:15 p.m.) 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 PETERSEN COURT REPORTERS 317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 606 Des Moines, IA 50309-4155 (515) 243-6596