Environmental groups and experts say a new study shows serious health issues surrounding two coal-fired plants operated by MidAmerican Energy in northwest Iowa just south of Sioux City.
Josh Mandelbaum is with the Environmental Law and Policy Center. “We know that these plants are massive carbon polluters. They’re impacting the climate, but on a local level, they are having an immediate and significant impact on the health of the communities surrounding these plants,” Mandelbaum says. The study released by the Iowa Environmental Council says from 1999 to 2020, pollution from the plants caused 165 premature deaths in the region and 1,400 overall. And it shows higher rates of asthma, COPD, and heart disease.
Environmental Council Senior Policy Advocate Cody Smith says, “We hope that our report is a wake-up call for the leadership of Mid-American Energy and that they act swiftly to become the responsible corporate neighbor they claim to be.” Smith and others who took part in a virtual news conference (Tuesday morning) say the public deserves better. They say lower-income and people of color are at the highest risk of health issues.
MidAmerican released the following statement, “Iowa has recently been highlighted by the American Lung Association as having some of the cleanest air in America. At MidAmerican, that’s something we take pride in because we live and work in Iowa too. We diligently operate all of our facilities, including the generation facility in Sioux City, in a manner that is in full compliance with state and federal environmental laws, regulations and requirements. The generation facility in Sioux City is essential to providing customers with electricity when they need it the most – which is critical to ensuring the health and safety of our communities. But, we operate the facility significantly less than we ever have because we utilize our wind and solar resources during a significant portion of the year. While most of the time, wind energy is able to serve our customers’ needs, we continue to maintain thermal resources to provide us flexibility during those times when other resources can’t. As we have for decades, MidAmerican will continue to employ best practices and responsible stewardship to meet the goals of all of our customers, which is reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity.”
(By Sheila Brummer, Iowa Public Radio/Woody Gottburg, KSCJ Sioux City)