Panel will answer questions on Iowa coal-fired power plant

Pat Higby, energy educator for the Center for Energy and Environmental Education, is trying to gather a wide array of panelists to cover most questions people have.

"That's the beauty of this is its all in one place and all at one time," Higby said.

LS Power, based in New Jersey, has proposed a 750-megawatt, coal-fired power plant to be built east of Waterloo along Newell Street. The plant's projected cost is between $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion.

So far, panelists include: Lynn Brant, an associate professor of geology at UNI; Carrie LaSeur, an attorney with Shuttleworth & Ingersoll, PLC in Cedar Rapids; and Linda Laylin, business services manager with the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance.

Higby said she is working on additional panelists. She has contacted residents living near the proposed power plant and believes she will have someone on the panel, but she isn't sure who. Higby has not heard back from the Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors.

LS Power has declined to have a seat on the panel. Robert Colozza, project manager with LS Power, said a more appropriate time for such a panel would come after the company has filed its permit applications, when more details are available.

The company also plans on holding an informational meeting prior to the company submitting the applications. The date for that meeting has not yet been set.

Brant has previous experience with coal-fired power plants during his work with the Montana Department of Natural Resources. Prior to joining her current law firm, LaSeur worked as a staff attorney at the Environmental Law and Policy Center in Chicago.

The panel will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 28 in the auditorium at the Center for Energy and Environmental Education at UNI. Panelists will be allowed to state their opinion, then ask questions of each other before the audience gets its chance.